Page:The Kea, a New Zealand problem (1909).pdf/119

Rh ordinary food is more plentiful; the birds kill fewer sheep, and they do not become a menace again until the middle of the summer.

This summer trouble may be accounted for by the fact that at this season most of the snow on the lower slopes has been melted; and the sheep, keeping to their usual habit of making for the sky line, soon find themselves among the Keas. The birds’ opportunity is intensified by the fact that every night the sheep return when possible to particular places on the mountain side to sleep. These are termed “camps,” and here the murderers are sure of finding a large supply of animals on which to experiment.

Their attacks, however, are not altogether confined to any special time, for they have been known to attack sheep at all seasons of the year. Still, from what I can gather, autumn seems to be the time of fewest attacks. No doubt the plentiful food supply, and perhaps the fact that the sheep have been shorn, thus giving the birds a poor hold on the animals’ backs, account for this.

All my correspondents agree that the favourite times of the day for the bird to commit its depredations are the early morning and the evening; for, like its cousin, the Kaka, whether killing sheep or not, it is always lively at these times.

For this reason it is difficult to obtain photographs of the birds actually attacking sheep, for the lack of light and the absence of the shepherd at these times makes the chance of obtaining a snap-shot extremely small. They have been known to attack at all hours of the day; but they seem to confine most of the work to the early or late hours.

When attacking in the middle of the day it is nearly always in dull or foggy weather, though rare cases are known of their killing sheep even in bright sunshine.