Page:The Kea, a New Zealand problem (1909).pdf/32



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There is nothing very graceful about the Kea, neither in appearance nor in movement. He is a clumsy, awkward-looking, olive-green bird, somewhat larger than a domestic pigeon, with a flat head and a long, sharp, curved beak. His legs are short, so that his tail is often dragging on the ground; and, when not hopping, at which he is an adept, he moves with an ungraceful waddle. There are four toes on each foot, slate-coloured, as is the tarsus, and not only are they placed two each “fore and aft,” but they are long and seem unfit for much walking. To add to his clumsiness, when walking the bird often places the tarsus as well as the foot on the ground, so that feathers on the legs touch the ground.

When the bird settles after flying he appears somewhat graceful, but he very soon ruffles his feathers and hides his symmetry.

The intensity in the colouring of the plumage varies largely according to the season of the year or the age of the bird. Often some appear to be of a dirty, washed-out, brownish green, while others have a beautiful olive-green plumage, tinted with red and brown.

Dull olive-green feathers, edged with black, cover the whole body, except for a band of brick-red feathers (upper tail coverts) over the base of the tail, and a large patch of similarly coloured feathers under each wing.