Page:The Kea, a New Zealand problem (1909).pdf/49

Rh always made a point of demolishing each plant we got. He seemed to need roots for his digestion; he was never so well when he did not have them two or three times a week. The Keas always like the flax honey, though they don’t care for the seeds. In fact, honey seems much more to their taste than berries, except the Coprosma."

The above accounts seem to me to give a fair idea of the Kea’s food supply before it took to sheep-killing.

One can easily imagine him in spring and summer fossicking in the cushiony vegetation of the sub-alpine meadows for insect larvae, or flying in and out of the bush in search of honey and fruits; while in autumn and winter he would be searching for insects among the crevices of the rocks or eating the berries of the forest. Now that he has taken to sheep-killing much of his spare time is used in worrying the sheep, and in winter the mutton must make a welcome addition to his scanty larder.