Page:The Kea, a New Zealand problem (1909).pdf/60

56 from all accounts they seem to stay until they are nearly full grown.

The young Kea’s cry somewhat resembles that of the fully grown bird, but it is weaker and very plaintive. The fledglings’ one drawback as pets is that, even when kept in clean apartments, they have a most objectionable odour.

Mr. Urquhart was good enough to send me two live Kea nestlings from Mt. Algidus, and I was therefore able

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to see for myself these interesting birds at this stage of their development.

They were about two months old when I received them at Christchurch, but, though they were nearly the size of a small pigeon, they were quite unable to move about or feed themselves. Their wings were fairly strong, and were sometimes flapped when food was given to them. Their legs were large, yet they seemed devoid of capacity for muscular action, and were never used. Indeed, so helpless