Page:The Kea, a New Zealand problem (1909).pdf/67

Rh but their curiosity is so great that, if anything takes their fancy, they come and inspect it, and talk to one another and shake their heads like a group of solemn judges.

Mr. Fitzgerald gives an interesting instance which he noted when on Mt. Cook. “They were so tame,” he says, “that, if you sat down quietly for a few minutes and held up any bright object that glittered in the sun, they would come and hop all over you, curiosity apparently being their strongest characteristic On this present occasion



their chief interest seemed to centre on a nickel-plated drinking cup, which I had laid on the rocks close by to dry.

“They are of an inquisitive nature, and did not rightly gather what the shiny object might be meant for; so they came up in line and circled round it, one or two of the bolder spirits even pecking at it.

“This evidently did not satisfy them, so they retired to a neighbouring rock, and gathered in a group to consult, which meant a tremendous screeching and jabbering.