Page:The Kea, a New Zealand problem (1909).pdf/70

66 everything that could be broken was apparently broken very carefully; even the window frames had been attacked with great diligence.”

Another case is told of these birds and their love of fun, or mischief, as the case may be.

“On a back country sheep run, a mule, packed with a full load of stores and sundries for one of the out-stations, was peacefully pursuing its way, when on a sudden a Kea perched on the neck of the animal. The unexpected arrival was too much for the gravity of the mule; startled from its



accustomed demure and patient demeanour, it plunged and kicked till it had freed itself from the Kea as well as its well-packed burden.”

A shepherd from the back country says that “Tents get a fair amount of attention from the Kea. I have left a tent in the morning in good order and condition; and when I returned, at the end of the day’s muster, I have found it torn beyond repair, and the birds seemed to be quite