Page:The Kea, a New Zealand problem (1909).pdf/75

Rh that we had. This we used to make a little run. at the entrance of which we placed ‘Angela’ in her cage, hoping that we could drive the wild birds into it, but half-an-hour’s vain endeavour convinced us of the futility of this scheme.

“Then I decided that I would return to camp for a camera, so that I could photograph the birds, even though unable to capture them. I descended via a shingle slide, and the noise of the stones rattling down with me attracted the birds, which accompanied me down to camp, and when I got back with the camera only one had returned. The sun had by this time risen over the mountain behind us, and the day was bright and hot. Everything was propitious for good pictures, but before I had the camera ready the bird flew screeching up the gully. Very disappointed and hot, we returned to camp.

“That evening at four o’clock we again climbed to the traps. Shortly after our arrival we saw a bird, and I called it down, when it proved to be the unattached male of the morning, readily distinguished by the state of his moult. We set a trap out on the ledge of a rock, evening up the surface with small stones. The bird came down, and taking the stones one by one, dropped them over the edge. Next, standing well outside the trap, he began chewing one of the sticks, with the result that the cage fell down. It was very laughable, but it scared the Kea, and he flew away; nor did we see him again.”