Page:The Kea, a New Zealand problem (1909).pdf/40

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THE KEA.

Though the mountains in the South Island are high, ranging from five to thirteen thousand feet, and though in winter they are covered with a thick coating of snow, yet in summer, owing to the warm winds and rain from the north west, much of their snow is melted. It is, therefore, only

A kea standing on a sloping rock looking straight ahead, with snow covered mountains behind.

The Kea: On the look out.

on the main dividing range and several other more or less isolated peaks that much snow can be found; and this is often confined to the greater heights. Again, if the Kea lives far up above the dwarf vegetation, how is it to subsist?