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
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A Kea: On the Ball Glacier.
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.
