Psittacus pezophorus. Synonym: Pezophorus formosus, Gld.

German: Der Erdsittich.

Green Ground Parrot.

French: La Perruche terrestre, ou ingambee.

THE Ground Parrots form a group quite sui generis, and are very little known out of their native country, or rather countries, for they occur in New Zealand, as well as in Australia and Tasmania.

In this country we have never seen a living example of any of the numerous species composing the genus, and no mention of any of them is made in Dr. Russ's comprehensive Handbook; which is the more to be wondered at, that in those regions where they are found, they are far from uncommon, but being partially nocturnal in their habits, and moreover extremely shy, they are not so frequently seen as many of their really less abundant congeners.

The species under consideration is of frequent occurrence in Tasmania, and is also found in the southern parts of Australia: it is about the size of the Cockatiel, and is of a yellowish green colour, spotted and undulated with black: the tail is long and slender, the two central feathers are green marked with transverse bands of yellow, an arrangement which is reversed in the remaining tail feathers, which are yellow barred with green: just above the nostrils is a narrow band, or frontlet of deep scarlet: the legs are long and of an ash colour.

It is said to make no nest, but to lay two white eggs on the bare ground, under the shelter of some log, or rock: a statement which we are unable to verify, or disprove from personal knowledge, but which appears, nevertheless, to be its usual custom.

It is evident from the configuration of the bird, that its habits are chiefly terrestrial, and it is said not to perch in trees, and seldom to take to flight, but, even when pressed by dogs and hunters, to prefer trusting to its strong legs, with which it runs very swiftly through the grass and underwood.

It is curious that this bird should never be imported, and on questioning a wholesale dealer in foreign birds as to the reason, he replied that the Ground Parrots fed on fresh roots and bulbous plants, and could not be preserved alive during the voyage to this country: which we think can scarcely be the true reason; for if the delicate honey-eating Lories can be brought over alive, surely a bird that can make a hearty meal off a raw potato, should not be very difficult to cater for, but ought to be imported with ease.

The fact is, bird-dealers, like other people, get into a groove, and there is no such thing as getting them out of it: they have not been used to such and such birds, and one might just as well inquire for a Phoenix at their establishments, as for one of the Ground Parrots, or other birds to which they are unaccustomed.

The Ground Parrots are partly insectivorous in their habits, and we doubt the possibility of their been kept alive for any length of time without an adequate supply of insect food; but where cockroaches abound, and mealworms are readily attainable, this should be no insurmountable difficulty in the way either of their importation, or preservation when imported. Let the dealers then see to it, and bring us over some Ground Parrots, and Gang Gangs, and other birds, plentiful enough in their own country, but rare, or altogether unknown here, and they will be remunerated for their trouble, and no inconsiderable advance be made in the knowledge of ornithology, which, as a home pursuit, is quite in its infancy among us.

New Zealand contains a number of different species of these birds, varying in size from that of a small goose, to that of a Rosella Parrakeet, all coloured and shaped after the same pattern, and certain to be the first of the Parrots to fade away from the surface of the earth, in consequence of their feeble powers of flight, and inability to convey themselves out of reach of predatory animals. One species, Strigops habroptilus, has already almost disappeared from its native haunts, and the others are getting scarcer every year.

Some of these birds burrow in the ground, like rabbits, and bring up their young in this situation: the Great Owl Parrot of New Zealand being an especial instance of departure from the general habits of the race. Writing of this species, Mr. Wood observes: "Even in its habits this bird has much of the Owl nature, being as strictly nocturnal as any of those birds (the Owls). During the daytime it conceals itself in holes, under the stumps of trees, and similar localities, seldom being seen except after sunset. The natives of New Zealand, where it is found, say that during the winter months the Owl Parrots assemble together in great numbers, collecting themselves into certain large caverns, and that while arranging for their winter quarters, and before dispersing for the summer, they become very noisy, and raise a deafening clamour."

Are we to infer from the above quotation that these birds are in the habit, as Swallows are said to be, of hybernating? we think not: the practice is one foreign to bird nature; birds are incapable, as a rule, of enduring prolonged abstinence, and the winters in New Zealand are not of such severity as to deprive the indigenous races of their accustomed food, as happens in higher latitudes.

We are unable to record the "native" name of the Green Ground Parrot, but the Owl Parrot (Strigops habroptilus) is called by the Maoris "Kakapo", no doubt from its cry: like its Green Ground relative, it is weak of wing, and, as Mr. Wood continues, " seldom trusts itself in the air, taking but a very short flight when it rises from the ground. Neither it is seen much in trees, preferring to inhabit the ground, and making regular paths to and from its nest, by means of which its habitation may be discovered by one who knows the habits of the bird. These tracks are about a foot in width, and so closely resemble the paths worn by the footsteps of human beings that they have been mistaken for such by travellers": and might very readily become the means of saving life; for a man lost in the "bush", and nearly dead from starvation, following one of them up, thinking it led to a human dwelling, and finding a nest of young birds, as large as a good-sized fowl, would be able to keep himself alive on their succulent flesh, until discovered by the party sent out to look for him.

It has been conjectured that the absence of predatory mammals in New Zealand is the main reason of the departure of these curious birds from the common habits of the race; and that from seeking, unmolested, their food on the ground, they, in the lapse of ages, acquired terrestrial preferences, and lost, or almost lost, the use of their wings from sheer long-continued inaction - surely a lesson for indolent folk, who prefer riding their thoroughbred horses, or being driven about in their luxurious carriages, to using the means of locomotion provided for them by nature.

This hypothesis, however, will scarcely account for the presence of Pezophorus in Australia and Tasmania, where small predatory animals are found in great abundance, and terrestrial Parrots are not by any means uncommon.

The late John Gould, F.R.S., frequently found nests of these birds under the stumps of trees, and among rocks; the eggs were laid on the bare ground, in a little hollow evidently fashioned by the birds themselves, and without any attempt at nest making. Whatever may be the average number of young in a brood of the smaller Pezophori, it appears that the larger species, Strigops habroptilus for instance, only lay one egg at a time, and have no more than two young in the season; from which it will be readily gathered that so unprolific a bird, especially when so imperfectly provided with means of escape from its now numerous enemies, wild cats, and rats of European origin, will very soon become extinct in the islands where it was formerly found in sufficient abundance.

This disappearance of a curious animal is to be regretted for many reasons, but is, apparently, in the nature of things, unavoidable; and doubtless it has played, or almost played out its part in the economy of nature, like the Moa and the Dinornis, and, there being no further reason for its presence on a sufficiently crowded scene, exit Pezophorus, is the stage direction that must be strictly obeyed, or confusion would certainly ensue.