but (writing in 1854) was then found only in the unsettled districts.
The kakapo is about the size of a raven, of a green or brownish-green colour, thickly freckled and irregularly barred with dark brown, and dashed here and there with longitudinal stripes of light yellow. Examples are subject to much variation in colour and shade, and in some the lower parts are deeply tinged with yellow. Externally the most striking feature of the bird is its head, armed with a powerful beak that it well knows how to use, and its face clothed with hairs and elongated feathers that sufficiently resemble the physiognomy of an owl to justify the generic name bestowed upon it. Of its internal structure little has been described, and that not always correctly. Its furcula has been said (Proc. Zool. Society, 1874, p. 594) to be “lost,” whereas the clavicles, which in most birds unite to form that bone, are present, though they do not meet, while in like manner the bird has been declared (op. cit., 1867, p. 624, note) to furnish among the Carinatae “the only apparent exception to the presence of a keel” to the sternum. The keel, however, is undoubtedly there, as remarked by Blanchard (Ann. Nat. Sc., Zoologie, 4th series, vol. xi. p. 83) and A. Milne Edwards (Ois. Foss. de la France, ii. 516), and, though much reduced in size, is nearly as much developed as in the Dodo and the Ocydrome. The aborted condition of this process can hardly be regarded but in connexion with the incapacity of the bird for flight, and may very likely be the result of disuse. There can be scarcely any doubt as to the propriety of considering this genus the type of a separate family of Psittaci; but whether it stands alone or some other forms (Pezoporus or Geopsittacus, for example, which in coloration and habits present some curious analogies) should be placed with it, must await future determination. In captivity the kakapo is said to show much intelligence, as well as an affectionate and playful disposition. Unfortunately it does not seem to share the longevity characteristic of most parrots, and none that has been held in confinement appears to have long survived, while many succumb speedily.
For further details see Gould’s Birds of Australia (ii. 247), and Handbook (ii. 539); Dr Finsch’s Die Papageien (i. 241), and Sir Walter Buller’s Birds of New Zealand especially. (A. N.)
KAKAR, a Pathan tribe on the Zhob valley frontier of Baluchistan.
The Kakars inhabit the back of the Suliman mountains
between Quetta and the Gomal river; they are a very ancient
race, and it is probable that they were in possession of these
slopes long before the advent of Afghan or Arab. They are
divided into many distinct tribes who have no connexion beyond
the common name of Kakar. Not only is there no chief of the
Kakars, or general jirgah (or council) of the whole tribe, but in
most cases there are no recognized heads of the different clans.
In 1901 they numbered 105,444. During the second Afghan
War the Kakars caused some annoyance on the British line of
communications; and the Kakars inhabiting the Zhob valley
were punished by the Zhob valley expedition of 1884.
KALA-AZAR, or Dum-Dum fever, a tropical disease, characterized
by remittent fever, anaemia and enlargement of the spleen
(splenomegaly) and often of the liver. It is due to a protozoon
parasite (see Parasitic Diseases), discovered in 1900 by Leishman
in the spleen, and is of a malarial type. The treatment is
similar to that for malaria. In Assam good results have been
obtained by segregation.
KALABAGH, a town of British India in the Mianwali district
of the Punjab. Pop. (1901), 5824. It is picturesquely situated
at the foot of the Salt range, on the right bank of the Indus,
opposite the railway station of Mari. The houses nestle against
the side of a precipitous hill of solid rock-salt, piled in successive
tiers, the roof of each tier forming the street which passes in front
of the row immediately above, and a cliff, also of pure rock-salt,
towers above the town. The supply of salt, which is worked
from open quarries, is practically inexhaustible. Alum also
occurs in the neighbouring hills, and forms a considerable item
of local trade. Iron implements are manufactured.
KALACH, also known as Donskaya, a village of S.E.
Russia, in the territory of the Don Cossacks, and a river port on
the Don, 31 m. N.E. of Nizhne-Chirskaya, in 43° 30′ E. and 48°
43′ N. Its permanent population, only about 1200, increases
greatly in summer. It is the terminus of the railway (45 m.)
which connects the Don with Tsaritsyn on the Volga, and all the
goods (especially fish, petroleum, cereals and timber) brought
from the Caspian Sea up the Volga and destined for middle
Russia, or for export through the Sea of Azov, are unloaded at
Tsaritsyn and sent over to Kalach on the Don.
KALAHANDI (formerly Karond), a feudatory state of India,
which was transferred from the Central Provinces to the Orissa
division of Bengal in 1905. A range of the Eastern Ghats runs
from N.E. to S.W. through the state, with open undulating
country to the north. Area 3745 sq. m.; pop. (1901), 350,529;
estimated revenue, £8000; tribute, £800. The inhabitants
mostly belong to the aboriginal race of Khonds. A murderous
outbreak against Hindu settlers called for armed intervention
in 1882. The chief, Raghu Kishor Deo, was murdered by a
servant in 1897, and during the minority of his son, Brij Mohan
Deo, the state was placed in charge of a British political agent.
The capital is Bhawani Patna.
KALAHARI DESERT, a region of South Africa, lying mainly
between 20° and 28° S. and 19° and 24° E., and covering fully
120,000 sq. m. The greater part of this territory forms the
western portion of the (British) Bechuanaland protectorate, but
it extends south into that part of Bechuanaland annexed to the
Cape and west into German South-West Africa. The Orange
river marks its southern limit; westward it reaches to the foot of
the Nama and Damara hills, eastward to the cultivable parts
of Bechuanaland, northward and north-westward to the valley
of the Okavango and the bed of Lake Ngami. The Kalahari,
part of the immense inner table-land of South Africa, has an
average elevation of over 3000 ft. with a general slope from east
to west and a dip northward to Ngami. Described by Robert
Moffat as “the southern Sahara,” the Kalahari resembles the
great desert of North Africa in being generally arid and in being
scored by the beds of dried-up rivers. It presents however
many points of difference from the Sahara. The surface soil
is mainly red sand, but in places limestone overlies shale and
conglomerates. The ground is undulating and its appearance
is comparable with that of the ocean at times of heavy swell.
The crests of the waves are represented by sand dunes, rising
from 30 to 100 ft.; the troughs between the dunes vary greatly
in breadth. On the eastern border long tongues of sand project
into the veld, while the veld in places penetrates far into the
desert. There are also, and especially along the river beds,
extensive mud flats. After heavy rain these become pans or
lakes, and water is then also found in mud-bottomed pools along
the beds of the rivers. The water in the pans is often brackish,
and in some cases thickly encrusted with salt. Pans also occur
in crater-like depressions where rock rises above the desert sands.
A tough, sun-bleached grass, growing knee-high in tufts at
intervals of about 15 in., covers the dunes and gives the
general colour of the landscape. Considerable parts of the
Kalahari, chiefly in the west and north, are however covered
with dense scrub and there are occasional patches of forest.
Next to the lack of water the chief characteristics of the desert
are the tuberous and herbaceous plants and the large numbers
of big game found in it. Of the plants the most remarkable is
the water-melon, of which both the bitter and sweet variety are
found, and which supplies both man and beast with water. The
game includes the lion, leopard, hippopotamus, rhinoceros,
buffalo, zebra, quagga, many kinds of antelope (among them
the kudu and gnu), baboon and ostrich. The elephant, giraffe
and eland are also found. The hunting of these three last-named
animals is prohibited, and for all game there is a close time from
the beginning of September to the end of February.
The climate is hot, dry and healthy, save in the neighbourhood of the large marshes in the north, where malarial fever is prevalent. In this region the drainage is N.E. to the great Makarikari marsh and the Botletle, the river connecting the marsh with the Ngami system. In the south the drainage is towards the Orange. The Molopo and the Kuruman, which in their upper course in
