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An examination was made of the contents of 298 pukeko gizzards collected between February 1963 and August 1964. Specimens were from Rotorua, Canterbury and Nelson-West Coast. Food consisted almost exclusively of plant material, most important in all three districts being grasses and sedges. Predominant grasses were Poa spp., Glyceria spp. and Anthoxanthum odoratum; sedges, Scirpus spp., Eleocharis spp. and Carex spp. All parts of these plants were eaten. Leaves of clover (Trifolium spp.), seeds of dock and sorrel (Rumex spp.), seeds of willow-weed (Polygonum spp.) and seed-heads of rush (Juncus spp.) were also frequently taken. Animal material was sparse. Spiders (Arachnida), beetles (Coleoptera), flies (Diptera) and other insects predominated. Earthworms (Annelida), peripatus (Peripatus novaezealandiae), wood-lice (Isopoda) and fragments of lizard and bird bones were occasionally found. Although grit occurred at all times, a greater weight was taken in winter and early spring.