326 Transactions. — Zoology. 



may here mention that I saw a young man some time 

 ago that had been bitten by one of the common Wetas 

 inhabiting the lowlands. He was bitten in the wrist, 

 and he had an awful arm ; indeed, the pain nearly drove 

 him mad. My captive Weta would eat nuts, and occasionally 

 a little bark ; but I could never induce him to eat by day. 

 Although nocturnal in his habits, he could apparently see 

 perfectly well in the daylight. He generally remained in a 

 fiat position, quite motionless, and looking gravely out of his. 

 glass house at the ways and doings of man." 



Art. XXXI. — Notes on. New Zealand Ormthology, with an 

 Exhibition of Specimens. 



By Sir Walter L. Buller, K.C.M.G., D.Sc, F.K.S. 



\_Read before the Wellington PJiilosophical Society, 21st August, 1895.] 



On the last occasion that I had the pleasure of bringing before 

 you a budget of ornithological notes I took the opportunity 

 in the course of my introductory remarks to refer to the wise 

 action of the Government in setting apart two islands — the 

 Little Barrier at the North and Eesolution Island in the 

 South — as permanent reserves for the conservation of the 

 indigenous fauna and flora, and I mentioned that this prac- 

 tical step on the part of our rulers in furtherance of natural 

 science had been the subject of comment and praise all over 

 the world. It will, I am sure, be as gratifying to you as it 

 was to myself to learn that the Minister of Lands has decided 

 on acquiring, for a similar purpose, the freehold of the Island 

 of Kapiti, in Cook Strait. This island, containing an area of 

 about 5,000 acres, is in every respect most suitable ; so much 

 so that, many years ago, Sir George Grey, before he purchased 

 the Island of Kawau, made inquiries as to the possibility of 

 acquiring Kapiti as an island sanctum for himself, where he 

 could carry on without interruption the work of acclimatisa- 

 tion upon which he had set his heart. Much of the bush on 

 the island is of exquisite beauty, and the surface is sufficiently 

 diversified to insure the successful cultivation of all our native 

 trees and shrubs. Three species of birds — the Wood-robin, 

 the Korimako, and the Whitehead — which are now practically 

 extinct on the mainland, still have their refuge on Kapiti ; 

 and Captain Eoss, who has hitherto been occupying the 

 greater portion of the open land as a sheep-run, has been 



