136 Transactions. — Zoology. 



saw the bird on the 20th and 25th October and subsequently 

 in the bush at Newington, Dunedin. Eeischek found them 

 oti the Barriers in November(55) ; and Mr. Byers, of Stirhug, 

 Otago, who has for years noted their arrival carefully, finds 

 that they invariably come to his locality from the 5th to the 

 7th November(56&). That they keep on arriving from the 

 north-east until about the end of November is shown by the 

 fact of one being caught on the lighthouse at Cape Maria 

 van Diemen at 5 in the afternoon of the 28th of that month. 

 There was a strong easterly gale blowing at the time, and 

 the barometer registered 29-83 in., the thermometer 63° Fahr. 

 The bird was exhausted and quiet, but its plumage was fi'esh 

 and not in any way draggled or weather-beaten(108). On the 

 4th December four female birds made their appearance on the 

 lighthouse. They remained three days. The wind was light 

 easterly; barometer 29-65 in., thermometer 65°. I have only 

 noted the dates on which the birds were actually seen. I 

 have numbers of references to their having been Jieard on 

 various dates, from the 3rd September at Queenstown, the 

 4th at Winton, the 13th at Akaroa, the 28th at Te Kumu(109), 

 onwards to the end of October at Waiau, Southland, and 

 elsewhere ; but as there is a possible doubt as to the accu- 

 racy of some of these reports I have relied on eye-witnesses 

 alone. I heard -what I took to be the call of the Cuckoo in the 

 gum-trees opposite the University at 9 p.m. on the 19th 

 October, and saw the bird next morning for the first time 

 this year at Ne-wington. Numerous other notes as to its 

 arrival can be found in the pages of the " Transactions of the 

 New Zealand Institute," and they all point to the advent of 

 this mysterious bird from the north-east, probably in small 

 parties and generally at night. I do not think it is yet clear 

 that they always come gradually along the Islands from the 

 extreme north, for they arrive suddenly at points so widely 

 separated from each other that it is hard to account for this 

 other than by the assumption that they come down in streams 

 from the north-east and hit the coast-line of New Zealand 

 at various places at about the same time. Mr. Witherby 

 says, '• On bright nights undoubtedly most migrating birds 

 fly at a great height and pass over the lighthouses without 

 being attracted by the light. It is on dark and especially 

 misty nights that they come nearer to the earth and dash 

 themselves against the lanterns. Birds run great and varied 

 risks during their migration, and mucii mortality is the result. 

 At the end of a long flight across the ocean they often en- 

 counter bad weather and heavy advei'se winds, and many on 

 such occasions become so fatigued that they never reacli the 

 land "(58). The Kohopcroa, having accomplished its spring 

 migration, is fairly plentiful in most parts of the southern 



