120 Transactions. — Zoology. 



possession of and lays its eggs in the nest of the Tataeto hird, 

 sometimes called Tataeko, or Tataihore, the same as the Popo- 

 katea. or White-head. I have not seen the eggs of the 

 Koekoea, but I have seen the young Koekoea sitting together 

 with the young of the Tataeto on a branch just after they 

 could leave the nest, and being all fed alike by the Tataeto, 

 which would bring food, feed one after the other, and then fly 

 away to procure more food "(23a). Mr Eobert Eiddle, of 

 Orepuki, found the young Urochjiiamis in the nest of the 

 Yellow-headed Canary, and says that the young Canaries 

 were all ejected by the intruder(lOO). 



The following is an account of a young Cuckoo which had 

 probably just left the nest of the Canary, narrated by Mr. 

 McLean, of Te Tua : " My boy saw a Cuckoo dart several 

 times among a flock of Native Canary, but could not see if 

 any damage was done. The birds did not seem very much 

 afraid of the Cuckoo, but when he came among them they 

 would scatter, and then when he flew to another tree would 

 follow him, and when he uttered his call they also would 

 start chirping ; then a larger Cuckoo came and joined it, and 

 they both flew away a short distance." Mr., Westenra, of 

 Akaroa, found a nearly fledged Koekoea in the nest of the 

 Tomtit {Myiomoira macroccphnla)(23h) . 



Mr. Buckland informs me that the young Koekoea has 

 been seen calling for food, which was being brought regularly 

 to it by a Tomtit(236), and Mr. Potts records a case where 

 the duty of rearing the young of the Shining Cuckoo was in- 

 trusted to the same bird, Myiomoira viacrocephala{2Sc) , and 

 Captain Mair says that he has seen the Bell-bird [Anthornis 

 tnelaiivra) acting in the same kind capacity (24). It is pro- 

 bable that the Bell-bird is called upon to hatch the egg and 

 rear the young of the Kohoperoa, for one may often see the 

 latter bird chased and harried by the Bell-bird, each one giv- 

 ing vent to its rage in a brassy note, like " Peng, peng, peng," 

 frequently repeated, a series of notes or sounds never heard 

 from the Bell-bird or Mocker unless it is in a savage mood. 

 As to the nests of the two species of Myiomoira, they are as a 

 rule built on a solid foundation — on a rock, or on the side of 

 a tree, in the hollow of the broad-leaf {Griselinia Ivcida), or 

 in a large fork, and often close to the ground. These are 

 favourable conditions ; and another important point is that 

 these nests have fairly large-sized cavities, in which the 

 Cuckoo can easily lay or deposit its egg. I took an egg from 

 a nest in a manuka fork in Richardson's Gully, West 

 Taieri, some years ago. The nest was about 5 ft. from the 

 ground, cup-shaped, and built of moss and ribbonwood-bark, 

 and was extremely like that of the Tomtit {Myiomoira 

 viacroccjihala), but the only egg it contained was of a red 



