222 Transactions. 



by tkis interesting parrot. In 1913 a very handsome variety was shot in 

 Stewart Island. The specimen, which is now in the Southland Musemn, 

 has the forehead dull leaden grey ; the crown and nape are scarlet, each 

 feather being tipped with olive-brown ; the feathers of the neck and pectoral 

 band are broadly margined with yellow ; the back and scapulars are scarlet, 

 with crescentic olive-brown marks ; the wings are scarlet mixed with olive, 

 the primaries being olive-grey ; the rump and upper tail-coverts are 

 scarlet ; the tail-feathers are dark olive, basal half pale scarlet, tips olive- 

 grey ; the ear-coverts are faintly yellow ; the lores, cheeks, and throat 

 are dark olive, the cheek-feathers being centred with pink ; the breast is 

 scarlet mixed with olive, the flanks, abdomen, and under tail-coverts being 

 almost wholly scarlet. 



CACATUIDAE. 

 Parrakeets {Cyanorhampfms). 



The three species of Cyanorhamphus which were once so common in 

 Otago are now seldom seen or heard in any of the smaller forests. Cyano- 

 rhamphus malherhi Souance, which was never so abundant as the other two, 

 is in all probability extinct, but the red-fronted and yellow-fronted species 

 still occur far back in the great timbered areas. It is very noticeable that 

 these remaining birds are much more timid than the parrakeets of the 

 early days. They seem to frequent the tall trees only, and are much more 

 often heard than seen. Between thirty and forty years ago the parrakeet 

 fed freely on the low berry-bearing shrubs, and frequently hunted about 

 on the ground for fallen seeds. They were so tame that a boy with a 

 " shanghai " could soon make a fair bag ; but now it would be difficult 

 to get within gun range. Possibly this acquired timidity will prove the 

 salvation of the species. Two specimens of C. malherhi are in the collection 

 of the Southland Museum, and the yellow varieties of C. novaezelandiae 

 novaezelandiae and C. auriceps auriceps referred to by Sir Walter Buller 

 {Trans. N.Z. Inst., vol. 29, p. 188) are also still in good condition. 



TRERONIDAE. 



Woou-PIGEON {Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae novaeseelandiae Gmelin). 



The pigeon is still plentiful except near settlement. Orchards near the 

 Titiroa Forest are visited when the cherries are ripe, and such large birds 

 exact a heavy toll upon the owners of the trees. In the open glades on the 

 Hunter Mountains above 3,000 ft. I found this beautiful bird feeding on 

 the berries of Coprosma rugosa. In fine weather they appear to feed in the 

 morning and evening, and to rest in the shade during the hottest part of 

 the day. 



RALLIDAE. 



Black Weka {Gallirallus hrachypterus Lafresnaye). 



It is pleasant to be able to record the fact that the black weka is 

 undoubtedly becoming more plentiful in the Fiord County forest. While 

 gold-mining operations were being carried on at Preservation Inlet, with 

 the attendant traffic along the Orepuki-Preservation track, the weka 

 naturally became scarce in that locality. Many were killed for food, and 

 many more were destroyed needlessly by the miners' dogs. In 1911, by 



