Buller. — On the Ornithology of New Zealand. 113 



crocorax novce-hollandice) perched on the naked branches of a 

 lofty matai near the edge of the lake, looking very fine as 

 they balanced their bodies against the blue sky beyond. 

 Presently a Harrier appeared in sight, and, without a mo- 

 ment's hesitation, swooped down on the group of Shags, and 

 they, much to my surprise, instead of showing fight, made 

 precipitately for the water. On another occasion one of these 

 hawks made a determined attack on a flock of Black Teal 

 (Fuligula novcB-zealandice) well out on the lake. The ducks 

 splashed and dived, and evinced every sign of terror, and the 

 assailant kept up the pursuit for fully half an hour, but 

 without effect. 



Apart from these depredations, I have reason to fear that 

 these hawks have been interfering with the Mallards and 

 other English birds recently placed by me on the Papaitonga 

 Lake. 



Harpa ferox, Peale. (Bush-hawk.) 



At Waipuna, in Hawke's Bay, I saw, on the 17th March, 

 a young Bush Hawk boldly attack a litter of kittens, whilst 

 actually under the protection of the maternal cat ! It seized 

 one of them and lifted it some feet in the air. The quarry 

 managed, however, to disengage itself and dropped to the 

 ground. The hawk, which, from its size, I took to be a 

 female, then settled on the dry limb of a tree close by, ap- 

 parently to await another opportunity ; and there we left her, 

 balancing her body in an almost horizontal position, and loom- 

 ing large against the clear blue sky beyond. 



Harpa novse-zealandiae. (Quail-hawk.) 



The egg of this species is a very pretty object. I have now 

 four specimens before me. They are of uniform size, and 

 broadly ovoido-conical, measuring 2in. by l-4in. Pale-brown, 

 richly splashed and spotted over the entire surface with red- 

 dish-brown, especially at the larger end, where there is a 

 mixture of blackish-brown with the brighter colour. 



*& j 



Carpophaga novse-zealandise, Gmelin. (Wood-pigeon.) 



It is very regrettable to see how scarce this fine Wood- 

 pigeon is becoming in all the settled districts. Even as late 

 as 1880 it was extremely abundant in the Forty-mile Bush. 

 I find the following entry in my diary for April of that 

 year :— 



The Pigeon is now feeding on koroi, the small red berry 

 of the kahikatea, which is exceptionally abundant this year, 

 the trees by the roadside as we passed through the Forty-mile 

 Bush having a russet hue from the abundance of the ripe 

 fruit. The miro berry comes in next month, and the whanake 

 8 



