528 Transactions. 



No warbler was heard during February ; on the 2nd and 3rd March the 

 song was heard once, and again on the 10th, 11th, and 12th. On the 18th 

 the variation (29a) was heard — the first time the half-sharp was heard 

 during the year ; but again on the 13th July (29e) was heard, and (29f) 

 and (29g) on the 19th July. The differences in pitch were most notice- 

 able : (29f) was heard in the Botanical Gardens, (29g) in the Sydney Street 

 Cemetery. 



These differences in the type song, and in others, cannot at present be 

 explained by me, if any explanation be necessary. I think it very evident 

 that individual birds have individual songs ; and, again, that different 

 localities, and perhaps even different years, have different songs. The 

 difference in individual birds is comparable with a like characteristic in 

 human beings : in songs not sung from music all sorts of variations dis- 

 tinguish the rendering by various people of the same song ; and some, in 

 addition to other differences, sing flat or sharp. The type song is often 

 opened with a rambling theme of uncertain notes, which is not repeated 

 with the theme, and apparently forms no part of the song itself : this is 

 unhesitant and confident and clear. Such a rambling theme is given in 



(30) ; and when the soft intermediate notes are so soft as to be inaudible 

 the effect is veiy much as the rambling notes of (1). No. (30) was noted 

 on the 28th April, 1916. Following an opening similar to (29a), the theme 



(31) was sung on the 10th April, 1916, the rests being occasionally filled 

 with faint notes as in (31a). These faintly sounded notes produced another 

 result in (32), heard on the 18th April, 1916. At a distance this sounded 

 as written' — a long note followed by a higher soft staccato note. On Bear- 

 ing the bird, however, the long note, which should perhaps be a dotted 

 crotchet rather than a dotted minim, was resolved into triplets, as in (32a). 

 The high staccato note formed the third note of the second triplet, though 

 it sounded, like the introductory note of the following triplet. They were 

 very quickly uttered, the whole of (32) taking under two seconds — perhaps 

 nearer a second and a half. Another quickly uttered song is the unusual 

 one of (33), heard on the 1st June, 1916. The burden of this sounded very 

 like cheerily oh, ye oh ; but the " i " in the first ti ri are short, like the " % " 

 in "hit," the others like " ee," the Continental "i." The first eight notes, 

 including rest, occupied about a second, and the rest were taken at like 

 speed. It was an almost continuous strain, repeated, after the staccato 

 slur tiu, in irregular order, sometimes one of the pairs following the six 

 opening notes, sometimes two. It may be the vocalization of the staccato 

 slur that caused the apparent drop of an octave. It should be noted that 

 this drop at the finish is characteristic of Maori songs. The warbler notes 

 are often near vocalization, but this theme was exceptionally distinct. 



Another departure from the song common during the year was (34), 

 heard in Crieff Street on the 9th June, 1916. The theme, up to the double 

 bar, was repeated two or three times the first time sung, then once at inter- 

 vals, each time occupying about a second and a half. The bird was alone, 

 busily searching in a tree-lucerne for insects as it sang. The vocalization 

 of the deep note was distinct ; the others were softly warbled. No. (35) 

 was heard on the 28th October, 1915, the song being several repetitions of 

 this phrase ; (36) was heard at Pangatotara, Motueka Valley, on the 9th 

 January, 1916, the theme taking about two seconds, and being repeated 

 three times or more in succession. The descending triplets of (37) and its 

 variants were like a rapid vibrato, twelve notes in perhaps two seconds. 

 In (37) there were two birds, the male, presumably, singing. He was darker 

 than his mate, who flittered from branch to branch, lower in the tree, with 



