Pycroft. — On Birds of the Bay of Islaiids. 141 



Art. XVI. — Birds of the Bay of Islands. 



By a. T. Pycroft. 



[Read before the Auckland Institute, 10th October, 1898.'] 



The Bay of Islands district, although the cradle of settlement 

 in New Zealand, has not made much progress. This is owing 

 to the broken nature of the country and the poor quality of 

 the land ; but these drawbacks have been the means of pre- 

 serving many of the birds. If the land were good the bush — 

 which is now slowly disappearing before axe and fire — would 

 long ago have been a thing of the past, and some of the birds 

 which are plentiful would be very rare, if not extinct. Old 

 settlers tell me that the bell-bird, North Island robin, saddle- 

 back, and yellow-head were plentiful in the early days of the 

 settlement. They have now totally disappeared, not only here 

 but throughout the North. I have collected during the last 

 three years nearly all of the forty-five species mentioned 

 below. 



1. Glaucopis ■wilsoni. (Blue- wattled Crow.) 



Eare. I have spent many days searching for this bird, 

 and, although I have skinned several which were obtained for 

 me at Okaihau and Puhipuhi, I have seen none alive. 



2. Myiomoira toitoi. (North Island Tomtit.) 



Eare. Once during a trip to Puhipuhi I shot two. The 

 old natives, to whom I showed the bird on my return, recog- 

 nised it, but the young natives said it was a " pakeha tua- 

 uru." 



3. Gerygone flaviventris. (Grey Warbler.) 



Very plentiful. 



4. Sphenoeacus punctatus, (Fern-bird.) 



Common. I have spent many days collecting this bird, 

 which is common in most of the swamps, and when the swamp 

 is not too wet the bird can easily be run down by two or three, 

 but often, when hard pressed, it leaves the swamp and takes 

 to the tall fern and tea-tree; then the task is almost hopeless. 

 After several days' search in a swamp two miles from Opua I 

 obtained its nest and two eggs. 



5. Anthus novae-zealandiae. (New Zealand Pipit.) 



. Very common. A gentleman at Waitangi possesses the 

 skin of a perfeci albino. 



