24 Transactions. — Zoology. 



into the water. I was surprised to see the assailant settle 

 down in the water and lift up the Tern, flying off with it 

 about 200 yards, when it was dropped. I pulled up, and on 

 my approach the large bird flew away. The Tern was quite 

 helpless when I picked it up, but came to later on ; however, 

 it died next morning. I think the bird that struck it was a 

 Skua-gull, but of this I am not certain." Probably the larger 

 form, Stercorarius a?itarcticus. 



I have recorded several instances of the occurrence of this 

 species in Wellington Harbour. The last specimen that came 

 under my notice (an adult bird) was taken on the Wairarapa* 

 Lake. 



Sterna nereis, Gould. (Little White Tern.) 



A pair of this somewhat rare species frequents the Papai- 

 tonga Lake, but only in rough weather. In January I saw a 

 pair at the W^airoa Heads. They were fishing in roughish 

 water, and very near the surface. This bird does not appear 

 to be gregarious like the other members of the genus. I have 

 never seen more than a pair together. 



Notornis hochstetteri, Meyer. (The Moho, or Takahe.j 



1 have already dwelt upon the recent capture of Notornis 

 as an event of exceptional interest. It is curious to find the 

 following reference to its haunts in Canon Stack's history of 

 the now extinct Ngatimamoe Tribe of Maoris : " A party 

 [of Ngaitahu] had been sent from Pukekura to Eauone to 

 collect fern-root. One of them, Tane-toro-tika, the son of 

 Taoka and grandson of Mauawa, a young chief of very high 

 rank, was surprised and taken prisoner. On being carried 

 to the presence of Te Maui, that chief, seeing him, said, ' This 

 comb-fastening is equal to that comb-fastening,' meaning that 

 the captive's rank corresponded to that of the chief whose 

 remains had been desecrated, and thereupon killed him. 

 Taikawa, a Ngaitahu warrior, immediately after the deed, came 

 upon the band of Ngatimamoe, and asked them what had 

 become of their prisoner. When told that they had killed 

 him, he said, 'You have done foolishly, for not a soul of you 

 will now be spared. You will be banished to the haunts of 

 the Moho (Notornis), and in the depths of the forest will be 

 your only place of safety.'" Taikawa's words w^ere prophetic, 

 for, notwithstanding the persistent rumours of wild men in 

 the woods of the West Coast, the capture of a Ngatimamoe 

 would be a greater event even than the killing of a Notornis. 



Rallus philippensis, Linn. (Banded Rail.) 



During my last visit to Fiji, when out shooting on the 

 Island of Wakaya, I heard the unmistakable note of this 



