8 NEW ZEALAND BIRDS. 



8. Halcyon vagans. Lesson. 



Kingfisher. Eotare. 

 (Plate III.) 



Top of head and upper part of back, dark green ; lower back, bright greenish -blue ; 

 wings and tail, dark blue ; iinder-parts, and a broad collar round the neck, bufly white. 



Young. — Above, dark brown, with a few white feathers on the back of the neck ; wing- 

 coverts tipped with buff, and some of the breast feathers sliglitlj niargiucd with brown. 



L., 97 ; W., 4 ; B., 225 ; T., 6. 



Egg. — Oval ; white ; length, 1"15 ; breadth, "9. 



Sal. — Both Islands, and Chatham Islands. 



" It is very generally dispersed, being met with in all suitable locali- 

 tie.s. It frequents alike the sea-shore, the open country, forest-elearings, 

 and the banks of fresh-water streams. It is, moreover, one of those 

 birds that seem instinctively to resort to the halntations of man ; and 

 instead of, like many other indigenous species, decreasing, it thrives 

 and multiplies under the altered physical conditions resulting from 

 the colonization of the country. It seeks out the new home of the 

 settler, and becomes the familiar ' companion of his solitude.' 

 During the winter months, especially, it resorts to cultivated grounds 

 in quest of grubs and worms, which at this season constitute its 

 principal food. In the early morn it may be seen perched on the 

 fences, gateways, and outbuildings of the farmyard, sitting upright 

 with contracted neck, looking stiff and rigid in the cold frosty air ; 

 and as the day advances it enlivens the landscape by its darting 

 flight, while it attracts notice by its shrill, quickly-repeated call, 

 which is not unlike the, note of the European Kestrel. In the 

 pairing-season this species becomes very noisy and lively, the mated 

 birds chasing each other in amorous play from tree to tree or from 

 post to post Avith loud unmusical cries, something like the syllables 

 cree-cree-cree uttered in quick succession. They breed late in the 

 year ; the brood numbers five or six ; and for several weeks after 

 quitting the nest the young family keep together. This will proba- 

 bly account for the abundance of Kingfishers in the autumn months, 

 which has been regarded by some as indicating a seasonal migration." 



BULLEU. 



MELIPHAGIDyE. Honet-eateks. 



Bill, rather long, and curved ; nostrils covered by a membranous scale ; tongue, exten- 

 sile, furnished at the tip with a bunch of fdaments ; tarsi, rather short j hind toe, long. 



POGONORNIS. Graij. 



Fourth and fifth quills equal, and longest ; second, similar in shape to third ; tail, 

 emargiuate. 



New Zealand only. 



