SCANSORES. 39 



their mode of locomotion is similar to that of the Kaka, consisting of 

 a hopping rather than a walking movement. In addition to the 

 mewing cry noticed by Mr. Potts^ the Kea ntters a sliort whistle, a 

 chnckle, and a suppressed scream, scarcely distinguishable from the 

 n'otes of the Kaka [Nestor meridionalis) ." — Buller. 



CUCULID^. Cuckoos. 



Bill, moderate, or slender, slightly curved; wings and tail, long. 



EuDTNAMis. Viff. and Horsf. 



Bill, strong, arched ; fourth quill the longest ; tail, very long. 

 Australia, Polynesia^ Indian Archipelago, India. 



50. Eudynamis taitensis. Spamn. 



LoNa-TAiLED Cuckoo. Koekoea. Kohepeeoa. 

 (Plate XVII.) 



Above, brown, banded and streaked with rufous ; below, white, with streaks of brown- 

 ish-black. 



Young. — Above, brown, spotted with fulvous-white ; below, rufous-white, streaked with 

 dark brown. 



L., 16'5 ; W., 7-75 ; B., 1-8 ; T., 1-3. 



Migratory ; leaves New Zealand in the winter. 



Hab. — Both Islands ; Friendly Islands, Society Islands, Marquesas Islands, Fiji Islands, 

 Samoa Island. 



" The Long-tailed Cuckoo, which is a native of the warm 

 islands of the South Pacific, visits our country in the summer and 

 breeds with us ; but the task of rearing its young is intrusted to the 

 Grey Warbler [Gerygone flaviveiitris) , ligured in our plate — a species 

 that performs the same friendly office for the Shining Cuckoo 



[Ch'Tj so coccyx lucidus), another summer visitant It 



begins to arrive about the second week in October, but it is not 

 numerous till the following month, when the pairing commences. It 

 is, however, somewhat irregularly dispersed over the country; for in 

 the far north it is at all times a very rare bird. In the southern 

 portion of the North Island, and throughout the wooded parts of the 

 South Island, it is comparatively common. It is seminocturnal in 

 its habits, and its long, shrill cry at night is generally the first inti- 

 mation we get that it has arrived in the land. It appears to be most 

 plentiful in November and December, becoming scarcer in January 

 and disappearing altogether by the end of February. 



" In the early dawn, and during the cool hours of the morning, 

 the Long-tailed Cuckoo resorts to the low underwood and brushes ; 

 but, although its cry may be frequently heard, it is not easy to find 

 the bird, inasmuch as the sound, though produced within a few yards 

 of the listener, has the effect on the ear of one coming from a remote 



