40 NEW ZEALAND BIRDS. 



distance. This species, in fact, appears, like some others of the same 

 family, to be endowed with a natural ventriloquism, and its appa- 

 rently far-off cry is often very deceptive. 



" While searching for his food the Koheperoa moves about with 

 much activity ; but as soon as the sun is up he betakes himself to the 

 top branches of a kahikatea or other lofty tree, where he remains 

 closely concealed till sunset. He continues to utter, at intervals of 

 ten or fifteen minutes, his jjrolonged shrill note (quite distinct from 

 all other sounds of the forest, and very pleasant to hear) till about 

 noon, when he remains perfectly silent for two hours or more. As 

 soon, however, as the heat of the day is over, he resumes his cry, and 

 shortly afterwards leaves his retreat to hunt for food again. During 

 the quiet summer nights, too, his note may be heard at intervals till 

 break of day. 



" This species is more predatory in its habits than is usual with 

 the members of this group. Lizards and large insects form its 

 principal diet ; but it also plunders the nests of other birds, devouring 

 alike the eggs and young." — Buller. 



CnETSococcTX. Boie. 



Bill, broad, curved ; third quill the longest ; tail, rounded ; tarsi, short, feathered 

 below the knee. 



The -warmer portions of the Old World. 



51. Chrysocoecyx lucidus. Gml. 



Shining Cuckoo. Whistler. Pipiwakauroa. 



Above, shining bronzy-green ; below, white, barred with bronzy-brown ; outer tail- 

 feathers burred with white, and the second with rufous. 



L., 7; W., 4-25; E., 7; T., -75. 



Egg- — Brownish-olive ; length, '75 ; breadth, '5. 



Hah. — Australiii, Tasmania, New Caledonia, Java, Sumatra. Migratory; leaves New 

 Zealand in the winter. 



"The Shining Cuckoo is an inhabitant of Australia, and appears 

 in New Zealand only as a summer migrant. Its cry is always 

 welcomed by the colonists as the harbinger of spring ; and during its 

 short stay with us its SAveet but plaintive notes may be heard in every 

 grove throughout the long summer days. It makes its appearance, 

 year after year, A\ith surprising punctuality, arriving first in the 

 extreme north, and about a fortnight later spreading all over the 

 country. A correspondent informs mc that for three successive years, 

 at Whangarei (north of Auckland), he first heard its familiar note on 

 the 21st September, and that on one occasion he noticed it as early 

 as the 3rd of that month. Another correspondent, in the same 

 locality, informs me, as the result of twelve years' careful observation, 

 that this migrant invariably appears between the 17th and 21st of 



