42 NEW ZEALAND BIllDS. 



capacious crop with fruit or l)crrics, it generally reposes on a thick 

 limb, with the tail drooping and half sjjread, the wings closely folded, 

 and the head drawn in; but on the slightest alarm it stretches up 

 its lustrous neck, and gently sways its head to and fro, uttering a 

 scarcely aiuliblc coo, slowly repeated. 



" In the spring and early summer it is generally veiy lean and 

 unfit for the table ; but, as autumn advances and its favourite berries 

 ripen, it rapidly improves in condition, till it becomes exceedingly fat. 

 It is esteemed most by amateurs when feeding on the mast of the 

 miro, which imparts a peculiar richness to the flesh. In January the 

 berries of the kohutuhutu, poroj)oro, kaiAviria, puriri, mangiao, and 

 tupakihi constitute its ordinary bill of fare. From February to April 

 their place is supplied by those of the tawa, matai, kahikatea, mapau, 

 titoki, and mairc. It is worth remarking that in localities where it 

 happens to be feeding exclusively on the pulpy fruit of the kahikatea 

 it is not only in very poor condition, but acquires a disagreeable 

 flavour from the turpentine contained in the seeds. Towards the 

 close of this period also, the ti-palm, which comes into full bearing 

 only at intervals of three or four years, occasionally supplies this bird 

 with an abundant feast. These tropical-looking palms often form 

 extensive groves in the open country or in swampy situations ; and 

 when the Pigeons resort to them they arc speared and snared in great 

 numbers by the Maoris, an expert hand sometimes taking as many as 

 sixty in a single day. In May and June it feeds chiefly on the miro 

 and pate, when it reaches its prime and is much sought after. From 

 July to September it lives almost entirely on taraire in the North, and 

 on hinau, kocka, ramarama, and other smaller berries in the South. 

 During the mouths of October, November, and December it is com- 

 pelled to subsist in a great measure iipou the green leaves of the 

 kowhai [Sophora tetraptera) , and of several creeping plants. It also 

 feeds on the tender shoots of the puwha, a kind of sow-thistle ; and 

 the flesh then partakes of the bitterness of that plant. When the 

 bird is feeding wholly on the dark berries of the wawao the colour of 

 its flesh is said to become affected by that of the food. 



" The Pigeon-season, however, is to some extent contingent on 

 locality : for example, in the spring of 1803, I found these birds in 

 the Upper ManaAvatu living on kowhai-leaves, and so lean in body as 

 to be scarcely worth powder and shot, while in the low-timbered flats 

 under the ranges, Avhere they were feeding on the ripe berries of the 

 karaka {Corynoccnpus hevirjata), they Averc in excellent condition." — 



BULLEH. 



