6 WL-EX^, Bush-Birds of New Zealand. [,st^'"iui- 



but little fruit on the miro, which, like many New Zealand trees, 

 only bears to advantage every third or fourth year ; and the birds 

 soon became scarce after that year's exceptionally heavy crop 

 of tawa was exhausted, towards the end of May. However, 

 although a poor fruiting season with the tawa, there was a 

 splendid crop of miro in the following year on the southern 

 spurs, and the Pigeons remained much longer with us in that 

 year. In early winter these two trees supply the favourite food 

 of the Pigeon in the heavy bush, and, naturally, the bird was 

 most plentiful wherever these trees were to be found. They 

 became scarcer in July, after which month hardly a bird was to 

 be seen in 1906, but in the following year a good many remained 

 and found a little fruit in that month upon a scanty crop of hinau 

 [ElcBOcarpus dentaius), karamu (Coprosmn grandifolia), supple- 

 jack-vine {Ripogoniim scandens), pigeon-wood {Hedycarya arborea), 

 and five-finger — the latter lasting into August ; but fruit was 

 now scarce, and the greater part of the Pigeons' food, from early 

 July to October, consisted of the leaves of the rope- vine {Parsonsia 

 capsularis) and of the wineberry, and odd birds were frequently 

 disturbed from among the branches of the latter tree. They were 

 then too poor and bitter to be worth shooting. Twos and threes 

 were occasionally flushed from the ground in the bush during 

 August and September, and in October were observed on the grass 

 of six-year-old country. What they were feeding on in these 

 situations I cannot say. One was picked up dead on 20th 

 September, 1907, some distance from the standing bush, and its 

 crop contained a mass of leaves of the wineberry and rope-vine, 

 together with shoots and leaves of the kowhai. It was dreadfully 

 poor, and I fancy had died of starvation, as I could, after a 

 thorough examination, detect no signs of violence whatever. 

 Many, however, took advantage of the rape crop next the standing 

 bush, upon the leaves of which they fed until it was eaten off by 

 the sheep at the end of September ; and this, no doubt, was one 

 reason for so many remaining here in 1907. Odd birds could be 

 seen on the rape all through the winter, but were far more 

 numerous there in August and September than in the preceding 

 months ; and on loth August, 1907, I have a note of seeing 12 

 birds, which were then in pairs, about the "burn." 



In May of 1906 there were several patches of tawa and miro 

 much favoured by the Pigeons, and which we occasionally 

 visited ; but only a few (12 on 2nd May) would be obtained, as, 

 although there would be quite a humming in the tops of these 

 trees as the birds fluttered from branch to branch or were dis- 

 turbed by the Bush-Hawks, it was very difficult to obtain a 

 sight of a bird, on account of the dense foliage overhead. The 

 Pigeon is very wasteful, and on these occasions the sound of 

 falling fruit was continuous, while the soft " Kuti " of settled 

 birds could be heard all round. Later on, at the end of the 

 month, good shooting was obtained in the mornings, as the birds 

 flew through the clearing on the saddle, where our camj) was 



