^"1;.^'] M'Lean, Bush-Birds of New Zealand. 67 



lioii 1)1 roUiu,!,'- stuin()S and lo^^s. Tlicy li'cd on \-ai-ioiis busli- 

 Iriuts, and when on the mn'o then' l.)ills bccunic tiuitc sticky with 

 the gum. But, besides these foods, the Kaka is fond of visiting 

 the flowers of certain trees, and with its brush-tipped tongue sip- 

 ping the nectar. When feeding, besides their soft whisthngs, a low 

 musical " Karrunk " is frequently audible ; but when the cry 

 becomes harsher a change for the worse in the weather can 

 almost be relied upon. The harsh scream, " Karrunk " (which 

 resembles the sound produced by scratching with a piece of iron 

 upon the striking surface of a tin matchbox), was always much 

 in evidence l)efore a southerly, and all would prepare to leave 

 this high ridge some hours before the storm arrived. Then four 

 or five birds might be seen to collect on some outstanding tree, 

 all facing the direction they intended to take. After much 

 calling and several short, wheeling flights out and back to their 

 starting-point, they would at last start off together, and with 

 discordant cries — as if to warn their fellows — wing their way to 

 a place of shelter, often some miles away. 



In the winter Kakas, in parties of two to five, may be seen at 

 times in the open country making their way high in the air, and 

 with harsh cries, to fresh feeding quarters. They have been 

 known to visit the flowering blue gums (eucalypts, introduced from 

 Australia) of the more settled parts, but such is by no means a 

 common practice. 



Chalcococcyx lucidus — Shining Cuckoo. 



l)uller, " Birds of New Zealand " (2nd edition), vol. i., p. 130. 



The Shining Cuckoo, which is supposed to winter in New 

 Guinea,* comes each summer to New Zealand to breed. In 

 IQ06 it was heard at 6 a.m. on 6th October, and on 8th October 

 in the following year, but was not often observed or heard about 

 this bush. Whenever seen, my attention had been called to it 

 by the behaviour of the smaller birds, by whom it was not 

 regarded with much favour. Unlike the Long-tailed Cuckoo 

 {Eiidynamis taitcnsis), it does not seek the shade, but rather ex- 

 poses itself at times in the sun, when the Tui and Bell-Bird 

 notice it and keep it fairly well on the move. In the open country, 

 however, it seems to fare far better, and is there more plentiful, 

 being found in the patches of sheltered bush and scrub, where 

 it makes use, as a rule, of the pensile nest of the Warbler {Pseudo- 

 geryi^one flamventris) in which to deposit its egg, and to whose 

 care it entrusts the rearing of its young. The bushmen called it 

 the " Zebra-Bird," because of the striped markings of the under 

 surface. It is to be seen also in the gardens of the settlers near 



* The expedition which the British Ornithologists' I'nion kitely despatched 

 to the Charles Louis ^Mountains, in Dutch New Guinea, will probably confirm 

 this supposition. — J. C. ML. [It possibly comes down the north-eastern 

 coast of Australia before diverging towards New Zealand. The expedition of 

 the R.A.O.U. observed these Bronze-Cuckoos on the Capricorn Islands, at 

 the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef, October, 19 10 — Emu, vol. x., 

 p. 197. — Eds.] 



