172 Mr. S. A. Lawrence and Mr. R. T. Littlejohns,



for a considerable time longer, the bird did not again return, and we

were rather concerned as to whether w 7 e had caused her to desert.

The male appeared to take no part in the nest-building, but confined

his attention to clearing his domain of feathered intruders.


It was not till 22nd October that we were again able to visit

the hill. We were relieved to find that the nest had survived the

severe gales which had been experienced in the interim, and that

three young birds had been batched some few days before. In the

short period available for observation on this occasion, the female

made several visits with food at intervals of, roughly, two minutes.

She invariably flew into the sapling a few 7 feet above it before cling¬

ing to the front of the nest to feed the young. As we were only a

short distance away, we were able to see that the food consisted of

insects only. The male was not seen at all, and the wariness of

the female did not leave us very hopeful as to the possibility of

obtaining photographs. A few days later we were early on the spot,

provided with fencing rail and string for the erection of a staging on

which to set the camera. The primitive nature of this structure

appeared rather to amuse Mr. Charles Barrett, w T ho arrived later in

the day. However, it served its purpose, and eventually we had the

cameras focussed on the nest. As we had expected, the birds were

somewhat alarmed, and, though the female several times came to

within a couple of feet of the nest, a few hours elapsed ere it sum¬

moned sufficient courage to brave the camera. When it had satisfied

itself, after a great deal of hovering and hesitation, that the strange-

looking object w T as harmless, the bird finally clung to the front of the

nest in the desired position. Our difficulties, however, were not

even now at an end, as, although, from this onwards, the female

visited the nest frequently, her lightning-like movements prevented

us from making a satisfactory exposure. On her arrival, she fed

the young with her head inside the nest, and left immediately.


We had to resort to a plan usually adopted by us in the case

of closed nests. The opening was blocked up with a piece of paper,

thus preventing the young birds being fed. The parent was so taken

aback on her return that she remained for several seconds in a suit¬

able position. She did not at all appreciate the altered aspect of

her home, and clung to the front, scolding harshly. Mr. Barrett



