666 



Trmisactions. 



I still found the notes of the bell-bird the most difficult of all to catch, 

 chiefly because they are so quickly uttered that I lost the first note by the 

 time the last was somided, and also because the pitch varies so consider 

 ably. The following songs were repeated at intervals on the 25th De- 

 cember ; it occupied little, if anything, over a second in utterance : — 



Ti'u fin ee aw aw 



No. (8) was a very cheery song ; and it is, like most of the notes of the bell- 

 bird, much nearer a whistle than the bell-like notes of the tui ; indeed, so 

 far as I have heard, it is the tui that should be called the bell-bird. 



'^ T/au €• iiou e aw 



In this song (9), there may be a drop to the h as there is to the h of (7) ; 

 I could not distinguish for certain. As may be seen by the vocalization, 

 however, the h of the two songs has each a different quality, the latter being 

 much richer : whilst (7) is a whistle, (9) has more of a mellow flute sound ; 

 and the prolonged final d has certainly the suggestion of a sweet bell. 



On this day, the 25th December, 1910, I heard a duet between a tui 

 and a bell-bird. They sat in the same tree, a totara. The tui would beat 

 his four or five bell notes, when the bell-bird would at once start the 

 phrase (9), the aurr aurr of the tui forming the undersong. Sometimes 

 the bell-bird allowed the aurr aurr to go unaccompanied. 



On the next day I heard a variation of No. (6) : — 



Tju fiueehiiuf/ueeh CO 



This variation (10) occupied a second and a half, perhaps less, in utterance. 

 No. (11) introduces a very high note. 



On the 28th December I heard a variation of (5), the twilight call to 

 rest. Two or more birds joined, the combined chorus making a great 

 noise. The sound was somewhat like the rapid unwinding of a fishing- 

 reel. The variation runs as follows : — 



gva.. 



After hearing this call I left the darkening depths and sat at the edge 

 of the bush to hear the last sounds. On most evenings the thrush was 



