390 Trausacdojis. 



and closing of the mechanism of a musical box. This song lasted little 

 over a second; (47), almost like a quick jangle of bells, took under 

 2 seconds : the sequence of the notes constantly varied. The theme 

 of (48) was rather a bell-jangle than a bubbling song : the latter songs 

 are an octave above the former — so highly pitched, indeed, and so softly 

 uttered as to be inaudible to many human ears ; folk may see the bird throb- 

 bing in song, but hear no sound. When heard, it is of extraordinary beauty. 

 The song (49) was sung during flight. Whilst the notes constantly varied, 

 there is probably a definite number of themes ; for (48) was noted several 

 times, and other combinations became familiar ; indeed, it was only after 

 hearing a theme repeated that it acquired sufficient definiteness to be re- 

 corded. As beautiful as the theme (45) was another, (50), whose sounds 

 were easily vocalized Og iiaar hvn er naer os (And when she is near us), at 

 which point the tsrr switched off the secret, the song being continued even 

 more softly, allowing but an echo of its sweetness to be heard. 



A bright sunny da}^ on the 2nd January, 1913, warmed the tuis into 

 singing many charming bubbling songs. The bird that sang (51) sat with 

 his neck outstretched, moving his head from side to side : the sweet bubble 

 of the first three notes broadened to a most mellow soft bell sound on the 

 g and e ; the bubbling continued after the click, but I could not catch the 

 sequence. In (52) the last two notes, whilst bell-like, had a more nasal 

 sound, and the bird leaned forward, using more energy whilst giving utter- 

 ance to them. In the beautiful (53) there was a curious click up to the 

 tremolo a, and a similar upward click opened (54). In (55) the last note 

 sweetened and dwindled away into silence. One bird repeated (56) many 

 times, it being at times considerably louder than the bubbling song, especi- 

 ally as regards the first three notes, vocalized No doubt, dwelling on the 

 double vowel. The drop to e flat was a slur, as was the final rise to /. 

 There was yet more of (57), but it was sung so lightly that I could not dis- 

 tinguish the intervals. The last note of (58) was touched very lightly, and 

 was most staccato in effect. The opening note was extremely peculiar, and 

 was heard only on this day. It was like aah oo, breathed only, with a 

 vibrating iivula — exactly like a gargle, in fact, so that the bird's gargle 

 sweetened its throat for the song following. The beauty of the song was 

 greater than the beauty of the simile — so far as beauty is greater than 

 truth. These bubbling songs almost seemed beyond the bird's volition ; 

 they were like an escape, a running-over, from a full treasury of sound- 

 jewels. They were often followed by a sweet long-drawn cry on / (59). 

 The commonest songs were bell jangles and runnels : one would suppose the 

 bird to be " preparing " for singing, for he emitted more clicks, clacks, and 

 gurrs than musical notes, sounding like the snapping and intermittent 

 whirring of clockwork, as though his musical box had been undergoing 

 seasonal repairs, and was being tested as to its mechanism. 



The jangle (60) was usually heard just after the tui had settled from a 

 flight ; it was often confused from a beautiful jangle to an elfin juggle of 

 bells, when it was difficult to distinguish either pitch or interval, though the 

 last note was usually definite, often remarkably sweet, as containing the 

 concentrated essence of all preceding. The jangle (61) was very commonly 

 heard, the whole phrase lasting little over a second, all the notes being very 

 mellow and bell-like, the two lowest, on e, being more open and sweet ; the 

 second e was often d. The jangle was often confused by the introduction 

 of one or more light notes, as in (61 a) ; there were others introduced, but 

 I could not fix them with certainty. The jangle (62) lasted nearly 2 seconds. 



