THE GREY WARBLER 75 



repeated six or seven times in succession ; but the bird often 

 stops abruptly in its overture to introduce a variety of other 

 notes, one of which is a peculiar rattling sound, accompanied 

 by the spreading of the tail, and, apparentl^y, expressive of 

 ecstacy. Its most common ]\Iaori name is piopio, which has been 

 given to it on account of its peculiar whistle. The northern and 

 southern species are confined to their respective islands. Nests 

 belonging to the latter are displayed in the Canterbury Museum. 

 One was obtained close to the Waio River, in West land, and is 

 loosely made of dry twigs, pieces of bark, moss, and grass. It was 

 constructed in the fork of a tree. 



Family Sylviidae. 

 Small birds with a slender bill, shorter than the head; the 

 mouth bristly, and the nostrils exposed. Wing with ten 

 primaries, the first about half the length of the second. Tarsi 

 booted ; that is, there are no divisions on the front surface. 

 Distribution universal, but especially common in the eastern 

 hemisphere. 



Key to the Genera. 



1. Tail nearly as long as the wing. Pseudogerygone. 

 Tail much shorter than the wing. _ 2 



2. Second primary feather longer than the secondaries. Petroeca. 

 Second primary about equal to the secondaries. Miro. 



Genus Pseudogerygone. 

 Tail nearly as long as the wing, rounded. Second primary 

 about equal to the secondaries. Tarsi moderate, longer than the 

 middle toe. Australia and New Guinea to New Zealand. 



The Grey Warbler. — Riro-riro and Horirerire. 



Pseudogerygone igata. 

 Above, greyish olive; throat and breast grey, abdomen white, 

 tinged with yellow on the abdomen. Tail black, with a white spot 

 near the tip of the lateral feathers. Eye red. The sexes are alike, but 

 in the young there is no yellow on the lower surface. Length of the wing, 

 2 in.; of the tarsus, 0.75 in. Egg — White, or pinkish spotted with red, 

 principally at the larger end; occasionally pure white. Both islands of 

 JSTew Zealand. 



