THE CHATHAM ISLAND WARBLER 



77 



It is the most active, lively, and industrious of all our birds. 

 Its sweet notes and merry song are heard all day long, as it flits 

 from branch to branch. In warbling its welcome notes, it often 

 spreads its white-tipped tail so as to form a fan. It is one of the 

 earliest breeders. Its pensile nest, which is a wonderful struc- 

 ture, is dome-shajjed or pear- 

 shaped, and may often be found 

 in August hanging in bushy 

 manuka or olearia. The nest is 

 suspended by its top, and is kept 

 from swaying in the breeze by 

 slight fastenings to a spray or 

 two, which act as guys. Moss, and 

 occasionally wool, are largely used 

 for building material, whicli is 

 sometimes bound into a compact 

 form by cobweb. Poultry-feathers, 

 down, pieces of string, and cotton 

 are also used when available. 

 There is a small entrance near 

 the middle, surmounted with a 

 kind of porch. The interior is 

 thickly lined with feathers. In 

 some instances, the nest is built 

 without either dome or porch, and, 

 if the site chosen calls for a change 

 in the principle of construction, Mr. Potts says, the nest is 

 not suspended. There are generally five or six eggs in the 

 nest. The breeding season commences early, and extends 

 through the summer. 



Nest of Chatham Island Warbler. 



The Chatham Island Warbler. 



Pseudogcrygone albofrontafa. 



This bird differs from the previous oue in having the forehead and 

 throat white. Eye light red. Length of the wing, 2.6 in.; of the 

 tarsus, 0.9 in.; Chatham Islands. Egg — Pinkish white, with numerous 

 red spots and lines. Length, 0.74 in. 



