THE NORTH ISLAND WOOD ROBIN 



83 



accommodation of at most four nestlings. Tlie nest is often 

 placed amongst the roots of a large tree near a creek, on a 

 mossy protuberan'ie on a rugged stem, or it may neatly fill a 

 hollow, matching so well the moss-tinted russet brown bark, with 

 its cleverly selected materials, that it is difficult for the eye to 

 detect the bird's home. 



Nest of South Island Wood Robin. 



The North Island Wood Robin. — Toutouwai. 

 Miro austraUs. 

 Greyish black, with a small white spot over the bill, and a baud of 

 white on the breast and abdomen; the shafts of the feathers greyish 

 white; legs and feet pale brown, the soles yellow. Eye black. Length 

 of the wing 3.7 in.; of the tarsus, 1.4 in. The female and young 

 resemble those of the last species, but they can be distinguished by 

 the lighter colour of the legs and feet. Egg — Dull white, with purplish 

 brown spots, which generally form a circle round the thick end. 

 Length, 0.95 in. 



The North Island robin is one of the birds that have decreased 

 largely in the north. I had a brief acquaintance with this bird 

 on the Little Barrier Island in February, 1907. The first meeting 

 took place in the bed of a sequestered creek, amongst boulders 

 and tree-ferns and the decaying trunks of mighty forest trees, 

 which had crashed down from the hillside, and had fallen prone 

 across the banks. I had sat on a boulder under tlie fronds of a 

 tree-fern to rest. Heavy rain had fallen in the night. As the 

 morning was still young, all the trees and shrubs were dripping 



