4/2 PASSERIP^ORMES : XENICIDAE chap. 



both sexes, the male having a black head, the female white streaks 

 on that part. The outward form and habits recall those of Pitta, 

 but the latter are more arboreal. The young are apparently 

 spotted, unlike those of tlie Pittidae, which resemble the adults. 



Fam. III. Xenicidae. This contains the genera Acanthidositta 

 and Traversia, each with one species, and Xenicus w^ith two ; they 

 are remarkable New Zealand forms, in which the weak syringeal 

 muscles only reach the lowest tracheal ring. The slender meta- 

 tarsi are almost smooth, the claws acute and elongated ; the short 

 rectrices number ten, and the tenth primary is nearly equal to the 

 next ; the secondaries are eight. The tongue is lanceolate and 

 horny. The stout-billed, long-legged Xenicus longipes has dark 

 green upper parts, a brown crown, a yellowish rump and sides, black 

 cheeks, whitish superciliary stripes and throat, and silky, bluisli- 

 grey under parts. The female is chiefly brown. X. gilviventris 

 is olive -brown on the back and cheeks, and purplish -brown 

 beneath, with some rufous and a black spot on the wing. Both 

 forms inhabit the South Island, and are called " Bush-Wren " and 

 " Eock-Wren " respectively. The former frequents dark sub-alpine 

 forests, restlessly searching the trees for insects, their chrysalids 

 and larvae, and uttering a weak note or a trill. It is seldom seen 

 on the ground, yet flies but little, as might be expected from 

 its short, rounded wings. The compact domed nest of moss, 

 placed in low forks or in tree-roots, contains five or six white 

 eggs with pink blotches; when built in holes it is open. The 

 other species lives among debris high up the , hills, being almost 

 entirely terrestrial, skulking round the boulders, and eating dragon- 

 flies, lepidoptera, and insects generally, with scraps of fat from any 

 traveller's camp. The nest of roots, twigs, and leaves, lined with 

 feathers, is placed in crevices, and contains some five white eggs. 

 The similar Traversia lyalli of Stephens Island is said to be 

 nocturnal. AcantJddositta chloris, the Eifleman, is dull green above 

 with yellower rump, and fulvous white below ; the moderate wings 

 are blackish, with green edgings and yellow bars ; the eye-stripe is 

 white ; the short rounded tail is black with light tip. The female 

 has an olive upper surface with l^rown markings, a yellow rump, 

 and buffish under parts. This species inhabits the hill-forests of 

 both the main islands of New Zealand, where it actively searches 

 the trees for food with quivering wings, and utters a feeble " cheep." 

 The more or less bottle-shaped nest, placed in holes in trees, 



