72 My New Zealand Garden 



to feel a few degrees cooler it scarcely seems 

 sufficient reason to come, so probably there are 

 other attractions. He also seems rather lost, 

 with his strange, tame ways, which give the cats 

 many opportunities, and his beautiful scattered 

 feathers tell the sad tale. He has a magnificent 

 back of blue and green, and his breast has the old 

 familiar family markings, but more minute to suit 

 his size. As for his song, or rather series of notes, 

 they are nothing short of ventriloquism, for they 

 appear to begin at a distance, and then come 

 quite close, and all from the very same spot. On 

 first hearing him, I could not imagine what was 

 happening, and looked about for others closer ; and 

 it was not easy to satisfy myself that he was alone, 

 but such was undoubtedly the case, and since then 

 I have had many opportunities of proving it. 



The Wood Hen, or ' Weka,' is a common bird 

 about the size of a hen, but more ugly. Its legs 

 are placed very far back, and look strong enough 

 to carry a body double its size. It possesses 

 some small, useless wings, and so is obliged to 

 trust to its thick legs, which are extremely active 

 at times. It is rather pleasant to hear them in 

 the evening, when they begin their squeaks, which 

 certainly resemble the noise that might proceed 

 from a giant guinea-pig. They generally keep 

 on all night, answering one another. 



