148 WAIWAKAIO RIVER. [PART I. 



termined to oppose our ascending the sacred moun- 

 tain by means of the bad weather which had now 

 set in. 



On the 8th we several times crossed the Mango- 

 rake. Its banks are steep, and from one of them 

 Tangutu dug out a titi : this bird, a Procellaria, or 

 mutton-bird as it is commonly called, has many 

 peculiarities. In the month of December it comes 

 from the sea to the mountains inland, especially 

 to the fore-hills of Mount Egmont. Here the 

 female, which is at that time very fat, but after- 

 wards becomes thin and emaciated, lays one egg, 

 which is remarkably large for the size of the bird. 

 Instead of building a nest, she deposits and covers 

 over her egg in a deep channel under the roots of 

 trees, or at the sides of a cliff, and never leaves the 

 place until the egg is hatched. The natives believe 

 that during this period the female takes no food, 

 and have accordingly named it " the bird of one 

 feeding" (e manu wangainga tahi). 



On the 9th we travelled for some time on the right 

 bank of the Waiwakaio river, which is the largest 

 of those that take their rise on the northern side 

 of Mount Egmont. Although of very unequal 

 depth, it is a true mountain-stream ; it rolls over 

 a broad bed of boulders and pebbles, and often rises 

 suddenly when the snow melts, or when the rain 

 has been heavy. Its banks were moderately ele- 

 vated ; on their top the land was flat, and the whole 

 was covered with forest of the wildest and most 



