PASSERIFORMES 161 



which they are very common. The Wellington Society liberated 

 184 birds in 1874; eight in 1876; 12 in 1877, and 20 in 1878. 

 A colony was seen for a time at Taita. The Canterbury Society 

 purchased 200 pairs from Mr Bills in 1879, anc ^ liberated them in 

 various localities. I have a very strong suspicion that these two lots 

 also were Indian minahs, caught in Australia where they are now 

 very common and brought over to New Zealand by Mr Bills. 

 Unfortunately those who knew the facts are all gone, and it is now 

 impossible to verify my suspicions. But there are no Australian 

 minahs now in New Zealand, whereas there are great numbers 

 of the Indian species in certain districts. 



Family ZOSTEROPID^E 



Wax-eye ; White-eye ; Gold-eye ; Blight Bird ; Silver-eye ; Twinkie 

 (Zosterops ccerulescens) 



If this bird is truly indigenous in New Zealand, then it is a southern 

 form which has recently increased and migrated northwards, but it 

 is more likely to be a comparatively modern natural introduction 

 from Australia. Buller considers it is an indigenous species, but it 

 seems to me the record he gives is against this hypothesis. Captain 

 Howell states that he first noticed the birds at Milford Sound in 1832. 

 In the fifties they were recorded by I. N. Watt, then Resident 

 Magistrate at the Bluif, as coming apparently from Stewart Island, 

 and all migrating northwards. 



They did not appear north of Cook Straits till 1856, when they 

 were suddenly abundant, and were called "blight-birds," because 

 they destroyed quantities of the "American blight" (Schizoneura 

 lanigera). They only remained for about three months, from June 

 to August, and then disappeared completely. They appeared again 

 in Wellington in 1858, and after that became permanent residents. 

 They were recorded from Nelson in 1859. In 1861 they were first 

 observed by the natives in Hawke's Bay, when the name given to 

 the bird by the Maoris was Tau-hou or the Stranger. They were 

 recorded by Colenso in Napier in 1862, and by the natives on the 

 Upper Wanganui in 1863. In 1865 they were observed at Auckland, 

 and by 1868 they had penetrated to the most northerly part of the 

 North Island. 



They are stated by Mr A. Shand to have appeared in the Chatham 

 Islands about 1856 and 1857. 



They are extremely abundant now, and come right into the very 

 heart of the towns in winter, but in the early summer months they 

 move away out into the country for the breeding season. 



