HONEY-EATERS. 443 



brown : the primaries and tail-feathers are metallic green ; the hind-neck is orna- 

 mented with a collar of soft plumes, having a white line down the centre ; and the 

 lower part of the breast is metallic green, changing into purplish blue. The sides 

 and abdomen are blackish brown, and the throat is ornamented with two tufts of 

 white filamentous feathers. 



stitch Bird s none y ' eater (Pogonornis cincta) has a moderate bill, 



much compressed and slender, and the gape furnished with slender 

 bristles ; the wings are moderate, with the fourth quill the longest ; the tail is 

 moderate and forked ; and the metatarsus long, robust, and covered in front with 

 transverse scales. Formerly abundant in the southern parts of the North Island 

 of New Zealand, it was never found in the South Island. The stitch-bird is 

 remarkable for the bright plumage of the male, on which account it has been almost 

 completely exterminated by the natives, in order that the chiefs might wear the 

 canary-yellow feathers from the wings in their gorgeous feather robes. Always a 

 shy and retiring species, and difficult to shoot, the Maoris used to take this bird 

 in snares baited with flowers. Sir W. Buller observes that when disturbed by 

 the report of a gun, this bird will fly oft' to a neighbouring tree with a light and 

 graceful movement of the wing ; but when descending to a lower station it 

 adopts a different manner of flight, elevating the tail almost to a right angle 

 with the body, and scarcely moving the wings at all. The male bird erects the 

 tail and spreads the ear-tufts when excited or alarmed ; but the female habitually 

 carries the tail perfectly erect, and the wings drooping. The male utters at 

 short intervals, and with startling energy, a melodious whistling call of three 

 notes ; but at other times he produces a sharp, clicking sound, like the striking of 

 two quartz stones together, the sound having a fancied resemblance to the word 

 " stitch." The nest is a slight, shallow structure, built of sprays and fibres, lined 

 with fine grass and cow-hair. The egg is yellowish white, thickly spotted with 

 pale rufous. The adult male has the head, neck, and upper back velvety black ; 

 a tuft of snow-white feathers is present on both sides of the head ; the wings and 

 tail are black; a band of rich canary-yellow encircles the back neck; and the 

 under-parts are light greyish brown. The female is plain brown. 



The group of honey-sucking birds known as white-eyes (genus 

 Zosterops) have long been a bone of contention among ornithologists, 

 Dr. Gadow placing them among the honey-eaters, Dr. Sclater with the sun-birds, 

 Mr. Wallace among the flower-peckers, and Mr. Gates in the Crater opodidce, while 

 Professor Mivart makes them the type of a family by themselves. Under these 

 circumstances we have placed them here, preferring to leave their family position 

 open. They are characterised by having the beak curved, slender, and pointed, 

 and the nostrils covered by a large membrane, while the eye is surrounded by a 

 characteristic circle of small white feathers. The tongue, according to Dr. Gadow, 

 is protractile and bifid, with each half broken up into numerous stiff horny fibres, 

 so as to form a brush. The wing has ten primaries, but the first is very minute ; 

 and the tail is short and quite square. Twelve species of white-eye are found in 

 Madagascar and the Mascarene Islands, which Canon Tristram divides into the 

 green-backed and grey-backed groups ; while five inhabit India, and several 

 Australia. Japan also possesses a species ; and several others occur in Africa. 



