Vol. X. 

 1910 



1 Iredale, Bird Life on the Kermadec Islands. 



Spotless Crake {Porzana plumbed). These little birds were rarely 

 seen, though constantly heard. A dead bird was picked up on the 

 north coast, whilst a few lived in the crater. As they were also 

 seen on Meyer Island, they were well distributed. During 

 October the note of this bird was rarely heard, and on the 

 5th November a young bird, recently hatched, was caught. 

 Perhaps the bird is silent during the sitting season. 



The Pectoral Rail {Ralhts philippinensis) has been recorded. I 

 think the single bird seen must have been a straggler, as nothing 

 was heard or seen like it during my stay. 



Before leaving the land-birds I wish to note some other 

 birds previously recorded from the group which I did not 

 meet with. The White-eye i^Zosterops ccerulescens) was not 

 noted, and certainly it is not a resident. It is said to 

 appear some autumns after heavy weather from the south- 

 west. We had no such weather. The Ground-Lark {Anthus 

 nov(Z-zealandi(E) was reported as not uncommon on Macauley 

 Island in 1887. I did not see any specimens, and I doubt 

 if any are still resident there. It is interesting to record 

 that three birds acclimatized in New Zealand have reached 

 the island and firmly established themselves. These are the 

 European Song-Thrush, Blackbird, and Starling. In these 

 species unaccountable habits have developed, such as extreme 

 shyness. Though never subjected to man's persecution, they 

 are all unapproachable, and it was surmised that this fear was 

 due to their constant bullying by the Kingfisher and Tui. 



During the time I was on the island waders were rarely met 

 with, and it is evident that Sunday Island is a long way from 

 any line of regular migration. The birds noticed were usually 

 solitary or in very small flocks. The largest number noted 

 together on Sunday Island was seven, but a flock of thirteen 

 was seen on Macauley Island. A remarkable (to me) feature of 

 these chance waders was their extreme shyness. I had antici- 

 pated that, having undergone a trying flight, thay would arrive 

 exhausted and tame, and therefore easily procurable. Instead, 

 I found that, owing to the exposed nature of the beach, I was 

 rarely able to stalk them, and can only record those actually 

 procured. 



The Lesser Golden VIovqx {Charadrhts dominicus) wdiS noted 

 during September and October, but the total number of birds 

 seen only amounted to twelve. With them was another bird, 

 unrecognized and unprocured. They haunted the sea-shore of 

 Denham Bay, and, having arrived after a sou'-wester, did not 

 seem to have any idea as to leaving. First noted the last week 

 in September, they were still on the beach on nth November. 

 The bulk of the flock of thirteen seen on Macauley Island 

 belonged to this species. 



The Oriental Dottrel {Ochtlwdromus veredtis) was obtained on 



