536 Mr. J. C. Mclean on some 
Whiteheads (Clitonyx albicapiila), and as the weather be- 
came colder these flocks increased in size and were noticed 
feeding on the scraps about the camps. The severe snow- 
storms on July 15th appeared to disperse them—probably 
killing many of the birds—and single individuals, with 
plaintive call, were but rarely noticed for some weeks. 
In August small parties frequented the camps, evidently 
hard-pressed for food; and dead birds were picked up 
at an old station, where they had simply stayed and starved 
after the men had left. From this time onwards, small 
flocks were noticed about different camps, and were there 
when I left in October. These birds seemed hardly ever 
to leave these spots and look for other food in the bush. 
On October 26th, in the open country, where they were 
numerous in April, a nest, with three young about a week 
old, was observed and odd pairs were noticed. At this 
time the bush-birds were probably still in flocks. 
The Blight-bird, that wanderer to the North Island in 1856 
and hailed as a benefactor to the gardens in 1858, is the 
only bird for which the bush-feller has no good word. 
It has a habit of entering the galley (cooking compart- 
ment) during the men’s absence, helping itself to butter 
and fat, and making a great mess about the place. Nothing 
will frighten it, and a flock can make a fair hole in any 
cooked meat left uncovered during the day. 
In some seasons these birds nest in numbers in the scrub 
and creepers of the coastal country, while in other years 
hardly a specimen is noticed there in the breeding-season, 
16. ACANTHIDOSITTA CHLORIS. (Text-fig. 32, p. 539.) 
Acanthidositta chloris Grant, Ibis, 1905, p. 595. 
No. 148. ¢ ad. Maungahaumia, 2300 ft., July 31st, 1906. 
Total Jength 3:3 inches. Iris dark brown; tarsus black, 
with the posterior edge gamboge; feet brownish black ; soles 
bright gamboge; claws black. 
No. 131. 2. Maungahaumia, 3000 ft., May 24th, 1906. 
Total length 3°2 inches. Iris black; bill black. Inside of 
the mouth pale dirty yellow, with the edge, towards the gape, 
