Bush-birds of New Zealand. 537 
bright orange, and the tips blackish ; tarsus black in front, 
gamboge posteriorly ; upper surface of the feet brownish 
black ; soles bright gamboge ; claws black. 
No. 182. 9. Maungahaumia, 3000 ft., May 24th, 1906. 
Total length 3°3 inches. Iris black; soft parts same as in 
No. 131, but slightly brighter. 
The Rifleman was common in the Tawa and mixed bush 
and still more so in the birch, but was never noticed in the 
open Tawhera, and although I saw so much of this little 
bird, I learnt but little of its habits. To me its daily 
routine ever seemed the same and in all its actions it 
displayed but little variation. In April it was usually seen 
in couples, but often a party of four or five individuals was 
noticed—evidently late broods, After that it was invariably 
found in pairs. Each pair seems to have its own beat and 
to traverse it daily with great regularity, never wandering 
far from its home, and even when the bush went down the 
birds remained in the felled timber about these spots, and 
must perish in large numbers when the day of fire arrives. 
This energetic tittle denizen of the darker recesses of the 
forest may be observed with slightly drooped and _ ever- 
flicking wings hunting up and along the moss-clad lower 
branches, occasionally darting up and hovering at the moss 
and ferns on some great bole, or describing an upward spiral 
flight around the trunk. 
Although apparently of a trustful nature, it is easily 
alarmed, and if interfered with immediately becomes shy 
and wild. Its faint insect-like cali—a single “chit ””—so 
often heard in winter, is rarely noticed in the spring, and at 
that season the birds become more shy and the pair keep 
closer together while hunting for their food; this appears 
to be obtaimed chiefly among the moss and ferns with which 
the trees are festooned. In winter they were fond of 
visiting the camps for scraps thrown outside, and there [ have 
watched them taking small particles of meat, but they never 
stayed more than a few minutes at a time, and although 
the voracious Blight-bird (Zosterops cerulescens) often fell a 
victim to the camp cat, the Rifleman was far too alert to be 
caught. 
