540 Mr. J. C. MeLean on some 
inches, and in length 5:5 inches. It is composed of very 
fine rootlets much interwoven with a little moss, a few leaf- 
skeletons, and one or two thin pieces of dry ribbon-like bark. 
The flattened end is wholly composed of very tightly inter- 
woven rootlets, through which the entrance, ‘85 inch in 
diameter, tunnels for 1-8 inches to the circular ege-chamber, 
about 2°5 inches in diameter, situated towards the other end 
of the oval. As the nest was placed with its longer axis at 
an angle of about 30° to the horizon, and the tunnel was 
horizontal, the entrance opened towards the top of the 
egg-chamber. This cavity is lined with brush-like particles 
of brown fern-down and very fine moss, well felted together. 
The most characteristic feature of the nest is the long 
tunnel-like entrance through the thickest and most closely 
woven part. 
The Rifleman is common in the wooded ranges of this 
district. 
17. GLAUCOPIS WILSONY. 
‘Glaucopis wilsoni Buller, B. New Zeal. i. pt. i. p. 1, pl. 1. 
(1887). 
The Blue-wattled Crow frequented the lighter-timbered 
lower spurs of Tawhera and Manuka, where, in early winter, 
parties of from four to seven individuals were frequently met 
with feeding in the tops. Preference was shown for the 
points of these spurs, where they could enjoy thesun. They 
were not noticed in the damp gullies. They were rarely 
observed after July, but in the spring (October) a few pairs 
were seen or heard in the low mixed Tawhera bush. They 
were seldom found in the Tawa bush and never high up, nor 
were they noticed on the birch-ridge. 
Although the members of the parties display marvellous 
agility among the branches, they travel no great distance 
through the bush, and may be found for days about the 
same spot. Only on one occasion were they noticed fairly 
on the wing, as they dropped with widespread wing- and tail- 
feathers—a floating flight—across a narrow creek into the 
bush below. 
No notes were heard when the birds were feeding ; but on 
