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THE ZOOLOGIST. 



habits, and descending at night from the trees to prowl about in 

 search of succulent roots, which it scratches up ; but it derives 

 its chief sustenance from the leaves and tender shoots of the 

 blue gum, of which it appears to be very fond. 



2. The New Zealand Huia, or Wood Crow, Heteralocha acuti- 

 rostris, is chiefly remarkable for the difference which is observable 

 in the bills of the sexes, a peculiarity which, according to the 

 observations of ornithologists in New Zealand, is not without its 

 use. They frequent decayed trees which are infested with the 



The Butterfly Blexny, Blennius ocellaris. 



hu-hu grub (the larva of a large nocturnal beetle, Prionoplus 

 reticularis), and the different development of the mandibles in 

 the two sexes enables them to perform separate offices. The 

 male, with his shorter and more conical bill, attacks the decayed 

 portions of the wood, chiselling out his prey after the manner of 

 some Woodpeckers, while the female, with her long pliant bill, 

 probes the other cells, where the hardness of the surrounding 

 parts resists the chisel of her mate. 



3. The Butterfly Blenny, or Sea Butterfly, Blennius ocellaris, 

 remarkable for its peculiar and bright colours, is not uncommon 



