ii6 Bird- Lore 



The South Island Tomtit was another haunter of the Bishop's fuchsia 

 trees and veronica bushes. It, too, is a member of the Old World 

 Warbler family — the Sj'lviidae — so its name of Tomtit is misleading. Al- 

 though not brilliantly colored, the male is more showy than many of its 

 compeers in the New Zealand bush. Its head, throat and back are deep 

 black, and its breast pale yellow. A fine white dot marks the base of 

 the upper mandible, while conspicuous spots of the same vary the black 

 of the wings and tail. The female is modestly clad in plain olive -gray, 

 with white wing-bars and grayish breast. As one of these little fellows 

 flitted about, briskly gleaning the leaves for insects, I heard its high, 

 nervous call frequently uttered. 



In company with the native birds in the Bishop's grove, I noticed 

 several European species which have been introduced by the colonists. 

 The European Goldfinch twittered from tree to tree, the Thrush of 

 England called from its shady retreat, and a European Blackbird whistled 

 as cheerily as if home were not way ofi in the antipodes. 



After this peep at the sylvan-life of New Zealand, I felt that I had 

 made a number of new friends, and, on exploring the rugged mountains 

 which hem in that austere lake of the far south, Wakatipu, a wild re- 

 treat in the heart of the island, I rejoiced to find them there to greet 

 me. Even in this mountainous wilderness many introduced birds had 

 made themselves at home. The European Goldfinch, Starling and Black- 

 bird were abundant about the sparsely settled country back of the village 

 of Queenstown, and California Valley Quails called blithely in the scrub 

 manuka thickets, reminding me of home. 



The South Island Tomtit, of which I caught but fleeting glimpses in 

 the Bishop's grove, was abundant here, and so tame that I had many 

 opportunities of observing its ways. It is a jaunty little fellow with a big 

 head and perky manners. Now, for an instant it sits in an attitude of 

 repose, with wings a-droop; the next minute it is all animation, the wings 

 flirt coquettishly and the tail is held erect, wren -fashion. A fine, squeaky 

 call-note is frequently uttered from the fence-rail by the roadside or from 

 a dead weed -stalk in the adjacent field. Now and then it darts into 

 the air after an insect, snapping its bill after the manner of a Fly- catcher. 



Another common bird in the Lake Wakatipu region, and, as I dis- 

 covered later, in many other parts of New Zealand, is the little Silver- 

 eye. It is a member of the same family as the Bell-bird — the Honey-eaters, 

 although in superficial appearance it looks like one of our olive-green 

 Vireos, or Warblers. The breast is gray and a white ring encircles the 

 eye. These little birds emigrated to New Zealand from Australia within 

 historic times, a great bush -fire apparently having driven them out to 

 sea. They frequent the manuka and thorn scrub, uttering an emphatic 

 high cheriee of a call-note. 



