818 Transactions.— Zoology. 
gorge of the Awamoko River perched high up on a ledge on the face of a 
rocky precipice, where in the early days they never would be found. 
Most of the birds I have referred to are shy and wild, and it is possible 
may have been driven baek from the settled distriets into the wilder and 
more uninhabited parts, though I do not think so. But the weka, or wood- 
hen (Ocydromus australis), is a bold bird, and is extremely tame, delighting 
to haunt the environs of a camp and pick up refuse of all sorts about human 
habitations. It is rare indeed now to see its dignified stride or the odd 
sedate meditative nod of its head near a settler’s dwelling, even in the 
country; whereas, even in Dunedin and its neighbourhood in the early 
days, no sooner did the evening shadows begin to elose in than the peaceful 
ealm which always set in after the habitual blow of a New Zealand day 
was sure to be broken by the peeuliar call of the weka from every ferny 
brake and bushy dell. The lonely traveller then, camping out at the side 
of a bush, after having lit his fire and put on his billy, could always 
count on securing his supper by imitating their ** cluck, clucking " cry, and 
without the bother of fire-arms, knocking them over by means of a stick 
with a red rag on the end of it. But, alas! fire and dogs have done 
their work all too effectually, and it looks very like as if the weka will soon 
be a bird of the past. Mr. Murison says;—‘‘ Wood-hens, I am told by a 
friend, are at present very plentiful in South Canterbury, where he says 
they will prove for some time a serious drawback to the successful 
acclimatization of the pheasant and partridge.” He further says :— 
« The pukeko or swamp-turkey was unknown in the interior twenty 
years ago, and to the best of my belief was not then seen beyond ten miles 
inland. About 1862 it made its appearance among the swamps of the 
Maniototo Plains, and since then it has spread rapidly throughout the 
adjoining districts." 
The rapidity with which certain introduced species of birds have spread 
over the country and increased in countless numbers is something mar- 
vellous. The wax-eye (Zosterops lateralis) was quite unknown for many 
years after the first settlers came, and now it swarms wherever there is & 
tree or a bush, in numbers only exceeded by the sparrow in the home 
country. It is believed to be of Australian origin; but the home birds 
introduced by the Acclimatization Society have also increased in a most 
wonderful ratio. It is only necessary for one to mention the starling 
( Sturnus vulgaris) in the open country, and the chaffinch (Fringilla calebs ) 
in the neighbourhood of bush, to convince you of this. 
Astomammals, Captain Cook, in his Second Voyage, states (p. 880) :— 
« For three or four days after we arrived in Pickersgill Harbour, and as we 
were clearing the woods to set up our tents, etc., a four-footed animal was 
