146 .  Transactions.—Zoology. 
the interior То give an instance: Banks Peninsula, so often cited by 
Dr. Finsch, where the Crow once abounded, is now divided into sheep runs or 
dotted with dairy farms ; the once silent woods now resound with the blows of 
the felling-axe or the harsh grating of the saw-mill It is not a matter for 
surprise that the Wattle-bird is ño longer to be found in its old haunts ; it 
seeks shelter amongst the higher parts of the bushy gullies—a refuge at once 
precarious and temporary. It may be thought that the bird has attained a 
secluded habitat, but the condition of the forest is rapidly changing under the 
effects of clearings and constantly-recurring bush fires. "There is not much 
doubt that the climate of the district has become modified ; at a certain period 
of the year weeks of drought prevail. The Kokako loving a moist tempera- 
ture will probably soon entirely forsake its ancient places of resort. These 
remarks on Banks Peninsula, as an habitat for arboreals, are more or less 
applicable to a very large extent of country on the eastern side of the Southern 
Alps. 
Under favourable conditions the Kokako may be found on the outskirts of 
the bush, in the open glades that fringe some of the larger rivers. The 
gentle, confident manners, the rich, flute-like notes, the peculiar mode of 
progression even, cannot fail to draw the attention of the observer, albeit he 
may not be imbued with enthusiasm for gazing on the life that stirs in our 
woods. The ardent naturalist, who has the chance of knowing this bird, must 
learn to love it. 
In the earlier spring months we have watched it out on the open glade 
cropping various species of Graminie, Gnaphalia, Polypodia; often has its 
soft note attracted us to the bush where it has been feeding on the leaves of 
Melicytus, Carpodetus, etc. As summer advances, ripening the clustering 
drupes and berries, the fruits of the Fuchsia and the Coriaria afford an 
abundant supply of a favourite food. We have found it engaged, seemingly in 
a search for insects, prying amongst the hoary filaments of the drooping grey- 
beard moss that decks the branches of so many trees in some of the gloomy 
alpine valleys. The long tarsi carry the body well above the damp mosses 
when collecting its food on the ground ; its mode of progression, by a series 
of leaps or bounds, may also tend to keep its plumage clear of humid plants. 
When really alarmed it leaps with great rapidity, covering a wide space of 
ground with each effort. Like the Keropia, it seeks safety amidst the low 
undergrowth of the forest. 
The sexes appear to be united in close companionship. We have noticed a 
pair on some favourite fruit-bearing tree caressing each other with their 
beaks. A pair kept in confinement lived thus imprisoned for about two years, 
but when one died its mate only survived some few days, 
In December, 1869, Donald H. Potts, one of the writers sons, found a 
