Ports.— New Zealand Birds. bb 
has enabled us to acquire further knowledge of the ways of the halcyon. 
Rather late in August, when the brown-skinned konini begins to deck its 
bare sprays with pendulous flowers, when the head of the straight-stemmed 
kowhai is already crowned with racemes of golden blossoms, integratio amoris, 
or rather the beginning of courtship, seems to occupy a share of the time 
which is not required to obtain the means of satisfying the cravings of the 
haleyon’s somewhat exacting appetite. Observation has rather led us to the 
belief that the female takes the initiative in these amorous advances, Whilst 
watching several birds which were busily engaged in snatching up and bear- 
ing off crustacee from the sea-beach, in which employment the cock birds 
displayed most activity, usually getting three or four crabs to one picked 
up by a hen bird, a hen would perch herself close to a male after one of 
his successful darts; all unmoved, he rapped his prey on his rocky stand 
and proceeded to gulp it down, apparently unconscious of the blandishments 
of the would-be charmer. Through the month of September we have noticed 
similar instances of insensibility or coyness on the part of the males, under 
circumstances when the females have had little chance of being favoured with 
some choice prey as a gage d'amour. Forwardness on the part of “ the sex” 
is not without precedent ; we have noticed that the nuptial plumage of the 
female spotted shag (P. punctatus) reaches its full development before that 
of the male ; frequently one may observe the red plume-like stigmas of the 
hazel on the spray where the male catkins hang immature. 
During last season we knew of several nests that contained altogether 
nearly forty eggs. At each breeding place that had been excavated in a bank 
or wall, the tunnel invariably inclined upwards, the entrance at some distance 
from the ground, four or five feet and upwards. In one instance the hole was 
not more than two feet from the base of a wall built on rather a steep slope, 
this is noted to show that the habits of our bird differ from those of its 
European congener Alcedo ispida. In Wood's “Homes without Hands,” p. 519, 
is a representation of the nest of the English bird, and it may be noticed 
there that the floor of the tunnel is nearly on a level with the surface of the 
water ; our bird always ascends in entering, and descends on quitting the nest. 
Nore.—October 10th, first egg laid in a nest on our cliff; second egg laid 
on the 12th before 10 a.m.; third egg laid on the 14th; fourth egg on the 
15th; fifth egg on the 16th ; sixth, and last egg, on the 17th. 
Subsequently the nesting place was measured, and gave the following 
dimensions :—Entrance rather over 2 inches in diameter, tunnel 16 inches in 
length ; egg chamber, of ovoid form, 7 inches in length, 53 inches in width, 
with a height from the bottom of 4 inches. The size of the nest may create 
surprise when one thinks of the space occupied by the eggs, but a roomy home 
is necessary, for, like those of most troglodytal breeders, the young remain in 
