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 ^•^ ^^^ ^-ed that 



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 Churlou.'i Sound. 



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 . C M.— At this 

 d for the night, is 

 ^■^'>nuers amidst 

 J the Tui, the 



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; in wild harmony. 

 -o\ciheaiortbe 



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 . , the Piopi"' '^ 



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137 



It was when 1 obtained a caged Piopio that I first became acquainted with its superior 

 vocal powers. In 1866 I purchased one for a guinea from a settler in Wellington, in whose 

 possession it had been for a whole year. Although an adult bird when taken, it appeared to 

 have become perfectly reconciled to confinement ; but on being placed in a new cage it made 

 strenuous assaults on the wire bars, and persevered till the feathers surrounding the beak were 

 rubbed off and a raw wound exposed. It then desisted for several days; but when the abraded 

 part had fairly healed, it renewed the attempt, and with such determined effort that the fore part 

 of the head was completely disfigured, and the life of the bird endangered. On being removed, 

 however, to a spacious compartment of the aviary, it immediately became reconciled to its condi- 

 tion, made no further efforts to escape, and for a period of fifteen months (when it came to an 

 untimely end) it continued to exhibit the contentment and sprightliness of a bird in a state of 



nature. 



I observed that this bird was always most lively during or immediately preceding a shower 



of rain. He often astonished me with the power and variety of his notes. Commencing some- 

 times with the loud strains of the Canary, he would suddenly change his song to a low flute-note 

 of exquisite sweetness ; and then abruptly stopping, would give vent to a loud rasping cry, as if 

 mimicking a pair of Australian Magpies confined in the same aviary. During the early morning 

 he emitted at intervals a short flute-note, and when alarmed or startled, uttered a sharp repeated 



whistle. 



This caged bird was generally fed on dry pulse or grain ; but he also evinced a great liking 



for cooked potato and raw meat of all kinds; in fact he appeared to be omnivorous, readily 

 devouring earthworms, insects of all kinds, fruits, berries, green herbs, &c. He was supplied 

 daily with a dish of fresh water, and was accustomed to bathe in it with evident delight. At one 

 time he occupied the same division of the aviary with a pair of Australian Ring-Doves which had 

 commenced to breed. The Doves were allowed to bring up their first brood in peace ; but when 

 the hen bird began to build a second time, she was closely watched by the Piopio, and imme- 

 diately the first egg was deposited he darted upon the nest and devoured it. The innocent little 

 Ring-Dove continued to lay on in spite of repeated robbery, and had at length to be placed 

 beyond the reach of her persecutor. 



During the day the Piopio was unceasingly active and lively ; at night he slept on a perch, 

 resting on one leg, and with the plumage puffed out into the form of a perfectly round ball, the 

 circular outline broken only by the projecting extremities of the wings and tail. Every sound 

 seemed to attract his notice, and he betrayed an inquisitiveness of disposition which in the end 

 proved fatal ; for having inserted his prying head through an open chink in the partition, it was 

 seized and torn off by a vicious Sparrow-Hawk in the adjoining compartment of the aviary. 



In the wild state this species subsists chiefly on insects, worms, and berries. I have shot it 

 on the ground in the act of grubbing with its bill among the dry leaves and other forest debris. 

 Its flight is short and rapid. It haunts the undergrowth of the forest, darting from tree to tree, 

 and occasionally descending to the ground, but rarely performing any long passage on the wing. It 

 is very nimble in its movements ; and when attempting on one occasion to catch one of these 

 birds with an almost invisible horsehair noose, it repeatedly darted right through the snare, and 

 defeated every effort to entrap it. 



T 



