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173 



is most sedulously attended by the old birds ; they may be observed, like chickens, following the 

 hen bird, who collects them around her with the call tum^ tum^ fum, repeated quickly and much 

 lower in tone than the booming note to which the Weka sometimes gives utterance, and which 

 is probably the call of the male. Insects, worms, lizards, &c. seem their principal food, yet 

 nothing comes amiss to these omnivora. When the parent bird is aware of a lizard lying perdu 

 beneath the sharp-pointed leaves of an Aciphylla^ the beak is thrust into the plant in defiance of _ 

 threatened wounds, the wings are suddenly thrust forward, and the adroit Weka backs out with 



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 I 



her writhing prey which the young instantly devour" *. * 



Lady Barker, in her charming little book, ' Station Life in New Zealand,' gives the following 

 amusing account of her first acquaintance with the Woodhen: — "I lay back on a bed of fern 



They boldly picked up our crumbs, without a 

 thought of possible danger. Presently I felt a tug at the shawl on which I was lying. I was 

 too lazy and dreamy to turn my head ; so the next thing was a sharp dig on my arm which hurt 

 me dreadfully. I looked round, and there was a Weka bent on investigating the intruder into its 

 domain. The bird looked so cool and unconcerned, that I had not the heart to follow my first 



r 



impulse and throw my stick at it ; but my forbearance was presently rewarded by a stab on the 

 ankle which fairly made me jump up with a scream, when my persecutor glided gracefully away 

 among the bushes, leaving me, like Lord Ullin, ^ lamenting.' " The same pleasing writer, in 

 giving an account of the Island of Wekas in Lake Coleridge, observes : 



r 



how these birds came here ; for the island is at least two miles from the nearest point of land ; 

 they can neither swim nor fly ; and as every man's hand is against them, no one would have 

 thought it worth while to bring them over ; but here they are in spite of all the apparent impro- 



watching the numbers of little birds around us. 



" No one can imagine 



f 



It was dangerous to leave 



babilities attending their arrival, more tame and impudent than ever ! 

 your bread unwatched for an instant ; and, indeed, I saw one gliding oflp with an empty sardine- 

 tin in its beak ; I wonder how it liked the oil and little scales ! They considered a cork a great 

 prize, and carried several off triumphantly." 



The breeding habits of this species are in no respect different from those of the North- 

 Island Woodhen ; but the eggs, which are from five to seven in number, are more richly coloured. 

 There is a fine series of these in the Canterbury Museum, all of which were collected between 

 the 20th of October and 25th of November. Ordinary examples measure 2"4 inches in length by 

 1*6 in breadth; and are white, sometimes with a yellowish tinge, marked over the entire surface, 

 but particularly at the larger end, with irregular spots a^d blotches of pale reddish brown, 

 among which are spots of purplish grey having the appearance of markings under the surface. 

 In some specimens the reddish brown spots are very rounded and distinct; in others they are 

 splashed or smudgy ; and one specimen has a broad irregular blotch of purplish brown near 

 the thicker end. 



* Portions of the above notes have already appeared in the * Transactions ' of the New-Zealand Institute. 



9 



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