69 



above the Rangitata Gorge ; on being observed on a branch, of a tree, it was 

 knocked down and caught dui'ing its fall ; there was fur on its beak, as though 

 it had not long before devoured a mouse ; this bird was also set at liberty. 



Two other instances of its occurrence have been communicated, but 

 without further information. It may be mentioned that one of these was 

 again on the Rangitata. 



At Shepherd Bush Station, on the Rangitata, opposite Peel Forest, a 

 specimen was observed in the house, gve'dtlj resemhling A. JVovce Zelandice, 

 except in size, which was about that of a kingfisher ; it was most gentle in 

 its habits, remaining quiet during the daytime and sallied forth in the 

 evening, regaining its perch by entering through a broken window. This 

 pretty little visitor thus frequented the hotise for aboiit a fortnight ; it should 

 be added that the house stands close to a small bush composed chiefly of 

 Leptospermum, Griselinia, etc., of which there are many aged specimens. 



From these notices it may be safely inferred that the Little Owl is arboreal 

 in its habits, and possibly not so strictly nocturnal as its better known 

 congeners ; whether it is to be considered identical with either of the species 

 referred to by Dr. Finsch is, of course, at present unknown ; it is certain it is 

 not a tufted species, or such a remarkable form would have been noticed. 



ISTo. 7. — Halcyoi^ vagans. Gray. 

 (See also YoL ii., p. 52.) 



Towards autumn, these, our intimate friends, who have been absent during 

 the summer on urgent family affairs, make their welcome re-appearance in the 

 gardens ; they may now be seen in numbers ; early in the month of March it 

 would not be difiicult to count a dozen of them at one time on the posts and 

 espalier rails. When not engaged in making those well-known rapid darts, 

 their habit is to remain perfectly still, and, for the most part, silenb ; they 

 indulge in no joyous fluttering amongst trees and shrubs, they pour forth no 

 melodious song, for their various cries are most unmusical and harsh. Our 

 species shares that sedate gravity of the family which has long been remarked, 

 even by such writers as one of the butterfly poets of the " Merrie Monarch's " 

 Court, who wrote,— 



" That with such Halcyon calmness fix our soules 

 In steadfast peace, as no affright controules. " 

 To US this gravity seems to verge on melancholy, and Dryden's expression, 

 when he calls them " the mournful race," appears apt enough. Burton's 

 wonderful book bears on its quaint frontispiece the figure of the kingfisher 

 occupying a place amongst the several emblems of jealous melancholy, which 

 he thus describes, — 



"To th' left, a landskip of jealousie 

 Presents itself unto thine eye — 

 A Kingfisher " 



