146 Transactions, — Zoology. 



the interior. To give an instance : Banks Peninsula, so often cited by 

 Dr. Finseh, 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 hai'sh grating of the saw-mill. It is not a matter for 

 surprise that the Wattle-bird is no longer to be found in its old haunts ; it 

 seeks shelter amongst the higher j)arts of the bushy gullies — a refuge at once 

 precaiious 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 rivex-s. 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 Graminice, GnaplicJia, 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 Goriana afford an 

 abundant supply of a favourite food. We have foi;nd 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 groimd ; its mode of progression, by a series 

 of leaps or bounds, may also tend to keej) 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 ICeropia, 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 writer's sons, found a 



