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This elegant little bird belongs to the North Island, where it has a pretty general distribution, 

 being met with in all localities suited to its habits. It is a familiar species, seeking the 

 habitations of man, and taking up its abode in his gardens and orchards. It is always to be seen 

 in the clearings and cultivated grounds near the bush, moving about in a peculiar fitful manner, 

 and in the early morn may be heard uttering a prolonged trilling note, very sweet and plaintive. 

 Its usual attitude is with the wings slightly lowered and the tail perfectly erect, almost at a right 

 angle with the body. It has a sparkling black eye, and all its actions are lively and sprightly. 

 The strongly contrasted plumage of the male bird renders it a conspicuous object; but the 

 female, owing to her sombre colours and less obtrusive habits, is rarely seen. 



It is interesting to watch this active little creature as it flits about the fences and fallen timber 

 in the bush-clearings, where it is to be found at all hours of the day. It rests for a moment on its 

 perch, flirting its wings and tail in a rapid manner, then darts to the ground to pick up a grub or 

 earthworm, and, flying upwards again almost immediately, clings by its tiny feet to the upright 

 bole of a tree or some other perpendicular surface, a peculiar attitude which it appears to delight 

 in. Its food consists of small insects and their larva? ; and it proves itself useful by devouring a 

 destructive little aphide which infests our fruit-trees. 



Common as this species is, I have found it difficult to study its breeding-habits, and have 

 never succeeded in finding more than one nest. I met with this in the Upper Hutt valley, in 

 the neighbourhood of Wellington, as late as the 3rd of December. It was placed in the cavity of 

 a tree a few feet from the ground, and contained four young birds apparently about a week old. 

 The nest was composed entirely of dry moss, shallow in its construction, but with a neatly finished 

 rim or outer edge. The parent birds manifested some solicitude for the safety of their offspring 

 while I was handling them. After I had replaced the young birds and retired a few steps from 

 the spot, the female squatted upon the nest, which was sufficiently near the entrance of the 

 cavity to be distinctly visible ; and on being disturbed, she fluttered away with wings outstretched 

 and quivering, as if unable to fly, and apparently to divert attention from the nest. 



Weston Brown, a bird-collector at Wellington, showed me a pair of newly fledged young 

 birds of this species which he had taken himself. He informed me that he had found them in a 

 rudely constructed nest in the hollow of a whitewood tree, and about 9 inches from the entrance. 

 There were only two young birds in the nest, and these were male and female. The plumage of 

 the former was strongly suffused with brown ; but the colours were sufficiently distinct to indi- 

 cate the sex. 



At a roadside inn I was once shown an egg which I felt no hesitation in assigning to this 

 bird. It was of a pale reddish tint, thickly speckled and freckled with light brown ; and the lad 

 who had blown it informed me that he took it from a nest in the hole of a dry stump. 



