72 HAWAIIAN BIRDS. 



have succeeded in getting close to a small company of these birds, 

 atid have watched them unsuspected. This was soon after day- 

 light, and they were feeding, among the lower branches of the 

 ohias, and even in the shrubbery, a practice no doubt common 

 with them formerly. The moment the birds learned of my presence . 

 they showed the greatest agitation, and at once retreated to the 

 tops of the tallest forest trees, which persecution has taught them 

 is their only safe refuge. 



When feeding in the early morning, and particularly when 

 •vnth their young, the calls of the o-o are almost incessant, and it 

 is this loud and constantly repeated call-note which has led to the 

 easy destruction of _the species. 



The poor bird has yet to learn that its appreciation of the joy- 

 ousness of existence and its love for its mate and young can be 

 expressed only at the cost of its very life. Thrice happy o-o in the 

 olden dax-^s when its tribute to royalty was unstained .with its life 

 blood. 



After nine in the momifag the o-o usually lapses into absolute 

 silence, save for an occasional note from dream-land as the bird 

 slumbers in the tops of the tallest trees where it is entirely invis- 

 ible. The note — the bird apparently has no song — is a loud double 

 syllabled chook, chook, but neither these syllables, nor any others, 

 can convey an adequate idea of the sound of the bird's voice or 

 represent its peculiar rhythm, which is not without ventriloquial 

 quality, and always sounds much nearer than it actually is. None 

 of the present day natives whom I have asked have been able to 

 imitate the call of the o-o though it is said, and no doubt truly, 

 that in ancient times this accomplishment was a prerequisite to 

 the honorable and lucrative practice of bird catching. However, 

 the writer has succeeded in whistling a rude semblance of the 

 note, and many times has elicited a response, even where before 

 he was not aware of the bird's presence. It must be added, hoW' 

 ever, that the bird has always detected the cheat after a repetition 

 or two, and has declined further responses. 



The o-o breeds in the late spring and early summer, retiring for 

 this purpose into the depths of the middle forest, and no doubt 

 places its nest in the tops of the tallest ohias. After the young are 



