170 JOURNAL OF SCIENCE. 
1884; on top of the range of hills above Ohinitahi, two robins 
had been observed in company several days during last week ; 
they were very familiar, flying to the woodcutters’ fire when the 
men took their meals, picking up crumbs, waiting till logs were 
rolled over, or stones turned up by the logs or working-bullocks, to 
pick up insects and worms. One of these was abnormallycoloured ; 
the following is a description of its very interesting state of 
plumage. (The other bird presented no difference from the ordi- 
nary plumage) Forehead, crown, hind-head, white interspersed 
with slatey-black ; nape white, with a few feathers marked with 
slatey-black ; irides black; ear coverts black mottled with 
white ; hind-neck slatey-black ; back white, with one or two 
black feathers ; rump white ; tail coverts white ; tail dark brown ; 
wings dark brown; carpal plume white ; scapulars white ; chin, 
throat, and fore-neck white, mottled with slatey-black ; breast 
white, stained partially with creamy-yellow ; abdomen white, 
with afew slatey-black feathers ; under tail coverts white ; tibial 
plumes white ; ridge of upper mandible pale flesh ; lower man- 
dible flesh; tarsus flesh ; toes yellowish; claws horn-colour, 
rather dark. dla P Orie 
ON RHIPIDURA OF NEW ZEALAND.—Anyone who has had 
for the past few years opportunities of observing the life and 
habits of birds in this district must have noticed that the con- 
dition of the Fly-catcher family has undergone some noteworthy 
changes. In an early volume ofthe Trans. of the N.Z. Institute.* 
I noted the inter-breeding of the two species, Rk. flabellifera with 
R. fuliginosa. In 18609, the date on which that paper was written, I 
looked upon the “union-nest” asof comparatively rare occurrence; 
very considerable change has taken place since that time. In the 
Manual of the Birds of New Zealand, recently printed and 
published by Government, no mention is made of this fact, yet 
it is one that seems to be all-important in the lives of the fly- 
catchers. We are becoming familiar with unexpected changes 
of habits in our birds, and certainly the family under considera- 
tion deserves attention. At the present time I believe union- 
nests are more common than those of either the pied or the black 
species ; those of R. flabellifera are next often met with ; while 
those of 2. fuliginosa seem to be the rarest. For the last three 
or four years the two recognised species have become inextri- 
cably intermixed. Who shall say which is really a pure 2. fla- 
bellitera, or which is alegitimate fudiginosa ? Will this question 
have to be referred to the cabinet ornithologist for solution? In 
the wilds of nature the two so-called species, with their cross- 
bred descendants, feed together, breed together, live together— 
Outs separabit ? may indeed be asked of this three-ply union. 
The mixed progeny does not assist us out of the difficulty, as 
may be gathered from the following notes :— 
Jan. 5, 1879.—Union nest with three young birds. Appa- 
* Trans, N,Z. Institute, Vol. II., p. 64. 
