278 JOURNAL OF SCIENCE. 
across the top it measures about five inches ; diameter of cup, 
two and three-quarter inches; depth inside, two inches. Many 
years since* (1869) I called attention to the peculiarity of the 
colouration of the lining feathers, as showing tokens of this bird’s 
sense or love of harmony in colours ; keeping several kinds of 
choice poultry not far from the bush afforded me special oppor- 
tunities of observing this fact. I noticed nests lined with 
coloured feathers as follows :—Red from the kakas, green from 
the parroquets, black from the Norfolk turkies, buff from Cochin 
fowls, speckled from the pintadoes, white from the geese. I 
have not seen a red or gteen lined nest for years, as the destruc- 
tion of the woods about here has made both kakas and parro- 
quets rare visitors. It often builds in much frequented places, 
as against a ti palm stem beside a walk ; or I have seen the nest 
in a shrub by a public road, where a horseman could easily reach 
it. An instance may be cited as an exception to its apparent 
avoidance of exotic trees: last season I saw a nest beautifully 
and exactly poised on a strip of blue gum bark, that bent over 
and curled round in acomplete circle or hoop ; there was nothing 
to conceal the nest ; it was lined with white goose feathers, and 
contained tour eggs. The breeding season commences in Sep- 
tember. The earliest entry in my note-book is the ‘‘ 29th, nest 
and three eggs ina Carpodetus serratus,” the latest entry is dated 
“March roth, four young just hatched ;” “ May toth, young bell- 
bird with the rictal membrane showing very plain.” It is more 
constant than many species in keeping to its complement of 
eggs, namely four; only once in 30 years have I known this 
number exceeded. This interesting fact may excuse another 
extract: “A nest in a tangle of Muhlenbeckia, trailing over 
hina-hina (J7/elicytus), five eggs marked with Fernbrook lines, 
Dec. 9, 1882.” Fernbrook lines, it may be explained, is the 
name we give to peculiar hair-like streaks which mark the eggs 
of certain families of bell-birds that breed in a gully near here 
called Fernbrook. 
The eggs vary considerably in their markings, also slightly 
in the ground colour; they are entirely white, this is by no 
means common ; white, with minute specks of pale red ; white, 
with small marks and minute dots of red with some hair-like 
streaks; white, marked equally over the surface with angular 
marks of pale red; white, glossy, with fine hair-like streaks of 
red disposed angularly ; white, with small angular specks of 
purplish, chiefly gathered into an uneven zone at the larger end ; 
white, with rich red blotches at the larger end, small scattered 
dots of lighter red, wavy hair-like streaks almost completing an 
undulating zone just below the middle of the egg; white, with 
bold blotches of red touched with small marks of dark purplish, 
a few scattered dull purplish marks; white, with dots of dark 
almost blackish purple, the margins becoming merged into pale 
red, nearly all the colour converged towards the apex; white, 
eee 
* Trans, N. Z. Institute, Vol, LI. 
