INSES SORES. 



171 



prepared and received in payment of a poll-tax to the king ; they are 

 afterwards made up principally in ' lei's' or head-bands worn by the 

 ladies, and are beautiful but costly ornaments ; but few can afford to 

 wear them. The mantles made of these feathers were, until lately, 

 considered the principal treasures of the crown ; now they are not to 

 be seen ; the labor of collecting the feathers and attaching them to a 

 network base, a labor of years, being too great. European clothing 

 has entirely superseded the former robes of state. 



" The ' Oo' is found in most of the woody districts of the Island of 

 Hawaii ; it frequents the thick foliage of the loftiest trees ; in voice and 

 manners it has some resemblance to the Oriole of North America 

 (^Icterus Baltimore). The natives capture it by means of birdlime, 

 and after plucking the yellow feathers from beneath the wings, restore 

 it to liberty, until again wanted to assist in pajdng the royal tax, 



"Another bird is called Oo by the natives; it is the Certliia pacifica 

 of Latham, and is found in the Island of Kauai, one of the same 

 group. It also has tufts of yellow feathers which have been collected 

 for the same purpose in former days; in it, the yellow feathers are on 

 the thighs, not on the sides as in the genuine Oo ; they are smaller, 

 much inferior in beautiful texture, and are no longer collected. Both 

 species are black. We killed specimens at Ilanalei, a department of 

 the Island of Kauai, where they are found in the woody districts on 

 the mountains." 



In Dr. Pickering's notes, we find this species frequently mentioned 

 as occurring in different parts of the Island of Hawaii, and especially 

 in the following : 



" Near the upper margin of the forest of Mauna Kea, this bird was 

 commonly to be met with, and flew high, somewhat in the manner of 

 the Boat-tailed Grakle of the United States. Its note was a loud chuck, 

 repeated two or three times, and in its habits it reminded me of the 

 Poi-bird of New Zealand. In mature specimens, the middle feathers 

 of the tail are twisted spirally at their ends, and are considerably longer 

 than the others." 



Though we are not disposed to regard the native names of animals 

 as entitled to much consideration, we may be allowed to observe that 

 the name of this bird must sound quite differently to different persons. 

 Mr. Peale, as above, is quite confident that it is Oo, which we should 

 pronounce simply as double o. 'Mr. Bloxham, in his Appendix on the 

 Natural History of the Sandwich Islands, in the Voyage of the Blonde, 



