WHITE-EYE OR SiLVER-EYE 317 
bush. Before the country was settled, they probably 
kept to the coastal ti-tree, to which they still resort 
in large numbers to breed ; but so well do the con- 
ditions of civilisation suit them that they are now 
equally plentiful, especially in the winter, in public 
parks and private gardens in the town. 
The species is not strictly migratory, but moves 
about in flocks according as it finds food in one place 
or another. This consists, in winter, of the nectar 
derived from flowers, in particular the blossoms of 
the melaleuca, the garden pittosporum, and the 
almond ; and also of small seeds and berries, such as 
those of the pepper tree. Aphides and other insects, 
winter pears, and the fruit of the pomegranate form 
changes of diet. Then in the end of November, 
when the first cherries ripen, the White-eyes descend 
upon the orchards and will not leave them so long 
as there is any fruit soft enough for their sharp little 
bills to penetrate. At such times they are very bold 
and careless of man's approach ; the late Mr. William 
Berthon used to kill many by knocking them from the 
trees in his orchard with a stick. They will eat a 
pear out till they can get right inside it, and presently 
it is nothing but stalk and skin. 
The flight is spasmodic and darting, and all the 
time a short but musical note is produced. While 
in a tree the birds are very lively, moving con- 
tinually about from flower to flower or fruit to 
fruit. Sometimes in the branches of a pepper tree 
one may see, during the summer, a pair sitting close 
