142 Bird Notes from Far aiid Near. 
companion who was at the cup, gave it a sharp pick on the head 
which stunned the little fellow, and it dropped to the floor. I 
picked it up and placed it on the perch by the food, it would not 
eat, seemed dazed and died on the following day. The remain- 
ing one went from room to room, calling most pitifully for its 
mate, refused to eat, and after the second day it died. ... I can- 
not express how I missed my pets .... we had learned so much 
of their ways and habits, their happy chirpy notes, quick flights, 
winsome manners, etc., were as a golden ray of sunshine to 
brighten our every day life of cares, and I am just humane enough 
to say I missed my little friends and mourned for them, many 
and many a summer day. From Bird News. W. T. P. 
NATURE NOTES— NEW ZEALAND. 
Ten Days on the West Coast. 
By James Drummond, F.L.S., F.Z.S. 
Nestling Kingfishers : One day, when I was tramping 
through the forest near Mr. Gates' house, south of Hokitika, I 
heard a sound that attracted m\^ attention by its strangeness. It 
was loud enough to make me stop and listen. It was of a 
buzzing and wheezing character, and it continued without a break, 
and in the same monotonous tone, like the chorus of the cicada. 
Tracing the sound for about ten feet, I came to the 
decayed stump of an old white pine, riddled and rotted with the 
operations of the borer. The stump still stood upright, but the 
elements had claimed so much of it that only fifteen or twelve 
feet were left. The sound came from inside the stump, about 
half-way up its length. Drawing nearer, I saw a hole in the side 
of the trunk. The interior was dark, and the hole seemed to be 
filled with the sound. I inserted my hand, and withdrew it again 
with a fluffy, long-beaked, large-headed Kingfisher, which had 
not yet learnt to fly, but which evidently had a grievance against 
its parents, as when I took it out into the daylight and subjected 
it to a careful examination, it kept opening and shutting its bill 
and giving out its mournful and miserable zxy. It did not resent 
my interference. It took no more notice of me than it would 
have taken of its parents. It only cried all the time, presumably 
for food, and voiced its deep-seated grievance 
