144 
77/1? Mo7itKs Arrivals. 
handsome tail. Its habit of drooping its wings when it spreads 
its tail adds to its appearance. It occasionally hangs on its bough 
for a second, with its head downward, like the whitehead of the 
North Island, before it dives into the air. It is never ungraceful, 
never intrusive, never wearisome, and never unwelcome to those 
who go into the forests for either business or pleasure. 
From the N.Z. Herald. per F. HoWE. 
The Brown Creeper, a bird about the size of the sparrow 
and with a costume as plain and sober, is very plentiful in the 
Hokitika district. It is seldom seen except in large flocks, which 
usually fly amongst the trees on the edges of the forest. From a 
purely musical point of view the great charmer is the Grey- 
warbler, which is specially well represented. It is an incon- 
spicous, plainly-clad, delicate-looking little bird. It illustrates 
my previous remark in regard to the distribution of Nature's gifts. 
There is nothing attractive in its appearance, but it has surpassing 
musical talent. The silvery notes of its song are not loud — they 
might lose in quality if tliey were — but they are so clear that they 
travel for a long distance. Sometimes the song comes from an 
invisible bird up in the trees. A few minutes later a rustling in 
the leaves shows that the singer has come nearer, and its grey 
body is seen. It may stay for five or even ten minutes. It is 
then lost sight of, and the plaintive notes are heard fifty or sixty 
yards away coming down from the pine-tree tops. 
From the N.Z. Herald. per F. HoWE. 
^Tbe flDontb'5 Birivals. 
The Verditer Fi^ycaTchkr [Stoparola melanops). Just a hare 
notice was given this interesting arrival in our last issue. Flycatchers are 
perhaps not easy birds to keep in captivity: they need careful feeding, 
roomy quarters and watchful attention, at any rate till they are established, 
but seeing that they are found in such parts of India, where the climatic 
conditions are very near akin to those of England, there should be no 
difficulty in keeping them in finest condition during the summer months, 
in an outdoor aviary, where their flycatching propensities would reveal, 
in all its fulness, their marvellous beauty. There would also be a strong 
probability of their breeding, if the aviary provided suitable cover. 
