62 
Notes from Far and Near. 
" observed this peculiarity. " The Shining Cuckoo," he says " made its 
" first appearance here this season, 1908, on October 6. For a week there 
" seemed to be only one. The long flight, apparently, had put its vocal 
" notes out of tune, as its whistle was not as prolonged as usual. On 
"October 13 I saw thiee Shining Cuckoos in a young rata tree. One was 
" sitting with its wings spread ; the others were chasing each other through 
"the branches. Now, November 1st, you can hear them whistling all day 
" long. It would be easier to gue.ss the number of peas in a bottle than 
" the number of Shining Cuckoos at this place. Their whistle is more 
" noticeable than the notes of any other bird. If all the bushy parts of 
"New Zealand have as many of these visitors as there are here, their 
"migration must be a very big thing indeed." 
Another observer states : — " For the first few clays following its 
arrival the Shining Cnckoo is very quiet and retiring, its silvery 
note, which later becomes so loud and distinct, is but seklom heard, 
and then nearlj'^ always in the night ; thus does it usually herald its 
arrival. The best representation of its notes are as follows : — 
" Kui, kui, kui, whitiwhiti ora." Maori orators quote it as an 
ornament of speech, conveying best wishes for good fortune, pros- 
perity, and all happiness. 
W.T.P. 
Month's Arrivals. 
A Consignment of North American Birds for the Zoo.— North 
American species are of special interest, for since prohibition of the importa- 
tion of American species, practically the exchanges between the London 
and New York Zoos are the only means we have of keeping up our acquain- 
tance with the avifauna of the U.S.A., save for these species whose range 
extends to the South American Continent, from whence a limited number 
leak through at not very frequent intervals. I am unable to describe these 
before going to press, but will refer to them again in our next issue. They 
consist of the following : 
10 American Goldfinches. 2 Common Cowbirds. 
.3 Pine Siskins. 5 Blue Birds. 
6 Red-shouldered Starlings. 7 Catbirds. 
Another recent arrival is an Australian Mallee Bird. W.T.P. 
Private Importations.— Mr. Sutcliffe left Jamaica at the end of Dec- 
ember en route for Uemerara, where he hopes to make some captures. The 
ship called at Colon, Panama, Carthagena, and Savanilla. At the last 
two ports he could not discover any birds ; at Panama he secured a pair 
of Egrets, a Yellow Ilangne.st, and 13 small birds. The Egrets, Hangnest, a 
Colombian Siskin , Blue-Sugar Bird ? , and two pairs of Tanagers arrived 
alive. On Thursday morning, January 271h, they left Southampton at 12-30 
noon ; reaching Sheffield at 8-38 p.m., leaving there at 3 a.m., and 
arriving here at 6 a.m. on Friday morning. I received news of their dispatch 
