55 
I have before me now a beautiful nest of this species, which was taken on the Little Barrier in 
December, and contained three young birds. It is almost spherical, except at the top, which is 
flattened, measuring in its largest part 4 inches by 3 ; and its structure is very close and 
compact, all the materials composing it being well felted together; the cup or cavity is rather deep 
and rounded with an overhanging lip, the edges being very closely bound and interlaced ; and the 
opening measures just two inches in diameter. The nest is composed of many coloured mosses and 
lichens, dry leaves, grasses, vegetable fibres, and here and there a feather closely interwoven with the 
web ; and the interior is lined with fine grass-bents and a few feathers. 
For the rapid disappearance of our indigenous birds it is hard to assign any special cause, 
d he introduced rat is undoubtedly an important factor in the business by preying on the eggs and 
young of such species as habitually nest in places accessible to them ; but we can hardly account in 
this way for the almost total disappearance of the pert little White-head, once the commonest denizen 
of our woods. The introduced bee gets a share of the blame in the case of honey-eating and tree- 
hole nesting birds, like the Korimako and Stitch-bird on the one hand, and the Kaka and Parrakeet 
on the other ; but with even less probability than the Norwegian rat can this agent be credited with 
the destruction of the White-head. The disappearance of the Quail we are accustomed to attribute 
to the inti’oduction of sheep and the prevalence of tussock fires ; the diminution of the Wild Duck to 
the extensive draining-operations of the farmer ; and the thinning of the Wood-Pigeon to the wholesale 
slaughter of these birds by both Europeans and natives, and in some districts without cessation all 
the year through. But we find it extremely difficult to discover any sufficient reason for the wonderfully 
rapid extinction of the White-head, or Popokatea, in most parts of the island. No doubt it is due to 
a variety of causes, operating with more or less force, 'all round, and thus furnishing another illustra- 
tion of what appears to be an almost universal natural law — that indigenous forms of animal and 
vegetable life sooner or later succumb to, and are displaced by, more vigorous types from without. As 
the Maori is being rapidly supplanted by his Anglo-Saxon neighbour, as the rat has exterminated and 
replaced the More maori, as the native fern and other herbaceous vegetation disappears in all directions 
before the spreading grass and clover of the colonist, so in like manner the native birds, or at any rate 
many of the well-known species, are giving place to the ever-increasing numbers of Sparrows, Linnets, 
Greenfinches, Yellowhammers, Starlings, and other introduced birds that are now to be met with in 
every part of the country. 
On the other hand, how are we to account for the almost total disappearance of the introduced 
Pheasant from the Waikato and other districts, where a few short years ago they were excessively 
abundant, proving almost a plague to the farmers and Maori cultivators 1 Some ascribe it to the 
Hawks, but these were always as numerous as they are now ; some to poisoned wheat laid for rabbits, 
but the Pheasant has disappeared from districts where there are no rabbits, and consequently no 
poisoned wheat. Others believe that the native Woodhen is responsible for the change ; but the 
habit of feasting on Pheasants’ eggs, whenever it gets the chance, is by no means a newly acquired 
one with this bird. Doubtless there are agencies at work of which at present we have no knowledge. 
The fact nevertheless remains, and is quite as inexplicable as in the case of some of our indigenous 
birds. 
For my own part, I deplore very much this displacement of the natural Avifauna, which appears 
to be almost inevitable, because many interesting types will disappear for ever. Efforts are being 
made to save some of them by means of island reserves, but I fear the task is a hopeless one. All 
therefore that remains to us now is to record their history as fully and minutely as possible for the 
benefit of science. This I shall endeavour to accomplish in the present work, describing faithfully 
their habits of life, and omitting nothing that may seem likely to prove of interest or value to the 
student of the future. 
