68 
bands” afford to my mind further evidence of immaturity. If, however, it were the young of 
G. parvirostris (as suggested by Dr. Finsch), it ought to present other markings, for the young 
of this form exhibits numerous arrow-heads of brownish black on its chm and throat. 
Assuming therefore, the species to be the same, this bird is very common in New South Wales, 
especially in the summer months, frequenting “plains thinly covered with large trees,” rather than 
the thick brushes. It is said to be also abundantly dispersed over the plains of the interior, such as 
the Liverpool, and those which stretch away to the northward and eastward of New South Wales. 
“It breeds in October and the three following months. The nest is often of a triangular 
form in consequence of its being made to fit the angle of the fork of the horizontal branch in which 
it is placed ; it is entirely composed of small dead twigs, firmly matted together with a very fine, 
white, downy substance like cobwebs and a species of lichen, giving the nest the same appearance as 
the branch upon which it is placed, and rendering it most difficult of detection. The ground-colour 
of the eggs, which are usually two in number, varies from wood-brown to asparagus-green, t e otc les 
and spots, which are very generally dispersed over their surface, varying from dull chestnut- rown to 
li„ht yellowish brown; in some instances they are also sparingly dotted with deep umber-brown; 
their medium length is thirteen lines, and breadth ten lines. Its note, which is seldom utterec , is a 
peculiar single purring or jarring sound, repeated several times in succession.” (Gould, Hand b. 
Birds Austr. i. pp. 193, 194.) 
The ornithology of New Zealand has now been so thoroughly explored that we cannot hope to 
make any further additions to our list of species, except by recording accidental visitants like the 
above at long intervals of time— such birds, for example, as Accmthochcera carunculata and Eurystomus 
vadficus • or the occurrence of foreign Waders, such stragglers from the flock as may occasionally 
pass out of their course to New Zealand during their seasonal migration— as, for instance, Charadnus 
fuhus and Phalaropus ruficapiUus ; or of oceanic species whose home is on the rolling sea and 
whose habitual range, within uncertain degrees of latitude and longitude, is often extended 
almost indefinitely by the terrific and long-continued storms that sweep over the face of the great 
Pacific Ocean — such as the beautiful red-tailed Tropic-bird ( Phaeton rubricauda), or that noble 
« y u lture of the sea,” Tachypetes aquila, and the rarer kinds of Petrel. The opportunities, however, 
of recording such occurrences are becoming every year more difficult for the practical ornithologist, 
owing to the number and variety of foreign birds that are being introduced into the country through 
the efforts of Acclimatization Societies and other local agencies. In the early days of the colony 
nothing that was new escaped the vigilant eye of the Maori, and the appearance of a strange bird, 
whether on the sea-shore, in the lagoons, or on the land, was immediately noticed, and the fact sooner 
or later reported to the colonists. But nowadays the country teems with imported birds of every kind 
—Thrushes and Blackbirds, Greenfinches and Linnets in the woods and shrubberies ; Pheasants, Par- 
tridges, and Quail in the open, with Sky-Larks and Starlings on the meadows ; Black Swan and Egyptian 
Geese on the lagoons, and the ubiquitous Sparrow in every street and hedgerow, besides num erless 
other introduced species of more or less importance. Consequently, when a Maori sees a bir ntherto 
unknown to him he puts it down in his mind as a “ manu pakeha,” and pays no further heed to it. 
The occurrence in New Zealand, from time to time, of Australian and Polynesian forms, without 
any suspicion of human intervention or of artificial assistance such as that afforded by ships’ rigging, 
is a matter of extreme interest to the philosophic naturalist, because these cases serve to illustrate 
the manner in which the avifauna of oceanic islands lying far apart from one another or from any 
continental area— as, for example, Norfolk Island and Lord Howe’s Island— may undergo, in process 
of time and by insensible degrees, important changes of feature through the accidental intrusion of 
foreign types. Lor this reason, I have been very careful to notice in the present work every instance 
of the kind that has come to my knowledge. 
