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very narrow; nuchal collar well defined and almost pure white, 
after the second or third moult. 
The full adult dress is not attained till 
Obs Mr Reischelc brought from the Little Barrier a brightly coloured specimen, which comes very near to 
' Halcyon sancta. He saw a pair of them together on the south-west side of the island. They appeared to 
be exactly alike in plumage, and the one he shot proved to be a female. In this specimen the nuchal collar 
is half an inch wide, quite regular, creamy white, and margined on both sides with black ; throat whi e , 
underparts and flanks plain fawn-colour; hind head, wings, and rump very bright blue; mantle largely 
tin -ed with verditer-green. Extreme length 9-5 inches ; wing, from flexure, 4 ; tail 3 ; bill, along the rid g 
of lower mandible 2 ; tarsus -5 ; middle toe and claw 1. The bill differs from that of 
ordinary examples, the lower mandible having a more upward curve, and the upper viewed vertically being 
Lch compressed laterally, especially towards the point. Although I have thought it ngh to record these 
differences, I do not propose at present, at any rate, to separate this bird fiom H. vagans, w nci as a spe 
is not very far removed from the Australian form. 
Much difference of opinion has existed as to whether this bird is really distinct from the Halcyon 
sancta of Australia. Mr. K. B. Sharpe, in his ‘ Monograph of the Kingfishers, pronounces i »goo 
species being “ always of a more robust size, and having the colours much less bright than the 
Australian bird.” Professor Schlegel and Dr. Pinsch proposed uniting it to II. sancta ; but m a 
letter which I afterwards received from the latter of these experienced ornithologists he admits a 
the species is quite distinct, adding that his former conclusions were based on two specimens only 
and not on the good series of skins since obtained. I have always contended for the recognition 
Halcyon vagans ; and the question may now be considered fairly set at rest 
In habits the two species are very much alike. The New-Zealand bird is very generally 
dispersed being met with in all suitable localities. It frequents alike the sea-shore, the open country , 
forest-clearings, and the banks of freshwater streams. It is, moreover, one of those birds that seem 
instinctively to resort to the habitations of man ; and instead of, like many other indigenous species, 
decreasing it thrives and multiplies under the altered physical conditions resulting from the coloniza- 
tion of the country. It seeks out the new home of the settler, and becomes the familiar companion 
of his solitude. During the winter months especially, it resorts to cultivated grounds m quest ol 
„rubs and worms, which at this season constitute its principal food. In the early morn A may be 
seen perched on the fences, gateways, and out-buildings of the farmyard, sitting upright with con- 
tracted neck, looking stiff and rigid in the cold frosty air ; and as the day advances, it enlivens the 
landscape by its darting flight, while it attracts notice by its shrill, quickly repeated call, which is not 
unlike the note of the European Kestrel. In the pairing-season this species becomes very noisy 
and lively the mated birds chasing each other, in amorous play, from tree to tree or from post to 
post with loud unmusical cries, something like the syllables cree-cree-cree uttered m quick succes- 
Ton’ Its ordinary call-note is more like chivrchiu- Mu, with a clear accent. When wounded or 
caught in a trap it utters a peculiar rasping cry, exactly like that of the Indran Mynah when alarmed 
" e *Th e ey breedtet the year ; the brood numbers five or six ; and for several weeks after quitting 
the nest the young family keep together. This will probably account for the abundance of King- 
fishers in the autumn months, which has been regarded by some as indicating a seasonal m.gra ion. 
The flight of this species is short, rapid, and direct, being performed by a quick vibration of 
the wings It flies with considerable velocity; and I have known several instances of its dashing 
headlong through a pane of glass. On one occasion this occurred in the church at llaglan during 
divine service ; and the Kingfisher, after recovering from the shock remained to the last perched on 
the end of a pew, looking more devout, says our correspondent, than the Jackdaw of Rheims . Another 
