249 
the morning, and after the female has deposited it her mate may be seen flying rapidly after her, 
dashing through the trees and sometimes in the open, the female uttering a distressed, peevish ciy. 
On such occasions I have sometimes seen them fly long distances outside the bush.” Referring to 
the foster-parents’ nest he says “ I may inform you of a curious position in which the Gerygone 
occasionally builds its nest. Of course you have seen the grand old white-pines whose trunks are 
thickly ‘ bearded with moss.’ Selecting a spot where this moss is four or five inches thick, it con- 
structs its nest among it, leaving the entrance just flush with the outer fringes. I was shown one by 
an old gold-digger, who assured me that during the last 25 years he has on frequent occasions found 
the nest of the Warbler in such situations.” 
It is singular that in the same way that the Tui persecutes this Cuckoo in New Zealand, it is 
the victim in Samoa of another Honey-eater, a much smaller bird*. It is difficult to account for 
this unless it be due to the Hawk-like markings of its plumage. 
Fam. TETRAONID.ZE. — The rapid and total disappearance of such a bird as the New-Zealand 
Quail is very remarkable, when we consider that the members of the restricted group to which it 
belongs have an almost universal diffusion, and continue to exist, under somewhat similar conditions, 
in other countries in undiminished plenty f . The causes to which we are accustomed to attribute 
the extirpation of the Quail (the introduction of sheep and the prevalence of bush-fires) ought 
to operate with equal effect on such a bird as the Woodhen ( Ocydromus australis ), which, being 
utterly incapable of flight, is placed at a greater disadvantage even than the Quail ; yet this species, 
instead of being exterminated, continues to thrive and multiply, and is even more numerous than 
formerly in the settled districts of the South Island. Some have endeavoured to account for the 
disappearance of the Quail on the theory of migration ; but situated as New Zealand is in the great 
waste of the Pacific Ocean, such a theory seems to me quite untenable. It is true that, as stated at 
page 228, the bird has recently been found, apparently in considerable numbers, on the Three Kings; 
but I take it that this is a mere outlying refuge of the species, and that the birds to be found on 
these small islands are the only survivors of a race now extinct on the mainland, and not to be met 
with in any other part of the world. 
The extreme fecundity of the Quail tribe ought, one would have thought, to have saved this 
species from such rapid extinction. Mr. J. R. Hill, of Christchurch, kept some California Quails 
( Lophortyx calif ornicus) in his aviary, and was perfectly amazed with their productiveness. One of the 
hens laid in a single season no less than 80 eggs, forming several new nests during that period. At 
length she discontinued laying, and collecting 23 of the eggs into one nest commenced to incubate. 
She brought out all but one, and reared the 22 young ones to maturity. 
* The bird is chiefly known to the Samoans as an example of arrant cowardice, owing to the fact that when seen it is almost 
always chased by a number of Iaos ( Ptilotis carunculata ), from which it tries to escape m the most precipitate manner. I 
scarcely ever hear the name of the Aleva mentioned by a native without some such remark as this “ Tho big bird that is 
chased by the little Iao ! ” 
t A correspondent who has carefully noted the disappearance of the Quail writes to me 5— “ It seems to me to be ot 
importance that the life-history of this bird should be correctly recorded; for tho story of its rapid extinction will possess much 
interest for future naturalists. It cannot be said, as in other cases, that this species was exterminated by the introduction of 
other birds into its natural habitat, because it had almost disappeared before any acclimatized birds had reached the grass- 
covered downs where formerly it was so abundant. The tussock-fires have been the prime cause of the ann i ation < 
useful bird by destroying tbe seeds and insects on which it subsisted. So far as I have been able to discover, the ast specimen 
seen alive was on the Itaincliffe Station, in the year 1878.” 
