OF NEW ZEALAND. 
63 
which the woods abound. They are easily killed 
with a spear or a musket ; and if two birds are 
found upon the same tree, they are either so 
sluggish or stupid as not to fly when one is either 
killed or wounded. They feed upon the berries 
of the Miro ; are most delicious eating ; and are 
in season from January to June. The natives 
destroy vast numbers of these birds, and value 
them much, on account of both the quantity and 
the quality of their flesh. 
Kotihe — This bird is about the size of the gold- 
finch ; but has a slender dark beak, nearly an inch 
long. The male is considerably larger than the 
female ; and has a much more beautiful plumage, 
being variegated with white and yellow, upon a 
diversified ground of brown. Its legs are very 
strong, for the size of the bird, and its tail is 
forked. It lays four eggs, in the moss of the 
Puriri-tree ; and the male always attends and 
waits upon the female during the season of incu- 
bation. Its voice is very pleasing ; but it only 
sounds a few notes ; then hops to another spray, 
and sings again. Its food is berries and other 
wild fruits of the woods. It is a timid bird, and 
diSicult to be taken alive. The males vary much 
in the brilliancy of their colours ; some having a 
jet-black head and back, and others, again, a dusky 
brown. Those with the black feathers are, by far, 
the prettiest birds. They are all, however, as beau- 
tiful as the linnet in their plumage, and surpass 
him in the delicacy and elegance of their shape. 
