OF NEW ZEALAND. 
67 
the wings and tail blue and white ; and the fea- 
thers, just above the tail, bright green. The bird 
is about the size of the jay. 
Matuku urepo — This bird is a species of the 
crane ; and is upwards of three feet long, and 
three feet in height. It dwells in swamps and 
marshes ; and is very timid, keeping at a great 
distance from man, and seeming to take alarm 
at his first approach. The top of the head is 
covered with slight bristles ; and the back of the 
scull is of a red colour, perfectly bald. Its 
neck and legs are long ; and its food, the worms 
found at the roots of the bulrush. Its plumage 
is of a bright ash colour ; and it has two tufts of 
finely-curled feathers at the end of the pinions, 
which, when the bird is feeding, are mostly erect, 
and when flying are depressed. Its flight is very 
elegant; not from its swiftness, but from the 
slimness of its shape. When on the wing, they 
generally confine themselves to the extensive 
marshes with which this country abounds ; and, 
as they are but rarely found in greater numbers 
than two or three together, and being very shy, 
they are difficult birds to obtain. The female 
lays two eggs, of a pale blue colour, about the 
size of a turkey’s egg. They are not sought 
after by the natives, as they describe their flesh 
to be “ tooth-breaking and bitter.” 
Putoto — A small black bird, about the size of 
the thrush, found in the swamps of New Zealand, 
which it appears never to leave. Its legs are 
