NATURAL HISTORY. 
615 
Fam. Luscinidoe.— The matata , or koroatito (spenaeaeus ? 
punctatus) , it is a small dark brown bird, with a white and 
brown spotted breast, and has four long and four short tail 
feathers, similar in structure to those of the emu and kiwi ; 
it is a swamp bird, flies low, and for a very short distance, 
amongst the rushes and fern, with a long shrill cry ; and is 
easily killed with a stick. Formerly, it was a sacred bird, 
and offered in sacrifice when a party returned unsuccessful 
from the war. 
Fam. Troglodytinoe. — To this family belong, S. Fulvus , 
Gerygone igata, G. Flaviventris, G. Albofrontata , G. Assimilis, 
Gerthiparus Novoe Sclandice , G. Maculieaudus , P. Etroica 
Macrocephala , P. Eieffenbachii, P. Toitoi , P. Longipes , P. 
Albifrons, and Anthus Novce Zealandice. 
Riro riro, the wren. This most diminutive bird is of a 
greyish yellow color, and very tame. I met with a blue- 
crested wren at Waitara, which was so tame as to be caught 
in the hand. The cuckoo lays its eggs in this little bird's 
nest. 
Fam. Turdidce. — The piopio (tnrnagra crassirostris) , a bird 
about the size of a thrush, with a short thick bill, red tail, 
yellow breast, and brown back, it is a bird of passage from 
the south, Piopio wirunga nga tau ho Matatua ie waka, the 
piopio came on the bow of the Matatua , one of the original 
canoes, from Hawaiki, so says the proverb, it feeds upon 
grubs, and has the habits of the woodpecker. 
Fam. Muscicapidce. — Piwaka waka, tirakaraka, the fantailed 
fly- catcher, a pretty little restless lively bird, very sociable, 
and fond of displaying its beautiful fan-tail, it has one 
black and white streak under the neck, coming to a point in 
the centre of the throat ; its wings are very sharp and pointed, 
is very quick and expert in catching flies, and a great favo- 
rite, as it generally follows the steps of man. It was sacred 
to Maui. 
Miromiro, ( miro albifrons.) — A little black and white bird, 
with a large head, it is very tame, and has a short melancholy 
song ; it generally flies about graves and solitary bushes. 
The miro toitoi , (muscipeta toitoi ,) or the ngirungiru, is a bird 
