618 
NATURAL HISTORY. 
a token for the planting of the kumara, and its departure, that 
it is time to dig them up. Some have an idea, that this bird 
hibernates under the water. The Taupo natives think that it 
creeps into holes, where it turns into a lizard, and loses its 
feathers ; on the approach of summer, it crawls out of its 
hole, its feathers then begin to grow, the tail drops off, and it 
again becomes a bird ; in its lizard form, it is called he ngaha , 
but in Wanganui, he piri rewa , or tree lizard. The natives 
say, that always before the wind is about to blow from the 
south, the kohoperoa ceases to sing, and does not commence 
again till the west wind rises, or till a breeze springs up from 
the north. When a child is deserted by its parents, it is said 
to be “ Te parahaka o te koekoea,” — “ An egg left in another^ 
nest.” 
The piwarauroa , ( chrysococyx lucidus , cuculus nitensj is the 
other cuckoo, which is also a bird of passage. Its breast is 
white, the feathers being fringed with green and gold ; the 
back is green, gold, and bronze ; the feathers under the tail 
are white, spotted with brown. It has a very peculiar shrill 
note, but when first heard in August its cry is feeble. There 
is a saying, if it continues to cry Tiui kui, it will be a cold 
summer ; but if it sings witi ora , witi ora , it will be a warm 
season. These two birds of passage are said to divide the 
year between New Zealand and Hawaiki, arriving in Sep- 
tember and leaving in March. The smaller cuckoo lays its 
eggs in the nest of the miro miro. 
Fam. Columhidoe. — Kerim, kukupa, ( kuku carpophaga, 
Novoe Zeal :) the wood pigeon. This is a very fine large bird, 
the size of a duck : the upper part of the breast is green and 
gold ; the lower a pure white ; legs and bill red. It is a 
heavy flying bird, and very stupid, which makes it an easy 
prey to its enemies. If two birds are on one tree, and one 
be shot, the other seldom flies away. Its chief food is the 
fruit of the miro when in season, and then it is good eating; 
at other times, it feeds on wild cabbage, and in spring on the 
young leaves of the kowai, when it is not considered whole- 
some. There is a saying, the pigeon never alights on the rata 
tree. I have only met with one species of this bird. 
