HONE Y-EA TEES. 
443 
brown; the primaries and tail-feathers are metallic green; the hind-neck is orna¬ 
mented with a collar of soft plumes, having a white line down the centre; and the 
lower part of the breast is metallic green, changing into purplish blue. The sides 
and abdomen are blackish brown, and the throat is ornamented with two tufts of 
white filamentous feathers. 
stitch Bird The ‘“^itch-bird ( Pogonornis cincta) has a moderate bill, 
much compressed and slender, and the gape furnished with slender 
bristles; the wings are moderate, with the fourth quill the longest; the tail is 
moderate and forked; and the metatarsus long, robust, and covered in front with 
transverse scales. Formerly abundant in the southern parts of the North Island 
of New Zealand, it was never found in the South Island. The stitch-bird is 
remarkable for the bright plumage of the male, on which account it has been almost 
completely exterminated by the natives, in order that the chiefs might wear the 
canary-yellow feathers from the wings in their gorgeous feather robes. Always a 
shy and retiring species, and difficult to shoot, the Maoris used to take this bird 
in snares baited with flowers. Sir W. Buffer observes that when disturbed by 
the report of a gun, this bird will fly oft' to a neighbouring tree with a light and 
graceful movement of the wing; but when descending to a lower station it 
adopts a different manner of flight, elevating the tail almost to a right angle 
with the body, and scarcely moving the wings at all. The male bird erects the 
tail and spreads the ear-tufts when excited or alarmed; but the female habitually 
carries the tail perfectly erect, and the wings drooping. The male utters at 
short intervals, and with startling energy, a melodious whistling caff of three 
notes; but at other times he produces a sharp, clicking sound, like the striking of 
two quartz stones together, the sound having a fancied resemblance to the word 
“ stitch.” The nest is a slight, shallow structure, built of sprays and fibres, lined 
with fine grass and cow-hair. The egg is yellowish white, thickly spotted with 
pale rufous. The adult male has the head, neck, and upper back velvety black ; 
a tuft of snow-white feathers is present on both sides of the head; the wings and 
tail are black; a band of rich canary-yellow encircles the back neck; and the 
under-parts are light greyish brown. The female is plain brown. 
The group of honey-sucking birds known as white-eyes (genus 
Whit3-Eyes o jt */ o «/ \© 
Zosterops ) have long been a bone of contention among ornithologists, 
Dr. Gadow placing them among the honey-eaters, Dr. Sclater with the sun-birds, 
Mr. Wallace among the flower-peckers, and Mr. Oates in the Crateropodidce, while 
Professor Mivart makes them the type of a family by themselves. Under these 
circumstances we have placed them here, preferring to leave their family position 
open. They are characterised by having the beak curved, slender, and pointed, 
and the nostrils covered by a large membrane, while the eye is surrounded by a 
characteristic circle of small white feathers. The tongue, according to Dr. Gadow, 
is protractile and bifid, with each half broken up into numerous stiff horny fibres, 
so as to form a brush. The wing has ten primaries, but the first is very minute; 
and the tail is short and quite square. Twelve species of white-eye are found in 
Madagascar and the Mascarene Islands, which Canon Tristram divides into the 
green-backed and grey-backed groups; while five inhabit India, and several 
Australia. Japan also possesses a species; and several others occur in Africa. 
