400 
NATURAL HISTORY. 
uniform color, with red legs, black eye, red circle, black bill, 
small tail, black underneath, spotted with white, the breast 
and front edges of the wings are of a dark bright blue. 
Totoriwai is a small black rail; the moho is also of a black 
color, formerly very abundant, but now seldom seen. 
The koitareke, or kokoreke, koreke, and koutareke, (coturnix 
novce Zealandi,) is a small quail, with short legs, nearly 
approaching to the quail of Australia, in its general features. 
In thefam. Falconidce, is the kahii (falco harpe), a fine large 
hawk, which is very destructive to poultry, and will not hesi¬ 
tate to pounce on even a full-grown hen. The wings are nearly 
four feet across when expanded, but the body of this rapacious 
bird is very small, being a dark yellow, spotted with brown, 
and the breast of a lighter color, spotted. 
The kaiaia, or karewarewa, kauaua, {falco brunnea.) This 
is an elegant bird, very similar to the English sparrow-hawk ; 
it has a very shrill cry, which is regarded as an omen of the 
weather: if heard on a fine day, it is a sign it will rain ; if on 
a rainy day, that it will be fine. 
There is also a night-hawk, very similar to the sparrow-hawk 
in plumage. Fam. Strigidce. 
The koukou, or rum (Athene Novce Scelandice, strix fulva). 
It is called more pork by the settlers. This small owl is the 
only one yet known in the islands ; it is easily killed with a 
stick in the day time. 
Fam. Alcedinidce —the kotare, (halcyon vagans). It closely 
resembles the English kingfisher in plumage, but, if anything, 
is rather inferior to it in beauty, and is a third larger. 
Fam. JJpupidce —the huia, {neomorpha gouldii). This is a 
beautiful bird, with small wings; it is about the size of the 
jay, of a bright glossy black, with four large tail feathers, 
tipped with white, which have a graceful curve, with a small 
white tuft under the root of the tail; the male has a long 
slender bill, of a bright yellow color ; the female has a thicker 
bill; the eye is of a leaden color; it has two little yellow 
fleshy lappets on each side of the head, which look like two 
wafers stuck on the cheeks. The legs and feet are long, 
slender, and of a bright yellow. Its hop is very singular, like 
