BIRDS’ EGGS 
43 
Most of the smaller birds, including the Fantail, 
Yellow Hammer, Goldfinch, White Eye, and Grey 
Warbler, migrate periodically within New Zealand, 
usually travelling northwards as cold weather 
approaches, and southward during the spring 
months. As the particular food of the birds 
insects and grubs for some, seeds for others 
becomes insufficient, they move to the adjacent 
district that has a larger supply, dhose who have 
listened to the medley of sweet sounds with which 
our feathered songsters welcome the dawn, and 
have been able to analyse the commingling of 
melodies, detecting the dominant notes of the 
Thrush, the liquid contralto of the Blackbird, the 
silvery trills of the Grey Warbler, etc., or have had 
a similar experience when in or near the New 
Zealand “bush,” will know what a great pleasure 
this brings. It is in the hope that this delightful 
experience may become more general that an 
attempt has been made in this book to supply the 
songs of the birds described. My itinerant work 
has given me exceptional opportunities for obser¬ 
vation of bird life, especially in the bush country 
on the shores of Kawhia Harbour and Lake Rotoiti, 
and in the Waitangaru and Waingaro Valleys. 
BIRDS' EGGS 
SIZE (compared with Blackbird’s eggs):— 
# larger; ** twice the size; f about the same size; 
—• less; —* much less, tiny. 
COLOUR— 1 to 9, white; 10 to 18, and sometimes 
31, whitish; 19 to 22, and sometimes 24, blue or 
