40 Bird-Song : and New Zealand Song Birds 
Eggs .—Probably four in number, but two usually found; 
ovoid or elongated in form, pure white, spotted with blackish- 
brown or black, purplish at the edges of the spots; sometimes 
of a delicate pinkish tinge, just staining the white, spotted with 
brownish-grey, with purplish blotches at the larger end; length 
a little over 1\ in.; breadth almost 1 in. 
Habits, including Nest .—I have heard no note of a Maori 
thrush, nor have I ever seen the living bird. At one time it was 
plentiful; and the observations of such men as Potts, who has 
written in a most attractive manner of his experiences of the 
wild life of old New Zealand, are now invaluable as giving an 
idea of the appearance of the country, and its bird habitants, 
during the early days of settlement. “In writing the natural 
history of our birds,” says he (PO, p. 198 et seq.), “the be- 
wailment of their lessened numbers has come to be a matter of 
course, [and] the rapid settlement of the country has, in the 
case of the thrush, limited its range greatly, few birds having 
retreated with so much haste before the efforts of the 
cultivator. 
“Let us take a section of this [the South] island, say one 
hundred miles in width, including Banks Peninsula, and 
stretching from the eastern to the western shore, this will 
afford some information as to its present habitat. Within this 
range at one time, the pio-pio [Maori thrush] might be found 
in any bushy place, not too far from water, where belts of 
shrubs afforded shelter and abundance of seeds; ten years at 
least have passed since we heard of its occurrence in this 
neighbourhood (Governor’s Bay) ; on Banks Peninsula proper 
it is now scarce; in the bush-dotted gullies of the Malvern Hills, 
the Thirteen-mile Bush, Alford Forest, and many other locali¬ 
ties, it was not very uncommon; now, let an enthusiastic 
naturalist traverse these places in search of our feathered 
philosopher, he will find it has become a rara avis indeed. We 
must pass through these portals of the mountains, the river 
gorges, to catch sight of the thrush hopping about the openings 
of the bush, much after the fashion of its English namesake; 
