The Thrushes 
43 
“Not much secretiveness is displayed in the choice of a site 
for its nest; it may be found at varying distances from the 
earth, from four feet to twelve and upwards, usually at seven 
or eight. The structure is firmly and compactly built, with 
small sprays for the foundation, on which moss is abundantly 
interwoven with pliant twigs; the lining is usually of fine grass 
bents; some nests are finished off with soft tree-fern down; it 
is usually placed in tutu (Coriaria ruscifolia), sometimes in 
Coprosma, or manuka. From the neighbourhood of its home, 
rivals of its own species as well as other birds are driven off. 
“Probably it breeds twice in the season, although we have 
not observed more than two eggs to a nest; yet we have found 
four eggs tolerably forward in the ovary of a female killed at 
Christmas time. The full complement of eggs is probably four. 
“Near Lake Mapourika, in a very swampy situation, we 
found a nest with the walls very thickly built of moss and 
manuka sprays interwoven. It was placed about 15 feet above 
the ground in a tall manuka. Dimensions of the nest across 
the top from outside to outside of wall about 7 in., diameter 
of cavity about 3 in., with a depth of 2 in. We find this a fair 
average, after looking at scores of nests. The young when they 
emerge from the shell have a covering of dark down. We 
think the eye of the pio-pio gleams with much intelligence; 
perhaps this notion is conveyed by its narrow, but bright pale 
yellow iris..Once up the Havelock, in one of the outskirts 
of a mixed bush of Phyllocladus, Fagus, and Podocarpus , 
several thrushes were observed flying from the top of a tree 
after insects, flycatcher fashion, in the glow of a hot 
afternoon. ’ ’ 
It may be with the thrush as with the robin;—the South 
Island species of both was songless, whilst the North Island 
species was a fine songster; for, differing remarkably from 
Potts, Puller (BN, Vol. 1, p. 27) speaks of it as “unquestion¬ 
ably the best of our native songsters. His song consists of five 
distinct bars, each of which is repeated six or seven times in 
succession; but he often stops abruptly in his overture to intro¬ 
duce a variety of other notes, one of which is a peculiar 
