58 Bird-Song : and New Zealand Song Birds 
two distinct qualities,—one plaintive, one cheerful; the bird 
combines the charms of L’Allegro and II Penseroso/ The one 
I think of as the bush bird, which I have heard only at Stony 
Pay and in Wbstland near Hokitika, sings the two distinctive 
songs (4) and (7), with their variants; the one I think of as 
the town bird, or bird of the open, sings the songs (18) and 
(22) with their variants. I have heard both bush bird and 
town bird combine the two themes, following the cheerful one 
with the plaintive,—a charming combination, and the 
beginning of true music. 
In one early spring song, a pair of birds flitted together in 
the tree, the male singing whilst the female, with wings flut¬ 
tering and quivering, moved from spray to spray lower in the 
branches. She was a beautiful soft dove grey colour on the 
breast, darker on the back. The theme of (24) was also an 
eaily spring song. This was in perfect 2 time; a rhythmical 
swinging theme, repeated many times without pause. 
An additional interest attaches to the semitones and quarter 
tones of this bird’s song, and to its comparatively limited 
compass and the often indeterminate quality of the song, for 
it is said that these influenced the Maori in his music, much of 
which partakes of the same apparently enharmonic and inde¬ 
terminate quality. 
Of the ten Maori names recorded (WJ, p. 198), the one most 
commonly used is riroriro. Its plaintive song is heard more 
frequently, after a short period of silence, in the early spring, 
the season of preparing the cultivations of the old-time Maori 
f oi cro PS- For this reason arose the proverb “I hea hoe i te 
tangihanga o te riroriro?” (Where wast thou at the crying of 
the riroriro?) a proverb used for shaming a lazy or careless 
pei son who was without cultivated food, especially when 
begging. (Tr. Vol. 12, p. 117). Hearing the song, “Kua tangi 
te riroriro, ’ (The riroriro cries), the people would say, signi¬ 
fy ing Planting time has commenced; let us be up and doing. ’ ’ 
(BN, Yol. 1 , p. 45). 
There is a story concerning one Hau-tupatu, who, fleeing 
fiom his brothers on account of ill-treatment, and hiding in 
