The Warblers : The Robins 
65 
There are different species in the Chatham Islands and the 
Snares; these are jet black, the wings brownish. 
Eggs. —Three; creamy white, thickly freckled and speckled 
with purple and brown, the markings denser at the thick end, 
where they form an indistinct purplish zone. 
Nest .—Usually built against the bole of a tree, at a moderate 
height from the ground, and is often found attached to the 
wiry stems of the kiekie, a climbing plant everywhere abun¬ 
dant. It is large and compact, and is composed of coarse moss 
firmly interwoven, and thickly lined with the soft down of 
young tree-fern frond-stems. 
The South Island robin does not sing, or has never been 
heard singing. Its ordinary note is a clear sharp whistle, as 
in (1), with which it seems to greet the intruder when first it 
appears in his presence. It is often seen on the ground; and it 
approaches in a quick series of long-legged hops, which have 
the character of the abrupt notes themselves. 
1 
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North Island robin. —Greyish-black, with a small white spot 
over the bill, and a broad band of white on the breast and 
abdomen. Eye, black. Bill, blackish-brown; feet, pale 
yellowish-brown. Total length 7 \ in., of which the tail is 
3 in. The female is rather smaller than the male, and is greyish- 
brown in colour. The young is coloured like the female, and 
the white spot over the bill is obscure. 
The robin is now rare in most places at all accessible, but on the 
sanctuary of Kapiti Island I have found it plentiful. There 
I heard the phrase (2). This phrase was heard several times, 
