109 
The Honey-eaters : The Blight-bird 
The bird sat in a tree not more than twelve feet away, and held 
its bill in the air whilst singing, its throat throbbing, 
especially on the tin tin. Though very clear, the note was hardly 
a whistle, being capable of vocalization as noted. The song 
was composed of a few phrases, marked by the single bars, 
combined in various ways as in the song of the lark. Many 
more combinations entered into the song, but these were all 
that I was able to catch at the time: he did not sing long, and 
as it was the first time of hearing the song, of which the frag¬ 
ment (4) is part, I was naturally more inclined to listen than 
to note it down. The songster was quite alone; I heard no 
other blight-bird near; and I am convinced that birds often 
sing for their own gratification, as in this instance; for on 
another occasion when 1 saw a pair of the birds together, the 
male twice started his song, and was twice stopped by the 
female, who flew to the attack as soon as the first few notes 
were uttered. 
The bird is known as the blight-bird, the wax-eye, silver-eye, 
ring-eye, white-eye, twinkie. The first name is given because of 
the & fondness the bird shows for blight; the other names refer to 
the prominent ring of white feathers around the eye : the names 
wax-eye and silver-eye are heard as often as blight-bird, but 
the latter name should be retained in order that the usefulness 
of the bird may not be forgotten. 
Of the nine Maori names recorded (WJ, p. 199) tauliou is the 
one most commomly used. One at least of the others, karupatene, 
must have been given since the coming of Europeans to the 
islands, as it is a descriptive name meaning '‘button-eye.’ 7 The 
characteristic feature of the bird is again emphasized in this 
name, and possibly also its recent arrival; had it always been 
known to the Maori it is hardly likely that it would receive a 
name that is half European. 
The majority of the Maori names of birds is echoic. It 
nevertheless depended upon one man’s ear as to the word 
that was to be adopted to signify any certain bird, for a bird 
or other object is usually familiar for some time before it 
receives a name, and many will be ready to adopt a name 
