120 Bird-Song : and New Zealand Song Birds 
ke-oo, ke-oo , with a swell on the e of ke (the e as in “net”) ; the 
catch was the oo, audible only when near at hand, and it had less 
of tlu ieed\ tone, being evidently caused by a sudden change in 
the aperture through which the sound was produced. At times 
this gave the impression that the oo was an octave lower than the 
ke ; but the difference was probably in the quality, and not in the 
pitch of the note. At times the ke-oo had the sound of howw, 
the pause on the w bringing back the oo sound. The note 
changed during a fortnight from a clear anvil ring to the reedy 
sound in an acute form, with the rattle, mellowing again towards 
the anvil sound. People living in the locality declared the cry 
new to them; one compared it to the jarring ring of a cracked 
anvil; another to the knocking of rusty iron pipes. There were 
not more than three or four birds in the bush, about 30 acres in 
extent, that uttered the cry; one, particularly noticeable, sat on 
the same totara day after day, well in view. Bell-notes and 
reedy notes were occasionally played off against each other, as 
in (11), so the new note was evidently under full control of the 
bird. On one day the sound was distinctly like the twanging of a 
jews’ harp, the shape of the open lips being modified for the 
e-oo whilst breathing on the twanging metal tongue. This 
peculiar sound I heard again at Ivapiti in 1916. Other variations 
are shewn in (12) to (14), the relative pitch of the expletives 
being also shewn. The kitty or klitty of (14). was similar to 
the clit of (5), with a short sharp after-sound. The bird from 
which these variants were obtained flew off with a sustained 
vibrating note that made it sound as though it were a flying 
reolian harp. The reedy notes of (15) vocalized vioo, vioo, 
were on one day followed by three high notes more like a whistle 
in sound than bell-like. The full theme of (16), which is almost 
a song, though composed largely of call notes, was heard on only 
one day; at times the first half would be sung alone; at times 
the second half; occasionally the full theme. In (17) two full 
bell notes were followed by faint after notes, as though the 
hammer of a chiming bell had just touched again on the rebound; 
the division between the note and its quasi-echo was barely 
discernible. A short note with double rebound, making a ver\ 
