The Honey-eaters : The Tui 
the ordinary calls when wooing. One day I saw two birds in a 
totara, one wooing and cajoling the other. He sang the beautiful 
chime (47) close to the ear of his companion, following it with 
the high soft notes of (61). This he sang in very subdued 
tones; and as the silent bird retreated, the other, singing and 
wooing, followed flutter by flutter over short distances along the 
bough. His cajoling was, however, unsuccessful so far as my 
observation went; for the one so sweetly persecuted flew off, 
though not unfollowed. On another occasion I saw two tuis 
singing a duet. The full bell-notes of (62) and (63) were sung, 
varied in several ways, the short initial notes reminding me of a 
swinging creaking signboard—if the creak could be sublimated 
aurr aurr 
into music. The g was often the vibrato note, sounding like a 
bell struck quickly with a wooden mallet. Both birds sang the 
four notes, now alternately, now together, in perfect tune and 
time. I have also seen the singing of a duet by a tui and a 
bell-bird. They sat not far apart on the same branch, and the 
tui would beat liis four or five bell-notes followed by the gutturals 
aurr aurr. Immediately on his concluding the bell-notes the 
bell-bird sang her phrase, the aurr aurr of the tui forming the 
undersong to her notes, the result being as in (64). This was 
repeated several times, the bell-bird now and again allowing the 
aurr aurr to go unaccompanied. 
There is no doubt that the tui is able to imitate not only other 
birds, but all manner of sounds, and does do so; but he resembles 
Shakespeare and his wood-notes wild in this,—that whatsoever 
