133 
The Honey-eaters : The Tui 
disembodied voices. On the 29th December, 1916, after four or 
more birds had thus been calling for about ten minutes, a biid 
would begin the beating theme of (65), varied as in (66), where 
the place of the rest in the triplets would at times be taken by 
the third note. In the darkness of the morning the sea looked 
deep blue, almost black, and it broke in a low murmured sound 
along the heavy shingle shore. There was a faintest line of 
silver above the hills of the mainland to the east, and above the 
silver hung the morning star, Venus, a great globe throbbing 
with rosily-golden light that continually seemed on the point of 
67 
/L l V ^ > k U U 
^-pf 
-4 
tiu 
tiu 
over-flowing in drops of flame. Later, at nearly four o ’clock, 
when Venus had shrunk and dimmed to pale gold in the broader 
upbeaming light of dawn, several birds sang (65) and the varia¬ 
tion (66). The sound was half bell, half flute, and though several 
birds sang, as could be heard owing to the different birds 
dropping to e at different times, and varying to (66) at 
different times, the result was quite harmonious. The 
common call continued to be uttered at intervals during the 
harmonv. The chorus was fuller on the 2nd January, 1917, when 
the call was a variation of (26). Other birds joined in, and began 
the chorus, the first notes being those of (65), excepting that 
d took the place of e. At times one bird uttered tiu instead of d, 
and at times lagged behind a little when singing the g. Another 
birds joined in on c, in a much higher, thinner tone than the 
rich bell tones of the others. The effect was as shewn in (67). 
L 
