150 Bird-Song : and New Zealand Song Birds 
“No one who has not actually listened to the melody can 
form any idea of the effect produced by these high notes 
coming from a hundred throats independently, and blending 
together in the richest harmony of song/ 7 The notes were 
recorded by Shortland near Waikouaiti, in Otago, on the 1st 
or 2nd of November, 1843. “In the morning," he writes (SS, 
p. 121) "I woke early; and, as the dawn first peeped forth, was 
deafened by the sound of the bell-birds. The woods which were 
close by seemed to be thronged with them. Never before had I 
heard so loud a chorus. I called to mind Captain Cook’s descrip¬ 
tion of the impression made on him by the singing of these birds, 
when at anchor near the shore in Queen Charlotte. ftm-mri 
harmony to the whole; indeed, nothing can exceed the sweet¬ 
ness of this concert, which is only heard for a short time, and 
