/12 Bird-Song : and New Zealand Song Birds 
coccyx lucidus [Chalcococcyx lucidus in this book] i lS no) 
migratory, but that it is a permanent resident in New Zealand 
probably making internal movements according to the seasons ’’’ 
It is a fact that the bird has been known to winter in New 
Zealand, occasional birds having been seen during months 
long after the final departure is supposed to have taken place 
I had notes in 1920 of birds being seen, at Hanmer on 25th 
April; at Te Koa, North Auckland, on 1st and 5th June; and 
at Mahunoa, near the Tararua mountains, on 11th July, if 
occasional birds are able to winter here, and do so, why not 
many? There is local migration by other birds, and other 
birds are silent during part of the year. Months may pass 
without a warbler, fantail, or blight-bird, for instance, beiiw 
seen or heard about Wellington,—then suddenly one or other 
of them will appear, and may be seen or heard every day for 
an indefinite period. It depends partly upon food-supply, 
partly upon moulting,—and there may be other reasons. 
During a greater part of the year thrushes and blackbirds are 
most voluble, and may be seen in great numbers about Wel¬ 
lington ; but for two months at a time, say during February 
and March, or into April, not a single bird may be seen or 
heard. There is this difference, however, between the Maori 
and the naturalized birds, the former make comparatively 
distant district migrations; the latter keep close in thicketed 
„ullies quite near their usual haunts. A faulty human observ¬ 
ation often attributes to birds habits they do not possess, even 
as on the other hand birds possess habits that have been 
observed wrongly, or have escaped observation altogether. A 
signal example of this is revealed in the study of the English 
cuckoo bj Mr. Chance above referred to. The significant fact 
is that cuckoos have never been observed leaving New Zealand, 
and have never been observed arriving, except according to Maori 
tradition. 
The cry of the European cuckoo is well known; it is recorded 
m music, in song, in poetry, even in clocks and whistles. The 
veiy earliest English song whose music is known, the beautiful 
canon Sumer is icumen in, written about the middle of the 
