104 
XI. 
KOTIWHENU. 
THE weather continuing fine, we were advised to 
proceed on our way whilst such conditions lasted. 
We again therefore sailed south. No very definite 
destination was in our minds as the Dolly passed 
out of Pegasus harbour into the ocean. Neither 
of the Leasks nor myself had any knowledge of 
bird life in the islets we intended to explore; nor 
had it been possible to obtain from others informa- 
tion of any certain sort. I am bound to say, 
however, that our appetite for research was 
whetted by descriptions given. Evidently there 
was no lack of curious birds. Our crew, and 
indeed almost all of the local fisherfolk whom we 
questioned, knew of species about their coasts 
which, if correctly described, had certainly not 
yet been classified. I may say at once that we 
never came across these remarkable birds, though 
we thought afterwards that several of them might 
quite well have been the Goldfinch, the Starling, 
and the Yellow Hammer ; the sun striking on the 
