116 BIRD LIFE ON ISLAND AND SHORE 
gardens and conservatories from every quarter of 
the globe. Lastly—and without it the expedition 
would have lost half its savour,—I had the tire- 
less aid of two first-class mates. The Leask 
brothers, John and Albert, were born bushmen 
and naturalists, and their genuine pleasure in the 
work added much to my own. 
Kotiwhenu, for its size, was more thickly 
stocked with land birds than any spot of ground 
I have visited. The exact tally of nests was 
speedily lost. We must, however, have known 
of a score of Bellbirds, of a dozen Tuis, of fifteen 
or eighteen Robins, hatching eggs or feeding 
young. Of Morepork nests—searched for by me 
elsewhere for years and still unfound—we got 
two on the island; whilst, on the principle that 
it never rains but it pours, I got a third imme- 
diately after our return to Pegasus. We had also 
four Saddlebacks, three Bush Wrens, and two 
Sea Hawk under observation. 
Yellow-fronted Parakeets, a breed I had already 
photographed in Stewart Island, were fairly plenti- 
ful. On Ulva during the month of March I had 
watched them at close quarters. Now on Koti- 
whenu as early as December I found them in 
occupation of their selected tree holes. Court- 
ship was in progress, and more than once the 
crowning act of courtship noted. Apparently, 
therefore, holes are selected some time previous 
