unfrequently met with in that neighbourhood. On Oct. 5, we saw a specimen that permitted a tolerably close inspection, this was on the track across the plains, within two miles of the place where those were observed last year; we have examined a beautiful specimen that was procured in that district. Is it probable that a marked variety will be established? Birds of this species that have been rescued from hawks have been so completely prostrated by terror that for some time they have been wholly incapable of flight, on being gently tossed in the air falling helpless to the ground. It is very sociable in some of its habits; we have counted seven or eight bathing together in a creek; it is usually observed in scattered companies. No. 35.—Zosterops lateralis, Lath. (See also Vol. ii., p. 61.) It was suggested in my previous notes on this species, that possibly the sweet song of this bird was peculiar to pairing time; closer observation proves it may be heard through ten months of the year; we have noted the singing of the Zosterops from the 17th of August till quite in the autumn (May 4th). Sep. 20.—Crowds of Blight Birds in bushes of the Pittosporum Colensoi, busily employed about the woody capsules, picking off the gluten in which the seeds are embedded. The fruit of one of the native mistletoes, Loranthus micranthus, is a favourite food. The nest figured on Plate XII. was suspended to a Pteris aquilina, on a slope not far from the sea; it bore a striking resemblance to a swinging cot or hammock. The Zosterops can be tamed without much difficulty; we know of an instance in which one of these cheerful little birds had been tamed so thoroughly that it keeps about the room, hopping about the table, and taking honey from the lips of one of the younger members of the household. No. 37.—Rhipidura flabellifera, Gml. (See also Vol. ii., p. 63.) To the quiet observer of the habits of our bird-friends, but few sights can afford more gratification than watching the patient industry which is displayed, by the very energetic and useful Flycatcher, in the construction of its compactly- formed nest. The admirable instinct disclosed in the selection of the site has been already referred to, in the last volume. The nest is to be found near its food supply (for the young will make incessant demands on the exertions of the parent birds), and it seeks a sheltered position where insects “most do congregate;” it must at the same time afford “ample room and verge enough” for the numberless evolutions to be performed by the rapid fluttering of two pairs of most active wings, which are soon to be constantly fanning the lazy air. To meet these indispensable requirements, the security offered by the densely tangled thicket is most commonly neglected for the retirement that is to be found