of such pests as the stoat, weasel, and ferret, which are annihilating the surviving portions of one of the most remarkable collections of indigenous birds in the world. The kakapo (Stringops habroptius, Gray) has suffered so severely from introduced agencies that it is now on the verge of extinction in many districts where it was formerly found in comparatively large numbers. Its eggs, being merely laid in holes at the base of trees, have been attacked by rats, the young birds by wild cats, and the old birds by dogs, stoats, weasels, and by pigs. It still lingers in the centre of the North Island, and is found in larger quantity on some parts of the west-coast of the South Island, but its extirpation throughout the colony at a near date seems absolutely certain. It is not in all cases an easy matter to determine whether a given species has suffered more extensively from competition with naturalised forms or from the direct changes in environment effected by man himself. The destruction of the forest over wide areas at once deprives many organisms of both shelter and food, as in the case of the kaka (Nestor meridionalis, Gml.), which was formerly abundant where it is now rarely or never seen, a fact all the more to be regretted from its feeding largely upon insects. The kea (Nestor notabilis, Gould) has suffered but little from this cause, but numbers have been purposely destroyed on account of the ravages effected by them amongst sheep; still, in the high mountain districts inhabited by this bird it cannot be considered either rare or local. The parrakeets (Platycercus novœ-zealandiœ, Sparrm, and P. auriceps, Kuhl) occurred in large flocks, and were very destructive to the grain-crops of the early settlers; but under the combined attacks of rats, wild cats, and especially of man, they have become comparatively rare and local. One of the most interesting birds in the colony, the huia (Heteralocha acutirostris, Gould), restricted to the Ruahine and Tararua Ranges and their offshoots, partly, without doubt, from the ravages of cats, but especially from the more merciless attacks of collectors, has become extremely rare. Formerly a pair or two could usually be found at the back of the Wainuiomata without any great difficulty, but they seem to have disappeared from that locality. The migratory birds, the long-tailed cuckoo (Eudynamis taitensis, Sparrm) and the bronze-winged cuckoo (Chrysococcyx lucidus, Gml.), are becoming increasingly rare, but without any obvious cause, except possibly the decrease of Gerygone flaviventris (Gray), in whose nest both parasites usually deposit their eggs. It is worth while to remark that both the cuckoos may occasionally, be seen all through the winter seasons. The silver-eye (Zosterops lateralis, Lath.), although still to be seen in large numbers in nearly all parts of the colony, is less plentiful in many districts than formerly,