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α-i

pupukatea, a little bird with light-grey head, in November; the tui, in the manuka and small shrubs, end of November; kaka, in the rata, December or end of November ; morepork, or owl, in holes in trees, end of November. When the young are nearly ready to leave the nest I noticed that the old birds bring them their food whole, such as native rats, &c, which the young readily tear apart. They are pretty little things, the colour of chinchella-fur, and readily reared in confinement. The three different parrakeets or kakarikis nest in the beginning of December, in holes in trees; the pipiwarauroa, or bronze-winged cuckoo, in November, in the riroriro's nest. It is very funny to watch a fat, lazy young cuckoo sitting on a branch, being fed by the little bits of birds; it must take them all their time to satisfy the young bird. Koheperoa, a bird with brown back, striped breast, and a long tail, is a spring and summer visitor to the island, and may be often heard of an evening giving a long sort of whistle. It does not seem very friendly with the bell-birds and tuis, as they hunt it about. There are tiekes, or saddlebacks, on the northern side of the island, but not many ; also kotihe, or stitch-birds. They are not uncommon up the head of the Wekaweka Creek. One hears them, but they are hard to see in the thick bush. Of course, there are numerous other native birds, but they are also found on the mainland. In respect to the actual felling of a kauri, the birds do not seem to mind it; they seem to know when the tree is about to fall, as one sees none of them about; whether attracted by the crash or not I do not know, but when it falls they are all over it, searching for insects, and also anywhere on the ground that has been cut up. Several sea-birds nest on the top of the range, on the ground, in holes, in the moss and roots or pukau. The dusky petrel, or taiko, is a bird with a very strong smell. The nest is about 4ft. in, and one has to burrow down on top in the loose soil to see the nest. The old bird has a very sharp bill, which it uses freely, and soon draws blood. The egg is about the size of a duck's, and of a dirty-white, and smells strongly of the bird. If the bird is taken off the nest and put down it does not try to fly away, but seems, like an owl, unable to see well in daylight, perhaps on account of being in the dark nest. They always come and go to their nests at night : nesting-time, December. The tite is a smaller sort of petrel, without the strong smell of the taiko. The nest is similar to it, perhaps not as far in ; one hears them calling at night overhead on their way to the sea. It nests in December, in holes in the cliffs, below the mutton-bird's, or ohi's, nest. The young the Natives preserve in their own fat, or smoke, and they taste something like the smell of a blownout oil-lamp.- They nest in November. The pupurangi, or large native quail, is to be found on the island. I saw the remains of a nest of eggs ; unfortunately, one of the bushfellers destroyed them, but inside the egg-shell one could see a perfectly-formed snail-shell. The small snails, soon after hatching, can be frequently found under the beautiful nikau-palm leaves, that grow so wonderfully large on the island ; I found several, but they require a good deal of moisture, and the least sun kills them. The tuatara lizard is frequently to be seen sunning itself at the entrance to muttonbirds' holes, but they are very quick and hard to catch. I saw the first eggs of the tuatara on the island —a small white egg, about as big as a blackbird's, but soft, like a turtle's egg. They hatch out in November —at least, there were very young ones about then. The trees on the island are very much the same as those found on the mainland. The kauri, pohutukawa, puriri, and taraire are the principal ones that are of commercial value, although there are many others valuable for cabinet-work, but difficult to get out, as they are scattered about the bush. Some of the pohutukawa trees are indeed noble specimens, with their gnarled trunks, and during my last visit they were in flower —a beautiful sight, especially after a shower of rain. There is also some fine manuka on the island where it has not been cut for firewood, but most of the manuka is the second growth, and small. On the very summit I found a white rata tree, which happened to be in flower. On making inquiries I hear it also grows at Cape Colville, on mainland. There is a small fish in the creeks that Natives call the kokopu ; how they get there and where they go in dry weather it is hard to say, but, whenever there is any water in the holes in the creeks, there they are. They are very easily caught; in fact, the one sketched bit readily at cheese. A knot on a bit of flax is all the same to them—they at once rise at it; or one can tickle them, like trout. They vary in size, but about 6in. is average, without scales, and live for some time out of water. They are a little different in colour to the fish of same name on mainland, but that may be accounted for by the water. The Maori tale is that " Some of the kokopu were made red with the blood of Murirangawhenua when his jawbone was taken by Maui for a fishhook." Sea-fish off the rocks are in great quantity, and from the cliffs above I have often seen very large shoals in the small bays, followed by all sorts of sea-birds. The island seems to be a nineteenth-century paradise for all New Zealand flora and fauna, and likely to continue so if left undisturbed by man. I cannot speak too highly of the kindness I received from Tenatahi and his family. When he found I was interested in all the natural objects he was only too glad to explain and show me everything that he thought would interest me. Hugh Boscawen, Lands and Survey Department, New Zealand. Auckland, 3rd January, 1893.

RESOLUTION ISLAND. As requested in your memorandum of 28th January last, I have endeavoured to obtain from R. Henry, caretaker,' Resolution Island, a general report of all he has been able to do in connection with his work there, up to this date; but, in consequence of the difficulty of communication, I believe he has not received my letter requesting him to furnish a report. I have therefore been obliged to put together the substance of his various letters, the latest date of which is 7th January, from which any portions you may think sufficiently interesting may be extracted. 13—C. 1.