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2 a new nest, and immediately began to demolish the unfinished structure, and use the same materials with which to rebuild it. "The work of constructing the second nest," writes Mr. Park, jun., " was started on the 11th August, and was finished on the 31st. They laid four eggs-the first on the day they completed the nest, and one on cach morning following until the 4th. At 10 a.m. they commenced sitting-each parent taking turns on the nest until the young birds were hatched on the 21st. The young ones were full-fledged and flew away at about 10 a.m. on the 30th Sepicmber." The time-period of incubation of the New Zealand fly-catcher therefore occupies a full day less than that of any European species of the genus as recorded in the works of British ornithologists.

Whilst engaged clismantling the partially finished nest, and utilising the materials with which to build the new one in the dome of the summer- house, the birds would alight occasionally on the side of the nest, and, fixing their feet thereon, would use their full strength in drawing asunder with their beaks the tightly and closely woven materials. They displayeul great activity at their work, meanwhile uttering notes of apparent instruction and approval to each other. The male performed inost of the work of carrying the materials to the new site, while the female did most of the work in building the best. When the young birds were hatched the parent birds continued to hunt vigorously on the wing for tiny insects with which to feed them. When not hunting on the wing for their own sustenance the parent birds—especially the male-frequently sat close to its mate Latching, and occasionally on the rim of the nest. The habit is practiced by many species of birds, but more especially by those of the group to which the fiy-catcher's belong, Nir. Park states that the reather, being very wet and boisterous while the nest was in course of building, retarded considerably the progress of their work at it.

On the 16th January last we observed a pair of fæntails hunting assidu- ously and passing frequently into a "laceback tree (Hoheria populneu) growing on the Victoria Esplanade, Palmerston North, On looking up through the branches I located the nest, which contained three young birds. They remained in the nest until abont noon the following day, when they left it and fluttered along towards the extremity of the bough bearing the nest. The weather being hot and calm, they remained sitting near each other for nearly two days, and were well fed meantime by their active parents. On the 21st they separated, and were led at times for several days after leaving ihe “lacebark" tree in which they were reared. It was indeed interesting to observe these young fantails fitting gracefully from bough to bough or from trec to trec, as if training and developing their wings, by which they were soon to become self-dependent. These birds are now expert fly-catchers, and belong to a group of about twenty individuals regularly inbabiting the Esplanade and its environs. Nearly all trees of Iloheria populnca and its varieties lanceolata and angustifolia, with Plugienthus betulinus, have been extremely floriferous on the Esplanade during the late-early and midsummer months. The great masses of scented white flowers they produce are a great attraction to all classes of insect. On calm days, when insects were plentiful at the flowers, the fantails were generally close to them on the wing, having a royal time sulísisting on the mumerous small inscets, chiefly Diptera, possing to and from the flowers. After feeding for several minutes on the wing on the minute flies frequenting the blossoms, the birds would dart through the outer branches, and, resting for a few minutes within them in the shade, would again dart swiftly