No Stranger Now.

The tui have moved on, but we have a flock of lively little tauhou, the white-eye, or silver-eye, pegging away at the scraps in tins hung on a tree for them. All day is their meal-time, as long as there is a bit of porridge or pudding or bread remaining. This week of writing their russet waistcoats seem to fit them more tightly every day.

When the little bird first appeared in New Zealand the Maori called it tauhou, meaning “stranger.” It is supposed to have come from Australia. It is a welcome and useful bird. It cleans up any insect or blight on the trees and plants. Like the fantail, it is never idle; you may see it more busy than any bee, darting from bush to bush and snapping up trifles everywhere.