The Glaucopis cinerea, or Crow, of the Middle Island, is rarely found below an altitude of two or three thousand feet, and indeed, is found in greatest numbers at and above the higher of these altitudes, in the glens of the Fagus forest.
I am inclined to think these birds pair for life, as they are almost invariably found in couples at all seasons of the year. They are extremely active, hopping with long strides along the ground, and from branch to branch, in their search for insects. Their chief food, however, consists of sow–thistle and other succulent herbs, and it is remarkable that, in eating such substances, they hold them with the fist precisely as a parrot holds its food, tearing off and swallowing large fragments.
The note of this bird is wonderfully sweet and plaintive, and, during the breeding season, its song is one of the most varied and beautiful of all New Zealand’s birds. It appears, however, always to be pitched in a minor key. The male birds are very pugnacious, fighting, whenever they meet, with the greatest determination. They are still numerous in the forests adjoining the station, but I fear wild cats are likely to clear them out within a few years.
