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(i) Banding of takahe (Notornis mantelli) was begun in December, 1952, and has been continued since. Results are described up to and including December, 1957.

(ii) Thirty-five birds have been banded but of these only thirty bear a combination of aluminium and plastic colour bands. The other five birds, which were banded in 1952 with plastic colour bands only, have apparently lost them since.

(iii) A comparison is made between the durability and the resistance to wear of the aluminium and the plastic colour bands, and a recommendation is made that plastic wrap-on bands be cemented closed with a nitrocellulose lacquer whenever such bands are used. Some data on the fading of the colour bands are given.

(iv) Pairs of takahe show year-round territorial behaviour and extended attachment to the area they occupy – frequently lasting over a number of years. The size of this occupied area lies between 15 and 45 acres. Diurnal, seasonal and other movements are discussed.

(v) Usually takahe appear to pair for life and this bond persists throughout the year. The histories of some marked pairs and some territories are described.

(vi) Both birds of a pair take part in incubation; the breeding age is one year in at least some birds; doubIe brooding and renesting are known.

(vii) There is no obvious external difference between the sexes but a provisional method of separation based on marked birds of known pairs depends upon the use of a combination of culmen and weight measurements. (viii) Population estimates for the number of adults in the main colony indicate a figure of about 50. However, the species does occur elsewhere in the Murchison Range but nowhere in such concentration as in the Takahe Valley-Point Burn area.