NATURE NOTES

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 12, 13 July 1935, Page 17

NATURE NOTES

BITTERNS,.BIG & LITTLE

BIRDS OF SWAMP LANDS

(By R. H. D. Stidolpli, K.A.0.U.)

The bittern, a bird that invariably arouses much curiosity, largely on account of the strange lore attached to it, is still seen in the Wellington district. It is most at 'home, skulking about the reeds and rushes of swamp lands and often is passed by unnoticed, as it is an adept at remaining perfectly motionless, with the bill and'head pointed upwards but at the same time1 taking careful stock of everything that is going on in the neighbourhood. On the wing it- is conspicuous enough, when with measured flight it makes its way to some favourite haunt, perhaps giving utterance to a- strange sound that resembles a muffled growl as much as anything—"ghow"—as if signifying its disgust and displeasure at the world in general. Settlement of, the country has driven the bittern, from many of its ancestral homes, so that no doubt the bird has reason to express' its disapproval, of man v and his works, which are so: destructive to many forms of wild life in this and other ...countries. . ■ . . ':. ■•.■:■■".

Not only has the- draining of swamps denied the1 bittern of an existence in localities in which it had; lived- for countless years before the advent of civilisation but .it also occasionally falls a victim to the man with the gun, sometimes," it is claimed, being' mistaken for a "hawk." There is really no excuse for confusing the bittern with the harrier, but so-called sportsmen who shoot down everything they see are only too ready to offer any likely explanation for their action. A few weeks ago, for instance, the body of a bittern was picked up by a boy on the Waingawa riverbed; a- few miles from MastertOn, and alongside it was a dead black swan. This bittern, which had apparently been ruthlessly shot down, was stated to have been an anhabitant of this particular stretch of the riverbed for the past .two years. As there are swamp lands nearby, no doubt its attention was divided, between the riverbed and the swampi. in the locality report having heard- the booming notes of the; bittern at night.

At one time, the European bittern was an abundant bird-in Britain but since the reclamation of the bogs and fens it used to inhabit, it has, according to all accounts, become only an irregular visitor, though" every Winter it makes an appearance. '■■ These visitors arrive from Europe. : When New Zealand becomes closely settled and practically all swamps and lagoons are drained—already there: are moves to deviate Wairarapa Lake, Lake Grassmere, and Lake Ellesmere-rthe bittern will hardly be able to survive unless special areas of swamp lands are preserved for its benefit. Moreover, if the bird dies out in this country it will no longer "reappear as a visitor as it does in England, as New Zealand is too far distant for regular migratory movements by birds like the .bittern. The species found in- New Zealand is also an inhabitant of Australia, Tasmania, and New Caledonia. Formerly it was found at the Chatham Islands but it appears to have become extinct in that grOup. It is closely allied to the European bird and has the same habits as the Northern • Hemisphere species.

I Few people are ay/are that New .Zealand also possesses another species of. bittern, a much smaller bird, known by the vernacular nanie of. little, bittern. Comparatively few specimens ; have been taken and practically nothing is known, of its habits in this country, although there is no* reason to think that they differ little from those in other countries. The little bittern enjoys a wide distribution, being found in Europe, Africa, parts of Asia, and in intervening countries to Australia and New Zealand. It is, for all intents and purposes, a small edition of the common bittern,. being clad in a prettily marked plumage of black, chestnut, and buff. Only one specimen has ever been obtained 'in the :North Island and that, curiously enough, was the first ever secured in New Zealand. This specimen was taken by; the Hey. Mr. Stack at Tauranga in 1836. AH the remaining specimens, except one or two, have been obtained in Westland, in which district" the little bittern is still to be found. It is ai bird that may be easily overlooked, and; it is quite possible that it is more numerous than, is imagined. ' ' ; ,'': V!\

No one appears-to have observed or recorded anything about the, "bird's breeding habits' in ~New Zealand and for anyone fortunate enough to locate this bird there are splendid opportunities for original work.- Localities in. the South Island in which it has; been seen, according to Dr. W. RJ B. Oliver's Excellent book "New Zealand- Birds," are Lake Brunner, HokLtika," Kanieri River, Okarito, and Lake Wakatipu. Dr. Oliver also quotes from an account by Mr. Docherty relating to the habits of the little bittern in Westland. "They, (are to be found," he states, "on tha salt-water lagoons on the seashore, always hugging the timbered side of the same; I have seen them in two positions, viz., standing on the bank ot the lagoon with their heads bent, forward, studiously watching the water, at other times I have seen them standing straight up. I caught one about two miles in the bush oh the bank of a creek, but the creek led to a lagoon. They are always found alone and stand for hours in one place." •■'•;-