THE SHINING CUCKOO.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 253, 26 October 1931, Page 6

THE SHINING CUCKOO.

1 '.' ;•-''■*-,' '■'■ ■ '•-;.• - : "■,"-; ■■■;. .•.-;.>' ''■■' ■ '"■ The - keen interest taken-, in the., above bird' ■' ' and the differences of. opinion as to' whethet -' it' is a. migrant or hot encourage: me;to relateV 1 •: an incident which occurred late in ; September ; some few,years ago. I.was standing.'on the, .';.. ' cliff at' Fort Bastion, looking out to'sea} when ; my ,attention, was attracted by v.je'.efforts ■ ~• of'a small bird trying to make the .land''in i;'; the face of a strong south-west 1 wind.;,-At- ; times it looked as if it would; drop ,lhto'/tho;. water. Eventually with a. final' great effort ■' it hreasted the cliff and dropped .'exhausted. ■'/;,- within a few feet of where I, stood, I-picked /;■ •it up and found it.to be a shining -cuckoo;; For./. • ten minutes it did not move, then it gradually came round until it propped itself.up'byiirieans of its tail and \yings. ."\Vhen>it" could standi' ; " it was placed oh a nearby /post, from"- which'' it later took off, ; flying-in the\directi,on.of;th'e.:* : Domain. That these birds leave'the main-, / land I am inclined to 'believe after the above ' incident, and that.they return to''the'-same ."•■'.•.. locality is. Evidenced by my seeing two of-theni .'.';' feed each February., for : three .'consecutive., .~; years on the black caterpillars swarming' on' .. a patch of ivy geranium. [Several other correspondents have "notified '.. the date on which they first heard'the call 1 of:.-'-: the shining cuckoo, but sufficient cases have .., beenjcited' to ,fix approximately the time when', '. % it "is first noticed iii ; spring in 'Auckland.—Ed.]; '~