TUIS AND KOWHAI BLOOMS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 240, 10 October 1932, Page 6

TUIS AND KOWHAI BLOOMS.

On© of tie.delights, perhaps because a surprise, of a picnic spent at Henderson Domain the other day, was. an opportunity to see that beautifulnative bird, the tiii, thriving on the honey harvest provided by the golden blooms of the kowhai trees. There, in a glen near the rambling creek on the fringe, of native bush, I stood captivated by the eight of dozens of tuis making the most.o£ their' paradise. Between feeding frorii the elongated flowers—standing on branches and twigs-or holding, on in strange positions to dip their beaks into the blossoms —the tuie sang the sweetest songs, with diversions of guttural noises. There appeared to be great rivalry and squabbling amongst them as they flew and chased one another amongst the trees, but tlieir varied notes were most marked. Sometimes I seemed to recognise imitation of the blackbird, thrush, bell'bird, and even of the starling, though it, appeared that the latter sounds may have been a representation of bush noises. An interested friend assured me that the tui has a new song every month. However, the chorus of the revelling birds was joyous and synchronised with the ideal -setting. With its brush-tipped tongue the bird extracts the honey with ease from the green cup-shaped; base of the flower. In thrusting its head into the bloom, the tui is dusted with pollen, which. is conveyed to other flowers of the kowhai trees. Hie pistil ofi the flower, being longer than the pollen anthers, the pollen is thus exchanged. It is just another of the detail wonders of bounteous Nature. The tui, like other birds, also assists in the fertilisation of other trees arid shrubs. When the kowhai flowering season is over, between 'September and November, the tiii finds berries and other bush food. But, if my humible, observations of the bird in relation to its appreciation of its spring fare are any criterion, the tute.inust lament the passing of each kowhai season. .\ t •r. iju . t —E.B.,