CAGE BIRDS Rare Colours In The Wild

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30576, 20 October 1964, Page 15

CAGE BIRDS Rare Colours In The Wild

fSpedallV written for “The Preo” by J. H. D. MILLMJ uncommon blackbirds I have ever seen, surpassing by their markings even the pure-white and cin- „ flrst was Wenl y “"ketf all over with white spots the size of a sixpence. The other with two perfectly white wings. The contract of colour gave a most striking effect. A few years ago, outside the town of Mosgiel, I saw a whole colony of white goldfinches. Most beautiful and dainty they appeared. Possibly because of the incursions of rodents and weather hazards, they have now disappeared. However, in a pine plantation on the Otago Peninsula, high-up in the hills, a colony of nearly-white chaffinches of various varigations has appeared- Two very rare, occurrences, indeed, for one district!

Various species of birds, both introduced and native, ten d occasionally to revert t 0 a colour entirely different from their natural one. This reversion, usually to white cr cinnamon, in birds which for generations have shown entirely dark is a mystery. A white or cinnamon gene is apparently inherent in a few specimens. Occasionally it takes complete charge.

Most people are deeply interested in anything rare or unusual in nature. The XZ.B.C. recently announced that a pure-white blackbird had appeared in Hawke's Bay and that people were converging on the spot in the hope of seeing it. Albinism Both the blackbird and the greenfinch are very prone to albinism. Quite a number appear with white spots on their bodies and in wing and tad feathers. I have seen pure-white blackbirds and once a cinnamon blackbird, but they are very rare. These birds of rare colour are called "sports,” and birdfanciers specialising in them pay high prices for them. Cage bird shows provide for them in a class called “Pied, albino, or abnormal colour.” These always attract considerable interest The museums in our country have many examples of the taxidermist’s art on birds of unusual colour in both imported and native species. When linen flax was being grown more widely, great flocks of greenfinches and goldfinches were attracted to the crops. Various shades of cinnamon could often be seen among the greenfinches. White and cinnamon goldfinches were seen, but very rarely. Dunedin Riches During a long residence in Dunedin I found Otago rich In bird life. The town belt in Dunedin, with its quiet woodland corners, extensive shrubberies, its beautiful English and native trees and its edible berries on trees and shrubs, is a natural retreat for many varieties of birds. The native fuschia, in particular, supplies a berry of which the native pigeon is very fond. In this favoured spot many rare-coloured birds have been seen.

Many yean ago, in one of the townships of northern Wairoa a pure-white starling caused quite a sensation. The Maoris declared it to be “the pakeha bird.” I have just seen in our own suburb of Shirley a pure cinnamon sparrow.

At sunset one evening, on the fringe of the belt, I saw high up in a macrocarpa tree, no fewer than 15 native pigeons. Another day in a patch of “red-hot pokers,” about two dozen bellbirds gathered, sipping the nectar from the blooms and uttering their lovely bell notes. It was here, too, that I came across two of the most