NATIVE BIRDS

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 183, 1 May 1929, Page 10

NATIVE BIRDS

RARE STITCHBIRD INCREASING AN INTERESTING REPORT Lovers of native birds will be interested to learn that, according to a memorandum, the Minister of Internal Affairs (Hon. P. A. de la Perrelle) has received from the caretaker of the Little Barrier Island sanctuary (Mr. R. Nelson), the rare stitchbird is increasing in numbers in the sanctuary. “When travelling in the bush, especially in the interior of the island," Mr. Nelson states, “I have seen the birds in twos and threes. On one occasion, when in the gully nearest the house, I located fifteen stitchbirds. Once on a ridge I was glad, to see five of the species. Now I am seing them regularly, which proves that they are increasing.” Notable Honey-eater. As students of New Zealand bird life know, the stitehbird is a notable member of the family of the honey-eaters by its possession of a protractile tongue. It differs from the tui in its smaller size and absence of throat tufts. It is about the same size as the bellbird, but differs in its rounded tail of pointed feathers. It is best recognised by the white band on the wing, and, in the male only, the white tuft of feathers on the head. The sexes differ in colouration. The male has the head and neek black, with a tuft of white feathers behind the ear; upper surface brown with a white band on the wings; breast and wing coverts bright yellow, abdomen brownish white. The female is brown with a white band on the wings, as also is the young. The name stitchbird is given to it .on account of its call resembling the word “stitch.” The Maori name, hihi, is similarly an imitation of the bird’s note. The stitchbird is confined to New Zealand. Formerly it inhabited the whole of the North Island, being quite common about Wellington. It has now, however, become extinct on the mainland, the last bird having been seen about 1883. It is found only on Little Barrier Island. In 18S0 Mr. Reischek, an Australian collector, spent some months on the island, but saw only a few birds. The species is now undoubtedly increasing. Buller records the stitchbird on the mainland as building in the branches of trees, but Cuthrie-Smith, on Little Barrier Island, found the bird breeding in holes in the trunks of trees. Possibly this is an adjustment to the presence of rats, which probably was the main factor in the extinction of the species on the mainland. The stitchbird feeds on the nectar of flowers, fruit, and soft-bodied insects and spiders. By the Maoris the stitchbird was used as'food, while the yellow feathers from the wing were used to decorate the cloaks used by the chiefs. The Saddleback. The native bird, known as the saddleback, is also reported on by Mr. Nelson. He states that eight of the birds were liberated some years ago on the Little Barrier Island. “They have not,” he says, “been seen or heard by me since the week after they were liberated. They may have flown back to the Hen and Chickens Island, as they got no rest from the tuis. The tuis chased them everywhere. It is, however, possible that the saddleback may be living in the far interior of the island.” It is stated that the saddleback belongs to the same family as the starling, which- it resembles in size and general build. The ridge of the bill, however, is stouter, and there are wattles at the base of the bill. The bird can at once be distinguished by its colour, which is black, with the back and wings coverts deep chestnut. The wattles are generally orange, but vary between red and yellow. The young is entirely brown. The name saddleback is applied to the bird on account of the chestnut back; the Maoris gave it the name “tieke,” in imitation of its call. The saddleback is nearly extinct on the mainland, it being known in a few localities only. It is, however, common on Hen Island, east of Whangarei Heads, and South-west Island, off Stewart Island. Some specimens were, a few years ago, transferred from Hen Island to Little Barrier and Kapiti Islands. It is now reported as having become established on Kapiti Island, but, According to Mr. Nelson, has not been seen on the Little Barrier Island since a few days after it was liberated. Although the distinctive plumage of the young bird is known to last for a year in the South Island, it was for a long time believed not to be present in North Island birds. This led to the young bird being described as a separate species supposed to be confined to the South Island. It is now known that the young bird in the North Island is coloured as in the South Island, but evidently assumes the a,dult plumage much earlier in life. The saddleback feeds mainly on insects and their larvae, but berries and buds are also recorded as forming part of its food. In the South Island, saddlebacks have been observed following flocks of yellowheads through the bush. It is thought that this is in order to feed on the insects disturbed by the yellow-heads. The bird was regarded with a certain degree of reverence by the Maoris of the Arawa tribe on account of a pair once building in the hollow of a tree supposed to possess miraculous properties. In other districts it was regarded as a bird of omen, portending according to the direction from which the cry was heard, victory or defeat to the war party which heard its call.