BELLBIRD COLONY

Dominion, Volume 27, Issue 59, 2 December 1933, Page 6

BELLBIRD COLONY

Found in Taupo District

HUGE NUMBERS PRESENT

Some time ago in a message from Christchurch mention was made of a larva colony of bellbirds which existed in Canterbury. It was suggested that this was the only colony of the kind in New Zealand. Now, however, there is news of another huge flock, this time in the North Island.

Sneaking to a “Dominion” reporter yesterday, Mr. A. C. M. Sicely, of Marton, a surveyor whose work takes him all oyer the country, said that in the Taupo district, within easy reach of the Chateau, hundreds of thousands of bellbirds congregate in an area of about 100 acres. Their feeding grounds extend over 15,000 to 20,000 acres.

"The reason they congregate in such large numbers in suc]i a restricted area/’ Mr. Sicely said, “is that water is scarce in the Taupo district in the summer time. In the pumice country streams disappear underground for miles at a stretch. The particular area where these birds gather is where one of these streams reappears on the surface, and it also receives the first morning rays of the sun. It is this which draws the birds. They sing only at the dawn and only on a fine, clear morning. They are at their best between the middle of January and the middle of February.” It was impossible, Mr. Sicely continued, for anyone whp had not hoard them to imagine the sound of so many bell-like voices. It was something one could not forget in after life. A car could be driven right in to the bush where they were, and there was easy access off a good road. The area, which was chiefly covered with milling bush, was owned partly by the Crown and partly by Maoris. Mr. Sicely suggested that the Government should retain the place as a reserve so that the birds might be encouraged to remain there. If tbe bush were felled they would vanish. “This is a place that could be made a big attraction for tourists, and it is one where a motor camp’ could be established with advantage.”