IN TOUCH WITH NATURE. (By James Drummond, F.L.S., F.Z.S.)

Evening Post, Volume LXXVII, Issue 13, 16 January 1909, Page 13

IN TOUCH WITH NATURE. (By James Drummond, F.L.S., F.Z.S.)

(For The Post.) NOTES ON NATUEAL HISTOEY IN NEW ZEALAND. Mr. H. E. Vaile, of Bemuera, Auckland, has sent a short contribution lo the controversy in regard to the godwit's migrations. He says :—": — " I have followed your Nature Notes with great interest, especially those dealing with the kuaka. The first article I remember on the subject appeared in the New Zealand Herald during, I think, December, 1896. I forget who wrote it, but he gave a detailed account of the kuakas' flight from Spirits' Bay, and went so far as to fix a definite date upon which they left annually, namely, 4th April. In December, 1896, I went to the North Capo, and remained there till the following May. Of course, the residents there ridiculed the newspaper account of the kuakas' departure, but I determined to see for myself. I soon found that the birds began to arrive at Parengarenga Harbour, near the Cape, early in the year, anS became very fat and nice for the table by feeding on food found in the largo mudbanks there. Their numbers increased daily till about the beginning of April, when they seemed to be in millions. They then gradually disappeared, and one may sco huge flocks rise, circle about fot a while, and then dart off on their long journey. This goes on for about six weeks, after which there are practically none to be seen. I have been in Spirits' Bay, which is six or seven .niles from Parengarenga Harbour in a straight line, on 4th April and on many othor days during the kuaka season of 1897 and of subsequent years, but have never seen a single kuaka there ; and there is nothing to attract them there, as there is no food, and they seem to be essentially mudflat birds. The writer of the article referred to had evidently never been in the locality, as lie spoke of having walked down through the sandhills to the beach, whereas there are no sandhills at Spirits' Bay, or within many miles of it. In your next article would you mind stating why the birds' migrate to Siberia ? If they desire a colder climate, would not Nature lead them southwards, in- , stead of crossing the Equator?" Any reason supplied for the godwits' movements cannot be Setter than a speculation. It is believed by some investigators that the birds are guided by a mysterious instinct, which has been handed down to them from the remote times when there was land connection along the route now followed. Mr. F. N. R. Downard, of Gordon, Te Aroha, near the Thames, writes :—: — "Being somewhat of a student of Nature's wonders, I have read with great interest your series of articles. In the issue of 31st October you mention the observations of Mr. Elsdon Best regarding deciduous trees. I have noticed, as well as several of those trees named by Mr. Best, that the makomako (Aristotena racemosa) during the past has lost almost all its leaves. The Tupeia antarctica is also deciduous in this district, and it may interest Mr. Best to know that, although most common on Panax aboreum, I have found it growing on Pittosporum eugenioides (tarata), Brachyglottis repanda, and Olearia cunninghamii. It is quite common on Panax arboreum, and grows in such quantities as often to cause the death of the tree." Mr. C. W. Adams, of the Hutt, Wellington, writes in regard to a note from a Wellington correspondent, published on 14th November, dealing with the native fuchsia, and stating that the plant is_ often known by its Maori name, " konini." Mr. Adams says that the native name of fuchsia excorticata is " kotukutuku," and that it is the fruit or berry that the Maoris call "konini." These terms, he adds, are not interchangeable. He does not know of a similar instance in the English language ; the, nearest is "grape" and "grapevine." If there is a parallel in the English language, he would like to have it. He also points out that the Maoris often refer to "bread" as "flour." "I saw an extraordinary sight -a few Sundays ago," writes Mr. B. Keys. "It was a colony of rooks. At a small place named Fernhill, six or seven miles from Hastings, Hawkes Bay, there is a high knoll covered by pines and eucalyptus. In these the rooks have made their home, and they may be seen hovering about in hundreds over the trees, while many more are perched upon the tree-tops. I hear that the farmers in the locality are very much troubled by the birds' depredations, and are organising a shooting party to en^ deavour to extirpate that sect of thieves." ; Mr. C. Mahoney, writing irom Waitakaro, Tuparoa) near Gisborne, on 6th November, says : — "On 20th October I heard a shining cuckoo cry out at my front door. It was early morning, and my bedroom door opened out just beside where it was seated. I jumped out ol bed and saw it fly away, leaving the other birds in great excitement. - I wrote at the time to Dr. Fulton, giving him the date. Since that I have heard cries all around, but die l not see the bird till this afternoon, when one alighted on a trellis a few feet irom the verandah. It sat there for some time, and cried out three or four times. It showed no great timidity, but remained in full view till the wholo household had assembled to inspect it. Even then it did not fly far, but dropped down on to the lawn and ran under a hedge a few yards off. I mention this as I read somewhere lately that the bird is rarely seen." Mr. Mahonev also writes in regard to a statement* that the nnnah has not been recorded on the West Coast of the North Island further north than Eaglan or on the East Coast further north than Gisborne. His residence is about parallel 38deg., one degree north of Gisborne, and he states that the minah, together with the sparrow, is very plentiful there. He has also seen the bird in the neighbourhood of the East Cape, and he believes that the bird's progress north from that point is restricted only by the termination of the .laud. This introduced bird, Mr. Mahoney says, is not seen deep in the bush, but unfailingly appears wherever there is a clearing. It seems to follow civilisation as assiduously as tho sparrow. Dr. Fulton, of Dunedin, has written to several museums in the Dominion, asking for accurate lists of the eggs of native birds in cases in the museums. He intends to place on record a complete list of eggs, so that any student of ovology would be able to ascertain without any trouble where any egg may be seen. By means of the list, of course, arrangements may also be made for exchanges. Dr. Fulton will go carefully through the woiks of reference on the subject, correcting some descriptions and adding to others, and will try to supply full details while there is still tim-e. Anxious Mother: "Nellie, dear, do you think that younff Oimpson, who has been calling on you twice a week for some time, is matrimonially indhipd?" Pretty Daughter : "Really, I don't know what to think, mamma, dear. Ho hns such n. knack of keeping ono in the dwk,"