NATURE NOTES

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 54, 5 March 1927, Page 25

NATURE NOTES

SOME FLIGHTLESS BIRDS OBSERVATIONS OF THE PAST] (By B. H. D. Stidolph, 8.A.0.U.) The late Mr. Eichard Henry, at one time resident caretaker on Besolutioa Island, in the West Coast Sounds, contributed some interesting notes to a Government Department's report on his observations of bird-life,in that remote part of New Zealand.' With unlimited time at his disposal, it was not surprising that Mr. Henry was able to amass some valuable records of the habits, of the various species inhabiting the district. The weka, which is as impudent there as in other parts of New Zealand, fed largely on sandfleas, which were present in abundance not only on the beaches but in the bush. Monster earthworms and hosts of' insects were included in the bill of faro. Mr. Henry found the period of incubation to be twenty-seven days. The birds took turns at "sitting. When he saw the hen of one particular breeding pair on the beach, he found the male on the nest, and vice versa. All young wekas, Mr. Henry stated, are wanderers and trespassers for perhaps a year after they are turned away, from home, and during this time they are hunted and chased by every oik weka that sees them, but especially by their own fathers and mothers. Fortunately the youngsters are generally the best runners, and quickly get out of danger. One pair which lived near Mr. Henry's place of residence for five years were never seen ten yards beyond their boundary. The domains of two other pairs met on a grass plot near the house, and on rare occasions the six of them could be seen within a few yards of each other, all on their own ground, and respecting' each other's rights to some degree.

Passing to the curious ground parrot —the kapapo—Mr. Henry maintained that the bird only breeds every second year, not independently, but all breed one season and none the next. "Months before the appointed breeding season," Mr. Henry wrote, "the male is developing an air-sac in his throat, which he can puff out like a drum, and which may act like a sounding-board to assist in making the curious drumming notes in the spring. This note is not unlike the boom of the bittern; but is repeated five' or six times in succession, and can be heard at a great distance. ... I was twelve years ou the dry side of the mountains, near Te Anau Lake, and had ample opportunities for observing their habits. I heard their drumming every alternate year until 1892, which was their due season, but they did not breed that year, and skipped two years in succession.

. . . It appears as if the breeding season was controlled by the males, for jvhere there is no drumming in the early summer there are no eggs or young ones. . . . There are considerable areas in the bottoms of valleys and around landslips where berries are produced in. great plenty, and such places are called 'kakapo gardens.' Then there may ( be miles of beech forest, which apparently produce very little food; yet the birds wander away anywhere after the breeding season, even out on the grass on the mountaiu-tops. When the breeding season comes round again the males take up their places in the gardens, and about 26th November commenco their booming lovs-songs."

Two species of kiwi inhabited the district at the time of Mr. Henry's residence there —the large spotted kiwi, known scientifically as Apteryx haasti, and the small grey kiwi (Apteryx oweni). Mr, Henry was of the opinion that the roa, as the large spotted kiwi is known to the Maoris, fed largely oil earthworms, though it no doubt consumes all kinds of insects. On one occasion he found in the stomach!-- of some birds killed by a dog many miro berries, the hard stones of which they, could completely digest, probably for the sake of the little oily kernels. A' few haudfuls of dry fern leaves and scrub serve as a nest, placed in a rather small hole with only one entrance. The little grey kiwi, Mr. Henry; found, fed principally on a white grub. Its nest was much cosier than that of the roa, and was always in a hole too small for a roa to enter,' usually under the roots, of a tree, but sometimes in. the shell of an old log. It 'generally bred in October, and lived in nearly the sanie localities as the roa, but preferring the light to the dark forest and gloom selected by the roa. During his residence at Resolution Island, Mr. Henry transferred from the mainland many specimens of the kapapos, the kiwi, and the roa, to various islands in., the vicinity, in the hope of preserving them from the ravages of natural enemies on the mainland. It "would be interesting to know if the birds survive still in these island sanctuaries.