NATURE NOTES

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 147, 23 June 1928, Page 17

NATURE NOTES

: INTRODUCED BIRDS ; I ' LINNET AND SISK|N : ' .(By/K, II; D..SUdo}jih^S.A.Ci.U.) . ;■■■ Another. introducedl:bird v iyitlj whi<-"i many New Zealaiidcrs.avo" ndt;acquainted is .the linnet. This- species, how; ■ever, must not. beVeqnfuscd. -with the greenfinch,'a bird.conunon. in' most districts of the Dominion .and-very, generally known as .the green'linnet; ;.Thb truo linnet is a bird >J-'i;h'e~ siz"e;*>f;the;gold- vfinch. its'plumage-varies:-nraish at different; seasons of' the .year]' sin. consequence of which it is often referred to in England as the brown,"grey, rose, onred linnet,, as if each, were-"a different species. The linnet has..rattier an at- ' tractive plumage -during ■ the.' summer ■ months,when the greyish-brown feath.- • ers r of tho.Sorehead are''tipped ..v.-ith criniscin, -the upper - plurtmgci'vls . .rich .chestnut.brown and.the' breast crimson, with a few. pale'brown "feathers intermixed.. The. linnet is .not unlike, tho ' redpoll. Its-scientific" name,'Linota: ■ eannabina, is probably . derived from, the bird having been ■ seen- feeding on flax-seed (Linum), Sand.- the 'specific name, cannabina, from'haying been seen, to. fe.ed.in hemp-seed.'-(-Cannabis).'. According, to '■ the !■ .investigations;,of .the Hon. Gv 11. ..Tlionisorl/-.t:lie-;.lirint't' was first introduced into Nclsi.ivJ.n'iS.Ci-', and iiitjj; other.districts between ISfei and 1870: • It is stated tliat°th'e,birds'werp .-' common' for a short time and then completely disappeared. . In-any.'ease; at least.some,of those, introduced.-into New Zealand- apparently became;: established, as. in roccnt -.years the -:linii ei- -lias!' been recorded from' ; the Manawa'tu.;.~aistrict to near Wangariui arid alsofrom'Westland. ■Probably this birdisfaii.nTo.rb. "eommott .than, is supposed, but oii..'acepunt, of its shy .nature'is "frequcntly/'byerloblced. ;:, ' ■ The late - Row C A. Johns, a former ' .. well-known English' naturalist,.Jwell described the/habits'. of tie linneHti his • own inimitable way. : : "Linnets offer themselves to our notice," hewrotej/'in the evenings, of autumn' and:winter more than at any other" time../' Mrge flocks ofthem may then be-observed making their, way, with rapid and "•'• irregular flight, towards tall trees which happen, to stand in the vicinify of" a'cotiimbii or a furze-brake. On the '■■ summits of thoso they alight, with their he.ads, in stormy weather, always turned towards the wind," and often, keeping up!,'a coi); tinuous twittering . for ..a \few'^minutes, suddenly drop intptheif rpdsting-pla'ces among;the furze; and thiek'sh'rubs..' At the '.return of. dawn' they. issue, forth to their feeding, grounds]-still congregated in large flocks, and~spend the whole of the day in hunting on the ground for food. This consists principally, of tho seeds of various -.weeds, especially wild" mustard or charlock, wild-cabbage', and other plants of the same tribe, thistle and dandelion; chance grains of. corii no doubt are not passed by, but any in,; : jury which may be done by these birds either to standing crops or newly-sowed lands must be'far outweighed'by their services as destroyers of.'weeds .and insects, which latter also' "enter■ into' their dietary. At this season, their-only note .. !is a i simple cal, mellow and'pleasant, which-they utter both >while flying, and .when•'perched. - vln „spring,,vtlie flocks break, iip, -and--.the-members-, betake ' theliiselvesiri pairs to" theccoiritnons and , 'heaths;;whieh aftproieii'rtljOm;night-lodg-ing during.;.winteT.r:-:^lferd"!t'h'cy; build thoirAn'csts at a mbderate.'distance.from the, ground, more irequ'en'tly jii "a furze.bush than anywhere else)', but'occasidiiBally in other shrubs or,an adjoining hedge." The nest is built of small twigs, moss, roots, and wool, and. is lined with hair and feathers. Four 6V five eggs, of a.paielbluish grey, speckled with, deep-red, are laid.. Incidentally, practically; nothing 'is ;jpown of the s "bird'sTnovementT^iOlfi^w"Zealand".' The . nest and-eggs-"pfrthjs species ,wero known in' New Zealaiid long before tho bird-itself was'seen.- ■■-• - . The siskin, a bird in ;the.same genus as the familiar goldfinch, but slightly.smaller than that.species,.is r reported as" being present inia- wifd statp,i« the district to the south and'Tv'cst oi.New Ply- ' .mouth* There, are no -record's "pi, its existence elsewhere' hi the! .--Q.omniibiii. TheHon. G. M. Thomson," who, after extended and patient investigations .compiled a volume detailirig the introductions of animals and plants into New Zealand, states that the siskin was : first brought to this country in:lß76 v when two birds wore liberated, by the Wellington Acclimatisation Society;•.•-;• In" 1879;-several were introduced by the, Canterbury Society,1 and; these .'were rfcported to have taken up their quarters in Hagley Park. In subsequent years, however, siskins were imported into all the chief. centres by bird : d'ealers, and it is .apparently descendants of some, of these that prob--ably got away from confinement that have become established. The siskin is an -attractively-clad bird-;in r : .yellow, green and black; plumage. ...:The-crown is black; and behind the /eyois a broad yellow streak. AW. 'thb- plumage vis variegated with grey,; dusky, -Brid various shades of yellow; and 'yellowish green. The female bird'has; no'black on the headland has all tlie; colours . less bright. In England/according to a writer there, siskins are generally observed to keep together in small ;..flocks of from twelve to fifteen; and may be heard from a considerable distance, as they rarely intermix, uttering..their call note1. Their flight is-rapid arid* irregular. The seeds of '.the... alder, disclosed within, scales, something liko .those of ' the,coniferous tress in,the! Old: Country, form the principal food of these* pretty* little birds, who are obliged .'to.-'hang at the extremities of the twigs .in.order to explore the seed-vessels on ail.sides. Occasionally, but less ■• frequently; they arb. soon visiting heads:of-thistle and burdocks, and hot infrequently they descend to the ground for the sake of picking up scattered seeds.V During tho wholo of their feeding 4imo tKo'y.never cease twittering and -fluttering about joyously from ..twig'to." twig..- Tho nest, which in some respects resembles- that of the chaffinch, is concealed with great care in the fork of a tree. The eggs, of which four or five form a clutch, are greyish whito in. colour, speckled ' with purplish brown. '