NATURE NOTES

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 75, 29 March 1930, Page 17

NATURE NOTES

MARLBOROUGH SOUNDS

A RARE SHAG

By E. H. D. Stidolpli, E.A.O.U.

A particularly handsome representative of the shag , family is one of the most conspicuous and notable members of the bird population of Queen Charlotte Sound. It breeds on some outlying rocks, and is found nowhere else in the world. Such i. beautiful bird—although it is a shag—and a species so restricted in its distribution, must be looked upon as a cherished possession. This the Government has recognised, and recently the bird was placed on the list of entirely protected species. On a recent visit to Queen Charlotte Sound the writer saw only one bird of this species, at Ship Cove, but as tho 'immediate vicinity "of its breeding haunts was not visited it is impossible to say whether the bird is well represented or not. The fact that it is a, protected species needs advertising, as it is reported that certain launch or yachting parties Trom Wellington, and elsewhere are in the habit of persecuting shags of all species in the Sounds district. This shag, which Queen Charlotte and Pelorus Sounds can claim as their exclusive possession, is known as the rough-faoed or carunculated shag. It is very attractively clad in a plumage of black above, glossed with bluish green, and below white. There is a white band on the wing, and also a white, patch on the lower back, while a wide dorsal psiteli is always present. The skii on the face is chocolate brown, the eyelids bright blue, and the caruncles orange. It js stated that usually there is no trace of a crest, but occasionally one occurs. The bird seen at Ship Cove was standing on the rocks, but at tho approach of the launch it took to flight and settled in the water not far from the land. Nearby, on some' rocks, a party of seven or eight' oyster catchers watched the shag, and the human visitors into their domain. Only one of the oyster catchers was or the pied species, the remainddr being the-black species, often know.h as the red bill. The black shag, a bird of almost cosmopolitan distribution, occurs throughout Polorus and Queen Charlotte Sounds, but, as there are no trout ' streams in that part of thr country, no doubt their presence can be' tolerated. Black-backed gulls, of course, are also well distributed throughout the district, being most plentiful at Picton. An occasional gannet is to be seen, and the beautiful and graceful white-fronted tern also finds the waters of these sounds to its liking. In Queen Charlotte hound flocks of diving petrels attract, the attention of the. traveller. These small birds are usually-noticed, resting on the water or flying just. above the surface with rapid wing movements. The mutton bird, a sombre-coloured petrel, and the ■fluttering shearwater^ another species1 of petrel, are also to be seen, while the largest member of the petrel family, the nellie, likewise ventures into, the sheltered waters of the Sounds/ Near Picton a few red-billed gulls are to be seen, but these birds do not appear to be very numerous there or elsewhere in the-Sounds district. At Ship Cove, one of the most historical spots in New Zealand, which remains to this , day ..in, its virgin condition, the track of a blue penguin was followed from' high-water mark to a hole beneath a mahoe growing some distance up the side of the hill. There the penguin had its nest. A solitary penguin was passed on the journey up Queen Charlotte .Sound; No doubt other sea birds are also':to be found in tho locality, notablj the Caspian tern, the pied shag, the spotted shag, and. perhaps some additional members of ,the petrel, family. ... : ;:. The larger seenie reserves in Queen. Chai-lotte Sound and in the. vicinity of Picton are inhabited by a fair number of native birds. One of the most delightful localities near Picton, Kumototo Bay, where magnificent native bush, clothes the hillsides from: the water's edge to tho skyline, is the home of several upeeies. New Zealand's beauti- . ful wood pigeon is not at all uncommon there, as elsewhere in the Sounds, thanks to the. protection afforded to it by tho vigilance- of rangers and the police. The tui and the bellbird also enjoy a life of luxury' in the' forest there, and their joyous notes often add to the enjoyment of the visitor. One long-tailed cuckoo or sereecher was heard in February, and no doubt this bird regularly visits the locality each summer. Ship Cove is likewise the home of many species. During a ramble in the forest there the writer noted in the course of about two hours about twelve species of birds. Probably the most notable inhabitant is the weka. No sooner was a landing made near the monument to Captain. Cook than one of these roguish but likeable birds appeared on the. scene, at first peering out'from the undergrowth, and then boldly walking into full view, in the hope of securing some scraps from the luncheon. The pied fan tail and. the black fantai! are. present. Two fantails, one of each species, accompanied the writer for some distance as he walked through the bush, and it was' obvious that they' had a real feast on the insects disturbed, from the bushes. The white-eye, which occurs from the mountains to the sea coast, is represented in fairly good numbers. A male bird of the South Island tomtit was seen, having +he characteristic yellow breast, and no doubt this charming little bird is fairly common there. The bellbira and tuij two honeyeaters, occur, and the smallest bird in New Zealand, the rifleman, is found at Ship Cove at sea-level. The introduced birds include tho blackbird and chaffinch, b.ut probably others occur there as well. ■ Tho black fantail, which ' is seldom found in the North Island, was better represented in the Picton Waterworks Reserve than in any other locality visited. In the reservoir reserve, which embraces some very fine . forest,' four pied fantails and four black fantails were seen. Elsewhere in the Sounds district, except at Ship Cove, where one black fantail was seen, this bird was conspicuous by -its absence. For nistance, during several days spent aft Tennyson 'nlet, not a single black fantail was seen, although .however, tho fantail seems to be a comparatively raro species there. During a four or five mile walk from Pieton along tho Grove road, which rises over tho hill through bush froir Shakespeare Bay, four pied fantails were seen, ami theic was no sign of tho black species. The proportion of the pied to the black species would appear to be about thTee to one, and only t\vo black fantails. were seen, together. ■•