NATURE NOTES

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 112, 8 November 1930, Page 17

NATURE NOTES

HABITS OF THE TOMTIT.

OBSERVATIONS ON KAPITI ISLAND ~ : (By E...H. D. .Stidolph, -K.A.O.TT.) .' The home life! of thb'North Islarii tomtit is dealt "wdtli. by Mrs. A. S.'Wilkinson in an informative article. contributed to the last number of tha "Emu," the official'organ of-the Boy'al Australasian'.' Onithologists' Unions. The observationswere made on Kapfti Island -Bird'Sanctuary, where-Mrs. Wilkinson has unrivalled.opportunities of sturying the native bird-life of. the-is-land. This-observer, states'.'that ■ tha same pair of tomtits apparently remain about-the same area all their lives. The bixds resent-the presence of another of .'.their, kind-'within ■ their-dp-main, the male fiercely chasing the trespasser and causing him. to taka hurriedly the: shortest cut for home. The range of their territory is quite extensive for .small birds, prehaps tea or more acres. According ;to Mrs. Wilkinson nesting operations begin rather early in the season, sometimes;- during the last week-in, August. Often^ a hola in a tree is chosen, sometimes a sheltered cleft in a bank or rock, and sometimes the birds build.their cosy.nest.ia the branches of a tree, generally choosing a low.and compact, one. Mrs. Wilkinson ...bqljevqs _.that .the Joest. is" built entirely by the female, the male supplying liar with food while she works. He helps Jier to select the site, and it is amusing. to watch him pop into * hole in a tree and to hear him calling to his mate to come in and inspect-it also. Mrs. Wilkinson has seen the mala bird sit,in a nest that his mate had built and then for some reason had discarded, perhaps to test it and tempt her back to it again or to reassure her of its suitability.'; The'material used foB the construction of thenest is composed principally of moss, and soft scraps of thin, bark, bound. together with cobwebs, and .lined softly inside, with feathers.' When.'.' complete, ■ the nest, viewed from the outside, appears quite a bulky home for the size of th« birds that are to occupy it, but the interior cup is small, and. there is n« room to spare when the inmates; are feathered. Three or four eggs "are laid, in colour white, with a'.liberal, spotting of tiny dark-brown, specks, mostly at the larger end. . .•■-- Mrs Wilkinson continues;" The hea bird does most, or probably ail, of tha incubating,, sitting on the. eggs , for about seventeen days, which seems: aa unusually long period for so-small a bird. She leaves them /frequently •ia response to a call from- hermate. at intervals of about a quarter of <an hour, when ho carries food for: her. She generally flies to a neighbouring/tree to receive it from him, not letting him come-right to the nest, although somer times he does' so. Ho . puts \ tha food-—an insect of some kind—into, her mouth, she fluttering her wing's-in the manner of young birds when being fed. Then, if incubation has not advanced very far, she may. stay off for several minutes, catching food for herself and taking exercise. Later she will stay, away from her eggs just long enough, to swallow food which her,mate brought her; before flying.back and snuggling down in her cosy nest till only her beak and beady black eye may be seen.over the edge. Where the young are hatched;" both parents carry food and-occas-ionally the male-will give'his catch'to the female to feed to them. He:;is often more cautious about approaching the nest" when under observation thaa she is, and. will hover around' with, a wriggling insect in his month for:' a considerable time . before venturing jto deliver it to the ever-hungry inmates. ... It appears just the reverse with the hen; when the young .need; food, or when the nest .is being- inspected, she will fly up courageously, making angry little snapping noises, with erected head feathers, and ruffled wings, darting swiftly past and almost touching qne's face, sometimes even alighting on the intruder's -head or should* er, finally slipping into the nest, covering the eggs or-young-from further inspection. This is real bravery, and cannot but incite great admiration for the small grey bird. At other tinies, when not having young to defend, the female tomtit is a retiring little thing, and does not often wander frotti her busli retreat, or bring herself under notice." According to Mrs- Wilkinson's observations young tomtits remain in this nest until about seventeen or eighteen days old. After they leave, she states, they are encouraged by their parents to mount'higher into nearby trees. They do this by easy stages, taking only short'fluttering flights at first, but soon becoming active and flying with greater ease every hour. Evea then they are still fed very frequently by their parents.. They call incessantly for more, for tomtits, -bpth old and young, have large appetites, and con : sume an enormous quantity :.o£ insects for such tiny birds. After', helping her mate to attend to the wants of tho growing family for about ten days, Mrs. Wilkinson states, -the hen tomtit begins to build again, and 'leaves the work of feeding almost entirely, to the cock bird. He carrieß. on. very faithfully with the job, providing'them with food all day long, but he is not heard singing so merrily now: he-is much too busy. His building mate-must .'•- miss having her food caught arid;-carried to her as when she was-busy with'the construction of the first nest,.but there i« no shirking by either" bird;". both perform their duty continuously and well. The male feeds the young, another week or two, giving, them less, and less attention, and by this" time .they .can catch.a certain amount for:.themselves, although they evidently prefer to.hare it done for them. By the time the second brood is reared, which inay he well-into February, the adult tomtits are beginning to moult and go into retirement, the young, fbllon-ing them, but , instead of food they receive chastisement,, tho father bird being particularly fierce with them. A noticeable: feature iri connection with the rearing of the broods is. the way the young at times are separated,'each; parent' taking its share of the family to miiid, and it seems to ,be : th'& most usual thing for the mother bird provide for the little hens and the: father for the young cock birds. It is-to.be hoped that Mrs. Wilkinson will find tima to wirte on other birds found on Kapiti Island, notably the robin,' p&rrakeetj and bell-bird. •-