NATURE NOTES

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 30, 4 August 1931, Page 18

NATURE NOTES

WHITE FACED HERON

RESIDENT OR VISITOR ?

(By R. H. D. Stidolpli, R.A.0.U.) A very handsome species of heron, often known generally by the somewhat erroneous name of blue crane, but more correctly called the whitefronted or white-faced heron, appears to bo a very rare bird in New Zealand. It must not be confused with the reef or blue heron, which is distributed all around the New Zealand coast—a bird which can easily be mistaken for tho white-faced heron. Probably the best distinguishing mark is tho presence ou the latter species of a full crest and dorsal train, which is lacking on the reef heron. In colour the plumago of the white-faced heron' is dark bluish grey above, with long lanceolate plumes ou the back and scapulars; the crown is very dark grey, the nape feathers forming a crest, while the forehead, an area behind the eye and tho cheeks and throat are whito, the long feathers at the side of the upper breast being grey. The amount of white on the face varies somewhat. The bill, which is black, tho lower "mandible being whitish near the base, also serves to distinguish this bird from the reef heron, which has tho bill dark yellow, shaded with brown. Tho reef heron is of a general dark slate grey colour, with the chin and throat white. Occurring in Australia, Tasmania, New Caledonia, New Guinea, and the Moluccas, besides New Zealand, the white-faced heron appears to bo much more abundant in those countries than it is in the Dominion. In fact there is no record of the. bird breeding in New Zealand, and the writer is more inclined to regard the species as an occasional visitor rather than a resident species, although Mr. W. B. B. Oliver, in his recent work on New Zealand birds, records it as " sparingly distributed along the coasts of the. North and South Islands.''

These two herons, although having a superficial resemblance to each other in appearance, apparently differ considerably in habits. The white-faced species appears to be much more partial to swamps and inland localities than the coast, the rocky portions of which are the true home of , the reef heron, although it also frequents sandy stretches. In tho choice of nesting sites, however, the two species demonstrate their differences to a more marked degree. • The reef heron in. New Zealand almost invariably builds its nest in some nook or crevice in a rocky situation, whereas the whiter faced heron usually builds its nest,, in Australia and elsewhere, on. the horizontal ' branch of a tree overhanging the water. On the occasion of a. visit to Kapiti Island Bird Sanctuary some years ago, the writer was shown the nest, of a reef heron by the custodian of the island, Mr. A. S. Wilkinson. It was placed at the foot of a cliff, among the rocks, not far from the surge of the waves, the roar of which constantly echoed in the miniature chasms with which the locality abounded. The nest itself was rather a flat affair, built of rusheß and'sticks, and contained two eggs of a beautiful pale blue colour. On visiting the nest again nine days later, one of the eggs had hatched and a comical-looking object with plenty of leg propped itself up in the nest at our approach. The adult bird was very timid, and flow away at the first sign of the intruders. A recent description of a nest of the whitefaced heron, found in a mangrove swamp bordering part of Sydney Harbour, indicated that it was a "large depressed platform of sticks, built about fifteen feet up, in- an old gnarled mangrove." The only locality in which the whitefaced heron has been observed in the Wellington district is Poriru'a Harbour, fr6m which place the late Sir Walter Buller records having received a pair a considerable number of years ago. It has not been seen since, however, although in other parts of both the North and South Islands birds of this species have been seen. As the whitefaced heron is a beneficial spocies as Ear as mankind is concerned, it is a pity that it is not more numerous in New Zealand, as its services in the destruction of crickets, grasshoppers, and other insects are of groat value.. It also feeds on crabs and sueh-like, and small fishes. The reef heron is a familiar bird on many parts of the Now Zealand coast, and is always to bo seen on Wellington and Porirua harbours. Its favourite haunt in Port Nicholson is the rocks in the vicinity of the Hutt road near Petone. • Sometimes tho bird may be observed on a fishing excursion in Evans Bay. The reef heron enjoys a fairly extensive range, being found from Burma and Japan through the Malay Archipelago and Pacific Islands to Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand. ~ Curiously, this species has a white form, which breeds, freely with the typical blue plumaged. birds, the young birds resembling either one or the other parent, but sometimes being intermediate. In New Zealand, however, the species seems to occur purely in its normal .plumage, as there is only a single instance on record of tho white form being noted. In tho tropical countries in which this heron occurs tho whito form is of fairly common occurrence. Observers in New Zealand should be very careful to note the differences between the reef heron and tho whitefaced species. As stated before, there is no record of the latter bird breeding iv New Zealand, and consequently the discovery of a nest of the whitefaced heron would be of some interest to bird-lovers. In addition to the distinguishing features to which attention has already been drawn,. tho whitefaced heron, as the name suggests, has the forehead, an area round the eyes, and the throat white. In the case of the reef heron, only tho chin and throat are white, or in some cases the white extends down tho foreneck. It must-be remembered, however, that the bird most likely to be obsorved, particularly on rocky coasts, is the reef or bluo heron, as this species rarely, if ever, goes inland,