PLATONIC BIRDS

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 67, 21 March 1933, Page 5

PLATONIC BIRDS

SEAS CANNOT DIVIDE

TRIPLE REUNION AT KARORI

The Himalayan babbling jay-thrush, and the Swaiuson's long-tailed jay, also called royal jay, are distinct species, i "and never the twain shall meet," yet it seems that a male jay-thrush and a female jay may become attracted to each other. Such a platonic affection (if it may be so described) developed between two birds in the possession of an English ornithologist now in Wellington, Mr. Sydney Porter, who later parted with them, but who also recorded the attraction in the ' ' Avieultural Magazine" last August. Then a peculiar thing happened. Mr. B. Sutherland, who has been for some time building up an aviary at his home, Homewood," Karori, became possessed of a male jay-thrush and a female royal jay. Acquired at different times and in different, places in New Zealand, they yet found their way into the same compartment of his aviary at Karori. And he soon noted that they showed a marked attraction of platonic character. Can there, then, bo two cases of this jay-thrush and royal jay phenomenon? Not necessarily," replies Mr. Sutherland, 'for when Mr. Porter my ayiary the other day he recognised his blrds The world is evidently Very small!" BY DEVIOUS PATHS. The coincidence is extraordinary, for wile one bird came from England to Wellington, the other came to Auckland; and the odds against their reaching one Wellington aviary, and one compartment thereof, must have been enormous. Even greater odds were against their chance of meeting in .varori their old English master. The •royal jay first came into Mr. Sutherland s possession; it was imported through the New Zealand Avieultural bociety, ana Mr. Sutherland, as a member thereof, won the jay in a ballot .of the society, which by ballot distributes its importations among its members. Later on the jay-thrush was imported, and Mr. Sutherland saw it in Auckland, took a fancy to it, . and bought it, and brought it here. It was described in the "Evening Post" some months ago as the Himalayan anghwg thrush, but Himalayan babV/^e Jay-thrash is more descriptive, -both tho jay-thrush and the royal iav are crested birds; bath, are beautiful each in its way. ' Mr. Sutherland's jay-thrush is male his royal jay is female. But when in Mr. Porter's possession each bird had its own mate—that is to say, Mr Porter's aviary contained a pair of' iaythrushes and a pair of royal jays This caused deeper complications than are likely at Karori. It seems that the Male jay-thrush now at Karori was the ringleader in England, and his mate resented his conduct; so her failure (so far) to find her way across the ocean to Homewood" may be a. merciful dispensation. Mr. Jay-Thrush now admires Mrs. Royal Jay without causing any heartTburning. ° THRUSHES FASCINATED BY JAYS. More light is tactfully thrown on the domestic affairs of the jays by Mr. Porter in his above-mentioned article an tile British "Avieultural Magazine." He refers to the ill-health that compelled him to part with many of his birds. He states that tho jay-thrushes were already in his aviary when he bought the pair of jays. At first both the jay-thrushes—female as well as male—seemed spellbound at sight of the jays. The jay-thrushes followed the jays, became their shadows. "After a time," writes Mr. Porter, "the jay-thrushes ventured to touch the other birds, very timidly and gently at_ first, like a chiia touching something it was afraid of. Gradually they touched the birds all over, opeasionally bursting into the loud, rollicking laugh which causes these birds to be known as laughing thrushes, and, jumping over tho jays' backs, they would stare and touch them oh the other side. At times they sat and looked, with head' on ono side with a rapturous look like a love-sick maiden looking at the photo of her" beloved. All day long from morn till night they just followed the jays and gazed at them in a state of rapturous ecstasy. THE OLD STORY. "After a time, one of the jaythrushes grew rather tired of this and also riot a little jealous of her mate; if she saw him gazing in the old lovesick way she would jump in between the two, start to preen his feathers, and gradually push him away. He then began to realise that his mate was jealous and disapproved of this strange state of things, so he began to follow the jay about surreptitiously. If his mate wasn't looking he would gaze in the old love-sick w.ay and perhaps sidle up and gently preen the feathers of the jay's head, but as soon as he saw his mate had seen what he was doing he would pretend he wasn't doing anything, and sometimes make himself smaller and hide behind the jay, but his wife would find out and immediately come on the scene, get in between the two, and gradually push her mate away. "I have never seen rapture expressed in a look such as with these birds. What prompted the jay-thrushes to behave^ in this way I cannot say, unless it was the huge crests of the jays which fascinated them; I am sure it was no sexual impulse, for, the birds always kept a few inches away and never attempted any familiarities such as feeding the other birds, etc.; it just seemed as though the long-tailed jays had cast a spell over the other birds. The jays seemed to take very little notice of their, attendants; in fact, they very seldom resented it. They seemed nofa little bored by the whole business, but though' they eventually became the masters of all the other birls they always respected their strange attendants."