NATURE NOTES

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 96, 20 October 1934, Page 17

NATURE NOTES

'BIBBS.-Iff.. THE OLDEN

DAYS

INTERESTING POPULATION

By K. H. D. Stidblph, B»A.atL In the- palmy days of bird-life; in New Zealand tho nature lover, had unrivalled opportunities of observing wild life. The present:day generation is no longer able to enjoy the sight of our native-birds iri-.their'thousands but must largely be1 content., with reading about their glory of the, past.,.. Among Now Zealand's contributors.onr.this subject is the.late Mr. J. G. :McLean,./.who spent a' lifetime among the"birds and. bush and fortunately for those in later years, recorded .his observations, oa many species. Among.the .'districts1 explored ornithologically by Mr. McLean, was one in tho hinterland Of-tiie "east coast of; tho North Island, ..near Gisborne, in the vicinity of a hill, MaungaHaumia, a well-known, landmark in that neighbourhood., This range rises to "a height of 3979 feet. The. bush oa Maunga-Haumia consisted of magnificent beech, with many other species of trees and shrubs interspersed,- tawari forming more than half the vegetation, its seeds, during the .parly winter, affording much fopd.ifor parakeets aiid kakas. With tho ■/.exception of a tall, tussocky grass, there was little .undergrowth .among/ the beech,' but on., the sides of'the lMges./Bcrub.became'moreplentiful .wherever the bush changed to a more mixed class .oS'taw.a-r-fliP.iruit of which was the favourite autumn food of the pigeon—hiuau; miro, and other trees, and -was thicker'in the gullies, which, with moss-festooned, white-wood, made a happy hunting ground for/New Zealand's smallest bird, the rifleman. To. the south-west, between, a ridg» and the'main range, was an undulating valley of poorer soil, where much more open-bottomed bush prevailed, (co'ifsisting of tawhera and manuka, about 40 or 50 feet high, : -with' hardly.'; any. undergrowth, but' showing 'here ; .and-,, there. patches of a .peculiar. Ti , grass-tree, averaging about eight feet in height, and which grew so thickly as to almost exclude other-species. This valley, intersected by the Mangamaia and its numerous branches, was much frequsnted by the: whitehead, bellbird', and bluewattled crow, and here more particularly in; the nei-nei (grass tree) : and adjoining open-bottomedv tawhera and manuka that charming -songster, : tho wood robiiij was present in some numbers. Adjacent to, but west of. this again, was heavy .mixed tawa, with rimtt aijd/ white-wood and a tangled, undergrowth' of .supplejaekvand: lawyer vines. , There the pigeon ; and the tui were more plentiful than, in other parts. In tho felled areas, a network in places of half:burnt, rotting, trunks, there were patches in the damper, gullies of second growth, and these, if :'within a' mile or two of the main bush,'were .much frequented by the white-breasted; tomtit, the bellbird,. and the trui,. which -ia spring found much food thero suited.to. their tastes.. -An open' talloy; with * good growth" of rarigi'ora, .'puka*- koromiko, coprosma, and wineberry, was a great place for birds suchas the whitehead, tomtit, bellbird, and crow, white it also proved a congenial area for the bold little bush-hawk. \ The handsome pigeon was fairly common in the autumn of each year when, feeding on-the purplp,'JaureUike fruit of the tawa. After the main-crop of bush fruits was exhausted, in July it usually despended to] v scrubby: bushed gullies of the inore/opeii -cciuiitry, where it fed. upon ■ the, young shoots of the kowhai. It was much persecuted by the bush-hawk- and stood 'a poor chance or escape if caught out on. the "burn," or; open-land, away from.cover. This hawk was not plentiful., On :;.wet or _ foggymornings its shrillcry• was.occasionally heard from, the top of an outstanding dead or.'dying tree, but when attacking the harrier a sharp! chattering note was sounded. Odd harriers worked, thecleare'd country near the ; bush r and if • one came close enough: he was sure to meet with a warm reception. .The moiepork, though common throughout, was mora plentiful on1 tlie northern side of ,thq range. In small parties of/from five to twelve individuals"tie, yellow-fronted parakeet, -which , ■vyas. often seen m association with 'the -jvMtehead, wag fairly nnnicn.as in, tha bush: ; In the autumn and winter it -was .most -common about the beech country, -where tha( seed-pods o£ tho tawari afforded abund* ant food and where it reared its young. It was expected that: the red : fronte<l parakeet would occur in. this region, but it was never met with. Many^ara". keets were shot in.' winter . byr th*. Natives, but they were all of theft yellow-fronted " species. Alth.ough /a.n|,; odd kaka was noticed through April 11* different parts of.the bush it-was not until the tawari ripened that-it becam« common. -.•-.. . . . The robin was present in fair num« bers ia the tawhera country, which un* fortunately was very local. Beyoridi this area it was not found. The tomtit -was, in autumn, fairly^ commo» throughout all the bush, but Jess so iit winter, when it showed some preference for the more o'p^n, sunny parts. It waa at all times particularly plentiful about the edges and appeared quitel at*hom« amid the logs of the adjacent "burns. '*■ The- grey^yarbleir was fairly common all over the bush. Though not often niefi with in the niain bush'the-pied fantail was fairly plentiful on its edges and iv the valleys of the older country was common where an odd tree or patch of scrub gave, shelter. / In some parts p? the bush the whitehead was the-com-monest species to be-seen./The \t>elw bird was not so numerous, nor. was the tui by any means a common-bird. .Tha rifleman was fairly'plentiful- in th,a tawa and mixed bush, while .the _ blue wattled crow was always/..local' in. -its habitat..