NATURE NOTES

Evening Post, Volume CXXIV, Issue 69, 18 September 1937, Page 17

NATURE NOTES

NESTS OF RIFLEMAN

NEW ZEALAND'S SMALLEST BIRD

(By R. H. D. Stidolph.)

New Zealand's smallest bird, the rifleman, is now engaged, like many other native and introduced species, in its domestic affairs. The rifleman is only three inches long from the tip of its awl-like bill to. the end of- its tiny tail. It is always full of business, being constantly on the move as it hunts incessantly among the crevices of bark and leaves for insect food. There is no doubt that it is one of the .. most beneficial birds found in the New Zealand forest. It is very much at home in beech bush, although it also favours other types of country, at times even being found in the more extensive hedgerows of the Taranaki district; in the gorse and broom wastes o£ hills near Wellington, in precipitous gorges in the midst of farming districts, and occasionally in certain localities in a town park, as at Stratford, or in gardens, as at. Waimate, in the South Island. Although the rifleman is sometimes seen in unexpected places thera are many settled districts in which it is not recorded. It seems to be more favourable to hilly districts than others, and, such being the case, it certainly has a wide' choice in New Zealand. The rifleman is not found north q£ Auckland. LIKE A SPIDER'S NEST. The nesting site of the rifleman il perhaps the most intriguing of any New Zealand bird. The entrance hole is so small that it is more like a spider's than a bird's, and the nest itself is usually placed in an inaccessible situation, although nearly always close to the ground. The sites selected are in a hole of some description, either in a tree or in a bank, but it is impossible to see the contents of the nest in most cases without d^itroying the surroundings. The first nest of the> rifleman seen by the writer was in an, upturned stump in the Tauherenikau River Valley, in the Tararua Ranges. A pair were observed uttering an excited "tick, tick, tick, tick" as the birds were approached. They were kept under observation, and it was seen that they were collecting insects. A few moments later the female flew to a small hole in a rata stump, standing above a pool of water. The nest was located on the underside of the stump, in a hole three inches long and li inches wide, but only the near edge of the nest could be seen. It appeared to be built of grass stems. Obviously it contained young birds, as the adults were seen' to take food to the nest. Thi3 was on November 11. The rifleman, however, commences to breed ia August, so that it appears that two broods at least are reared in a season. VARIED SITES. Near Mangaweka, on the Main Trunk, are several very picturesque valleys, in which there are attractive clumps of native bush. In one of these the nest of a rifleman was found in an, overblown cabbage tree, a'few feet above the ground. In this case the entrance hole was so small that it was barely possible to admit a finger. Tha nest was built of •fine roots and leaves and was lined with feathers,- mostly those of the goldfinch. A week or two later,-another nest of .this Jittle bird was' found in a scenic reserve near Inglewood, Taranaki. This nest was placed in a hole in the trunk' of a mahoe, about seven.feet from tha ground, and was built of fern fibre and fur. It contained the' remains of three eggs. The most curious, nesting site used by the rifleman, however, is the skull of a deer hanging up in a shed on a farm in the Stronvar district, on the east coast of the Wellington Province. This pair of birds selected tha brain cavity of the skull as a suitable place for the nest, and succeeded in, rearing the young. In the same locality another nest was found in a hole in a ngaio trunk. Incidentally, the rifleman is found in several places in the East Coast district,' where there are remains of beech forest along soma of the precipitous gorges occurring vf that part of the country. NEST IN A BANK. The other day a pair.of riflerrien in* habiting a small area of manuka coun* try in which three or four beech trees stand on the edge of a steep bank, at* tracted attention. Only one bird was; seen for a considerable time. It sys* tematically searched the boughs an* trunks of the beech trees, and thea flew to the manukas, in which it disappeared for some minutes, when it returned to the beech trees. On one of these excursions into the manuka its presence was resented by .a grey warbler, which chased it through tha bushes and angrily snapped its bill at the intruder. No doubt the warble* had a nest in the vicinity and woulc* not countenance the approach of tn« rifleman, small as it is.' Ultimately, both the male arid female riflemea appeared on the scene and proceeded to search for food. The female then fleur to one of the beech trees, and suddenly dived straight down and vanished below the bank. There, tucked away in a hole left by a root, the nest waa located, but so carefully hidden that} only the outside of it could be seen by peering into the small.hole giving access to it.- The nest either had eggs or newly-hatched young. It was impossible to ascertain its contents without pulling away the bark, and the nest, ing site, of course, was left untouched, ADVENTURE WITH A MAGPIE. An adventure with a magpie is dc scribed by Mr. A. Purdie, of 95 Roxburgh Street, who writes as follows, under date September 11:—"On Monday morning last I took a leisurely walk to Brooklyn via the road. As I drew near the top of the road, reading a paper as I travelled, I suddenly felt a knock on my head, and a magpie rose in front of me and perched on the wire directly in front. Thinking I might provoke him to another attack. I went under him and swung a stick towards the cheeky fellow. Little notice he took until I had thrown some pebbles his way, when he made for* the trees and I resumed my paper and my walk. I had gone only a few paces when he again repeated his distaste of the entry into his domain of! strangers, and my head had knock, apparently from his wing tip. Again he perched on the wire nonchalantly. I drove him back ,to his refuge in the tree tops, and, as I.was then near Brooklyn, he allowed me to go on in peace. About an hour later I returned, keeping a. sharp look-out for the culprit, and, sure enough, he came straight for me, this time flying very low. My time" being limited, I had no inclination to tease him further, but seeing another individual following down the road I watched as he neared the danger zone. Again down flew 'maggie,' enraged to think that here was 'another transgressor.' However, this gentleman saw no humour in the position, and rushed for soraa ammunition in' the shape of looso stones, and the attack was beaten off with a barrage. Though I have passed through that reserve for some considerable time I cannot remember seeing; any of this species of bird life before, to say. nothing about being the vto* tim of an attack."