NATURE NOTES

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 112, 14 May 1938, Page 17

NATURE NOTES

BLACK-FRONTED TERN OCCURRENCE IN NORTH ~ | ISLAND ! (By R. H. D. Stidolphl When the writer ~ visitecp a littlefrequented part of the coagt not very, far from Wellington the other day he was agreeably surprised to make the acquaintance of the' black-fronted tern. A small tern of fairly dark plumage was noticed flying up and down along the beach, dipping every now and again into the shallow water to snap up a tiny fish, its dark colour and yellow bill first attracted attention and a white area at the base of | the tail was very conspicuous when the bird was in flight. Some distance along the beach a number ■ of- terns could be seen nesting on the ; sand, engaged in preening their feathers, or enjoying a quiet rest. A careful approach to this gathering showed that the bulk of the birds were the whitefronted tern, New Zealand's commonest species, but in their company were about half A dozen individuals of the much rarer black-fronted tern, a bird of generally grey plumage and having no white, area separating the black cup from the bill. Moreover, the blackfronted tern is considerably smaller than, the other species, arid has bright orange-coloured. legs and feet.A ' VALUABLE BIRD. The black-fronted tern was one at the many birds disepvered' ■ during Captain Cook's second voyage to New Zealand in 1773. Although it has been recorded from both the North and South Islands, it has : always; been regarded as a rare bird in the North Island, where it has occurred as far north- as Manukau Harbour and the Bay of Plenty and inland in such' localities as the Waikato River and Lake Taupo. It has, however, never been known to breed in 1 the' North Island, where it is/usually observed, if at all, in the, autumn and winter months: In the : South Island, where it breeds on shingle river-beds in Canterbury, Otago, and Southland, it is fairly numerous. Unlike the common white-fronted tern,' which la almost essentially a coastal bird, the black-fronted species is quite at home on the larger rivers and back country of the South Island and/ frequently follows the plough to secure insects, which form the bulk of .its food. It is, consequently, a valuable bird for the agriculturist, a$ much of its food consists of injurious insect larvae. On the other hand; should it happen to be_ frequenting; the coast, as it does occasionally, it finds that small fisHr.' do not come amiss. ; \ -" "T LIFE ON A RIVER. The late Sir Walter Buller recorded some interesting observations of this bird's habits. He described in detail the movements of a par of birds of this' species lie watched for a whole afternoon on the Waikato River near Cambridge at a spot of. great beauty, where the Karapiro creek empties its platidf waters into the ' turbulent stream of the \"tua-whehua,f just on the outskirts of the town. "For hours together,",he wrote, "they cbursed up and down this little reach in the liver, never once the- stream— indeed, the water was too rapid at this point' to' allow of surface fish being found, there; high above the water, now with a winnowing pigeon flight; now hovering a moment in the airrising falling with the play of their changeful fancy—coursing flrstup stream to near.the bridge, then wheeling* round; sometimes skimming low at the place' where the rapids were boiling over their rocky bed, as if to take a closer observation and then, on reaching the bend in the river, sharply wheeling back again and so on and on, now higher, now lower, regulating their more, rapid actions by a dexterous movement Of their swallow-tails and at every turn showing the snowy whiteness of. their tail-coverts and their lovely coral bills." _ ' ; ITS ATTRACTIVE WAYS. On another occasion, lower down the same river, Sir Walter Buller watched a pair of these birds "engaged In 'the more serious business of fishing. Here again," he wrote, "nothing could be more prettjKthan the arrowy flight of this bird up and down the stream. Skimming • near the surface and almost touching, the, water,, it would ever and anon poise itself, in the air for a few seconds, as if to take steady aim and then drop upon its finny prey—a small, kind of Galaxias. Imnfediately, On capturing this, it would sweep upwards so as to have some play in the air as the little fish fell from its beak and had to be caught again in the right position for swallowing. Up and down the open reach these birds kept up this untiring flight for hours together, their lively grey and white plumage shown off to the best advantage against the dark banks and ' deep waters of the Waikato." Sir Walter stated that he had seen large fllgita of this species within a 'few .miles of the city of Christchurch. following the farmer's plough and picking .up grub* from the newly-turned earth. CATCHING MOTHS. Another early naturalist who encountered the black-fronted tern in thi North Island was the : late Captain Mair, who, in the calm summer even-r ings of December, 1879, observed-some hundreds flying round the clumps of black beech trees which here apd there dotted the course of ItheJTakiahuru Stream, running through' the Murimotu-Karioi Plain, on. the southeast side of Ruapehu. His curiosity being aroused, he clitaibed. to the top of one of these trees, just after sunset, and obtained a close view of the bird* hovering around the trees and ' ever and anon darting Either and thither very much in ' zigzag manner in which bats pursue their prey. • He found that the birds were chasing small moths, beetles, etc:; and now and again when a large green beetle came booming: along in its flight from-the seeking a rteStirig-place in the trees, a score of these • pretty little birds would dart after it, uttering soft plaintive cries, till one more lucky than the rest carried off the prize.