NATURE NOTES

Evening Post, Volume CXXVII, Issue 111, 13 May 1939, Page 17

NATURE NOTES

"CHILDREN OF T\$NE"

STORY OF N.Z. BiIRDfS

(By R. H. D. Stidolph.)

■ Very few books on birds !aae presented to the general public iti siich a readable form as that adopted -by Mona Gordon in her recently-i published volume, "Children of Tane."', Kera we have a story of New Zealand) birdlife, so charmingly written that ifl'ae interest of the reader is maintained^ from cover to cover. Moreover, the )bobk is attractively produced in every}'way, is well illustrated with colourr and black and white plates, and -has-sjsveral diagrams as well. In the 250 patees of this attractive volume the authcfj: has compacted a vivid account of( the vicissitudes of our. native birds, aj< story that is brimful of information 4about their discovery, their habits, andi their fate. Although a somewhat plragic story is unfolded in the pages oil' this book, it must be recognised thati it is a true one, and for all that has qtecurred in the way of extinction orTjdecimation of some of our most cherished aviari possessions, man and his ity'orks are responsible. Following the 'arrival of Europeans in.'New Zealand* tha balance of nations was upset, and many of our birds, quite unfltttedto fight against new enemies, couljq. not withstand the changed conditions, and passed away. ...'■■ LAND OF BIRDS. ] The story- of "Children of flane* opens with an account of Aoteasoa-as a land reserved entirely for the | birds, "winged- spirits of a forest 'u»:owth which afforded them more perfect sanctuary than any in the / jentire world." The Maoris, it is pomtoeU but, distinguished between the unfruitful highland beech forests and thfe rich, lowland berry-bearing and borieyproducing trees, and at one time ja. very efficient system of forest and birA conservation laws were enforced, r These jealously guarded bird-forests," Jwrite3 Mona Gordon, "were thus conserved far more efficiently than by any ifj^stem which civilisation could devise j: and only on island sanctuaries, ftfcdg'ed around by Acts of Parliament .; from depredation, does anything approach-, ing the old regime remain. . . \" ; How the British colonists set about tio destroy the forest and reduce it ?to a miserable .11 per cent, of its- '(former acreage makes rather grim raiding, but to a certain extent, it is stated, "the tragic story has been .reliejred in recent years by a growing treeHf"ense, an appreciation of unspoilt beauioj, and the efforts of Government aioji of several societies to conserve wli|it remains of a denuded heritage." Ifcjr the present generation realises that ai road of blackened stumps is the legiijcy x>f the pioneers, and that for every* bush fire the early settler set aligMt, his children and his. children's chtildren are paying heavily in unchecfce di flood owing to denudation, in ruin ofitroads, crops, and homesteads, and in slides which render the countrjn useless." ''^ . . • . • .... .. v . WIDE SCOPE OF SUBJECTS.. Many of the charming bird Jmyths of the Maori are related, his f keen powers of observation and .prig found knowledge Of bird-life are indlicated and his methods of bird-snariia 3 described. Then follows a chapter? dealing with the period of discovelgf, in which reference is made to the -r visits of Captain Cook and the: natu| .'aliots who accompanied him, and \to other early investigators—Frenchmen,] missionaries, and colonists —until jjn'the established colony the old sjbhjhol of New. Zealand naturalists - apjiaared. Potts, Buller,, Reischek, .. and q thers, and.later more modern worketsi- Ani interesting account is .given ofj the island bird sanctuaries that- hsr?ej been set aside for posterity,- in the fticipe of preserving what is left of our former wealth of bird-life; . Little ; BaKrier, Kapiti, Resolution, Stewart^U and several smaller islands arourwi the Auckland coast are all'dealt, wiflh and the birds found on the respective sanctuaries indicated. One of thip most informative portions K of. "Childi en of Tane" is that devoted to the wq rk of the birds in the forests, telling^ how nectar-eaters bring about the pjjllination of fouest trees, and to. the pa rf the berry-eaters play in the distribu^ ion. 6t seeds; Sixy-five per cent, of this: total number of trees and shrubs in tW 3 NeW Zealand forest have their sefe<3s; dis* persed by birds. t r : ■ _ . ■ . : : ■.' .:, ' ..; I: ; : HABITS OF BUSH BIRDf?. Proceeding to deal' with ind.r^vidual birds,. the author describes in ] vivid narrative the life. and • habits 'pf the principal bush-frequenting .species, sacred birds, species, differing on the North and South Islands, fairy sprites (in which some of the smallest! birds are dealt with), flightless ,-birdsi' and migrants to New Zealand shore p, "concluding with a, final chapter on s- songs of dawn. As appendices,are-g|tveh;.-a list of island sanctuaries for birds, a list of some bird-pql tinated flowers, a glossary, a list of lane t; birds, and bibliography. The . narrative throughout is descriptive and < »xpfessive and some of the passages ,^ are .a joy to read. No New Zealanc I birdlover can afford to be without.'JChild-. ren of Tane" if he wishes to h lave at command a succinct account .o:£ what has happened, in a bird sense, i n New. Zealand from the days of the Maori to our present state of civilisatic in. Al- 7 though the work is essentially •» one about native birds a chapter; • isn introduced birds would1 have adde< 1 to its value as a whole. ... TWO WEIX-KNOWN BIRE Everyone knows the little silv fer-ey»' or white-eye, a colonist from Avu jtralia..Here is Mona Gordon's descript ion of the nest: "Never a lover of the i deep : forest, the white-eye haunts sen iibland and manuka heaths, grey-gret in, oir dusted with starry blossom,. the vt open tussock country, or the coastal lands tangled with growths not too [dense to allow the sea wind to sway it is airy, nest. Here, suspended to a ; forked twig by threads of spider-wttm, it builds a tiny nest Of gossame. r-light material, alien like itself to the country. Dry grass and slender robtlets^ horsehair, sheep's wool, thistle idown, and fowls' feathers are skilfully - woven ; together into a dainty cup in which are laid three or four pale blue' eggs, delicate and fairy-like as a m<*rning ' sky in summer." Again, let uisi take a passage from her description -<i>f the fantail: "Fantails may be seen imj.pairs about the business of fly-hawkimg, or niazed in the airy flitting of a dance during the long, bright afternoons in October. Over the bush-filled |j)ullies, bush with the rich green of tree-ferns, one calls to another in fitful, tv fritterIng song, fairy laughter that is "woven of sound not musical but liji ;ht as spider-web, matching the airy filaments of the pattern their dance weaves against the; sky, where a .great heat-cloud, thunder-blue, snitfMders in a vivid lake of air. Piwakaviimka is the most graceful of ; birds.; Thb long tail, ever spreading and closing: above the merry little body that berirs it, gives the key to the personality of this 'fairy of the bird.' , . ." "Children of Tane" is published by J. M. Dent and Sons., Ltd., and Whitcombefc and Tombs, Ltd, ■ '