NATURE NOTES

Evening Post, Volume CXXX, Issue 78, 28 September 1940, Page 9

NATURE NOTES

MATERNAL INSTINCT

THRUSH DESERTS YOUNG

(By R. H. D. Stidolph.)

It is well known that some birds readily desert their nests if they are interfered with in any way by human beings. Certain species are particu.larly susceptible to do so, while others will tolerate even the grossest misdeeds and yet still remain faithful to their young. There is a considerable amount of individual variation in the attitude of birds of the same species; what one bird of a species will overlook another will take umbrage at. It is only by making a personal acquaintance with each bird that it is possible j to arrive at its temperament. In some species, perhaps, the maternal I instinct is developed more than is the! case in others. Among introduced birds the song thrush is one of the most familiar and as a case illustrat- j ing the point in question it may be mentioned that a nest belonging to this bird was' noted recently in a gorst bush growing on pasture lands. The owners of the property saw fit to grub, out the gorse in the paddock and the, bush containing the nest was levelled to the ground. Who ever carried out the operation noticed the nest and placed it, containing the young birds, on the ground beneath the shel-J ter of a piece of gorse. A few days later the young ones were found to be dead, obviously deserted by their parents. FANTAIL'S PLUCK. This is in marked contrast to an incident recorded many years ago by Mr. D. Sinclair, of Palmerston North. "While I was engineer for the Pohangina County Council," he wrote, "I was using a slasher cutting a line through the bush. In doing so I cut a small branch of rather bushy tawhara, which often grows on the side of a tree fern. The branch fell from the slasher upside down, when I noticed a fantail's nest, and, to my surprise, found that the bird was on ■ the nest, and, although it was upside down, the bird was clinging so tenaciously to the nest that it prevented the little eggs (four in number) from falling out. The little bird sat on the • nest with its eyes closed and seemed oblivious to the rough ordeal it was being subjected to. I lifted it partly off the nest to count the number of eggs, when it hustled itself down again in the nest, saying in effect, if not m words, without sound or motion Do what you will with me, I am going to stick to my nest.' Maternity seemed lor the moment to outweigh all sense of danger in the little fantail I carried it a little distance in the busH £«!?♦*? 6fu th^ line was bein S cut and inserted the branch in an upright position in the trunk of another tree, with the hope that the fearless little ss^r^ssa? in due time

DOTTEREL'S SUBTERFUGES. On the same day on which this desertion of the young thrushes was noted a demonstration of another kind was' seen on ihe part of a banded dotterel. This dotterel, which is a fairly common bird i n suitable localities in New Zealand, adopts many subterfuges to lead one away from its young. A dotterel chick was seen on the occasion mentioned running with amazing speed for its size, with its tiny white-tipped wings protruding from its sides. After a brisk run, the chick was captured and it was then that the hen bird showed her concern. Approaching much nearer than is usual she flattened herself on the ground as if feigning death. Her alarm was needless as the chick was soon liberated again. : It quickly scampered across the paddock, more or less shepherded fey the hen, which had appropriately again come to life. On other similar occasions, the adult bird has been known to flutter along on the ground, simulating a broken wing or leg in order to lead the intruder away. Sometimes, too, in addition, the bird'utters the most pleading cries imaginable. An angler related to the writer some years ago how, becoming annoyed at the. piping of the dotterel, he threw a small stone towards it. The stone never hit the bird, which, however, collapse on the river-bed. He picked it Tip, thinking it dead. After releasing It. he found its nest, containing eggs. snot far "away. DEFENCE OF HOME. ■•■ Other birds, such as the bush hawk Sand the magpie, usually defend their nests with the utmost resolution, especially after the young are hatched. Many instances are on record of the bush hawk—often erroneously known as the sparrow hawk—having struck at human intruders near its nest, and the magpie likewise has assailed even dogs that approached the vicinity of its nest. In some cases, so vicious have been the attacks, especially on children, that the birds have had to be destroyed. Other native birds, too, make bold to drive away intruders, not least birds of their own or other species that venture too near. A year or so ago, the writer was an interested spectator of an assault by a kingfisher on a weasel. Although the bird repeatedly dived down to within an inch or two of the weasel's head, it never struck it, but what was most exasperating to the watchers was the complete indifference with which the weasel took the attack. It seemed to be quite oblivious and did not appear to diverge an inch from its course. The reason for the kingfisher's anxiety was a nestful of young in a hole in the top of a dead tree standing near the beach. Occasionally the kingfisher makes a similar attack on human beings. A RARE STRAGGLER. According to a correspondent at Charleston, near Westport, about a dozen spine-tailed swifts were seen in that locality for about a month about ten years ago. This bird is a straggler to New Zealand, which possesses neither swifts nor swallows. The spinetailed swift, however, has been recorded in this country on two or three occasions. The first record was that relating to the appearance of a bird of this species at Manaia, Taranaki, in 1888. Nothing more was heard of this bird in New Zealand until comparatively recently. In 1930, a spinetailed swift was secured at Linton in the Manawatu district and it will be noticed that it is probable that this bird arrived in New Zealand on the same occasion as those seen near Westport It is found from Siberia, Japan, and Mongolia to Australia and Tasmania. It breeds in the Northern Hemisphere and visits the Australian region In February and March. The name Of spine-tailed swift is applied on account of the tail feathers terminating In spinous points. Many other birds occasionally appear in New Zealand as stragglers but none of them have appeared in sufficient numbers, in the lease of non-migratory species, to colonjse this country.