THE KAKA

Evening Star, Issue 23717, 26 October 1940, Page 3

THE KAKA

[Written by J. Fisher, for the ‘ Evening Star.’j

The kaka was a great favourite with the Maori; partly because he was a good bird for the larder, partly on account of his noisy, cheerful hilarity. “He kaka kai honihoni ” (a kaka eats leisurely, bit by bit) was an expression applied to a person who ate moderately and slowly. “He kaka waha nui ”• (a noisy-mouthed kaka) was a proverb quoted when anyone became too talkative or boastful.

The kaka is very playful, very sociable, and very noisy. The top of its head is grey, but in this respect alone does it resemble the renowned namesake of its genus, the cunning Pylian orator, whose tongue poured forth a floocj of more than honey-sweet discourse upon the strife of kings. The kaka is only found now where there is a considerable area of forest, and generally frequents the upper tier of foliage. Here flocks of the birds work together,_ all the time uttering their harsh cries and obtaining their food, while one bird takes up a position of vantage or flies round the others and warns them on the approach of danger. On the signal being given they move off high above the bush to another locality. The scout warns its. fellows of impending danger by uttering loud cries of “ ka-ka, ka-ka,” which are often repeated. It is from this cry that it has derived the name given it by the Maoris and adopted by the white man. The kaka is a sociable bird even in distress, large numbers gathering round a fallen member of the company with apparent demonstrations of sympathy and condolence. This praiseworthy habit was unfortunate in that it led to scores being slain in the early days, where otherwise only a single bird might have suffered.

The kaka apparently has no great sympathy with the morning chorus of the birds, and often puts a stop to it with his harsh, shrill note when he thinks that they have sung enough. Stowell says that the birds, if the concert is drawing near the end, will always stop on the kaka crying out, as much to say “ Have it your own way.” With tho earliest streaks of dawn and while the bush is still wrapped in darkness, the wild cry of this bird breaks upon the ear with strange effect. Again, when th.e shades of evening bring a deeper gloom into the depths of the forest, and all sounds are hushed except the mournful hoot of the morepork, the kaka becomes even more lively, calling to its fellows ip a harsh rasping note. So long as he does not know that he is being watched he may be seen twisting and turning among the branches, hopping parrot fashion along a branch, and climbing higher with agility. _ At intervals he will whistle for his mate, expressing his pleasure with a short chuckling note when she has joined him. It has been found that kakas, when migrating from one part of the country to another, fly at a considerable height, uttering now and again a brief note. They do not travel in large flocks but form companies of any number, from two to six or seven. Their steady, slow and somewhat laboured flight distinguishes them from any other native bird on the wing. When erious business is on hand they have a methodical, painstaking style, which is in. contrast to their gay, rattling, off-hand soaring and gliding about the bush when on pleasure bent. Henry, who investigated these interesting birds very fully, ventures the opinion that the kakas may have what might be termed a language, “ and could discuss a simple subject as well as a parish council.” He states that all the other kakas knew what the parents were saying when he was taking the young ones. Five minutes observation of these birds would lead anyone to the same opinion as Henry.

The kaka is not only one of the honey-eating birds, but a considerable portion of its food is formed of grubs, the larvae of moths and beetles, which it digs out of the ground, and of rotten logs or dead standing trees. Its powerful bill enables it to break up partly decayed wood or even the living wood of some species. Fruits and the nectar of flowers, as stated above, also form part of its food. For obtaining nectar its tongue is provided with a brush-like tip. Lastly, it feeds on seeds. Here again its strong beak is used to break up the cones of the kauri tree in order to extract the seeds.

Kakas are constantly together after they have mated; if one moves from a tree its partner follows quickly. The favourite nesting site is a hole in a decayed or hollow tree. The bird,enters by a hole in the outer sound wood and forms its nest of decayed wood from the interior, to which are sometimes added pieces of dry bark. The interior may require some preparation, and the entrance may need smoothing and enlarging. As the pair are very solicitous for the comfort and safety of the little ones expected, they are often fastidious in making these preparations. Often, when the home has been prepared, it is deserted for a better site. The kakas are very attached to their young, and will sacrifice anything for their welfare. A very beautiful but tragic story is told by Mr Potts. He records having found a parent bird dead at the entrance of its nesting hole, after a bush fire, in which it had perished sooner than desert its helpless offspring, though escape was easy. The kakas are not happy in the winter, when seed is scarce and no flowers are blooming from which they may extract the nectar. With ruffled feathers they sit moping and nearly silent, a picture of dull melancholy. Towards the end of the winter they have been known to eat even hard seeds of the kowhai. However, as winter passes away with its coarse fare the kaka becomes once again his old sprightly and happy self. There are two recorded instances of invasions into the settled parts of Otago by kakas, due, no doubt, to a failure of food supply in the bush. These occurred in the years 1856 and again in 1861, the first apparently the worst. It is stated that not only in the bush, but in the open, on stacks, fences, or the ridges of houses, they could be seen perched in rows as close as they could sit. They were seen sitting on a post-and-rail fence on the Tokomairiro Plains, so close together that new arrivals had to fight for perching room, and. if a person shot along the line of the fence he could knock over several at one shot. They caused a great deal of damage and the settlers suffered a great deal of loss, so much, indeed, that stern measures against the invaders were contemplated The following year, however, hardly any kakas were seen in the district,'and, but for a minor instance in the year 1861, the visitation has never been repeated. Mr W. L. Travers, on his cattle station at Lake Guyon, in Nelson, was struck with the inquisitiveness and absolute fearlessness of the kakas. During the winter the birds often unhesitatingly entered the house for food, making themselves thoroughly at home,

and even roosting on the cross-beams in the kitchen on very cold or wet nights. Two of them in particular soon learnt how to open the door of the dairy, which they were fond of getting into in order to regale themselves on cream and butter. Mr Travers fed them on bread spread with butter and sugar, but they rarely accepted the bread, dropping it as soon as they had cleared off the butter and sugar. A favourite sport among them was to pull all the buttons off any clothing left about, and in some instances their familiarity degenerated into such impudence that Mr Travers was forced to take stern measures with them.