NATURE STUDY.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 3 January 1925, Page 16

NATURE STUDY.

NOTES AND COMMENTS. (“Hori.”) Mr. Gao. Betts, of Okinawa, informed the writer hist veok teat some tune a<-(j ue received a- trio oi pheasants from Mr. B. C. Dennett, president of the Kawora A.clima tisation Society. Tliev- were liberated oil his farm and nave lernained abov.it the place ever, since. The other day Mr. L’etts observed that on? of t. e birds ha 1 brougn * out a brood of nine young ones. The other cue hod ;ilso. ti dutch, but he liad not been able to count how many it tallied It is to be hoped that the efforts of the society will meet with success in this direction, as excepting for a* few quail and hares and a stray duck or so there is very little encouragement for the sportsmen to take out shooting licenses nowadays. Cast year the writer u surprise oii<2 morning when out early on a cycle run. He was riding along the South road near Mr. Lillicrapp’s when a pheasant flew no sucMenlv off the road into the paddocks. It was the first one he had seen for many years. He well re members how plentiful they were out in the country, but for a long time now haw been almost extinct as the men in this district. The march of settlement and the enemies in the shape ot stoats and weasels and the food supply being taken bv introduced birds have been* resoonsible for the disappearance of the pheasant to a great extent.

Mr. A. Kean, who was for a long time in charge .of the hatcheries at Hawera. bit who is now acting in • a similar capacity af New Plymouth, informed the writer last week that while out at Douglas he heard at night time on several occasions the cry of the •iwi, and they appeared tc be fairly ilentiful cut that way. The kiwi’s cry is likened to tlie whistling of a boy with liis fingers. The Maoris in the earlv days were able to decoy the birds to destruction in this manner. The late Mr. S. Percy Smith describes the methods by which the Maoris were abie to canture these native birds. The dwi prefers a worm above all other foods. First conies one and then anther kiwi in search of worms, their heads always on one side, with an ear turned to the ground, listening for the .weeping of tlie worm beneath the soil. As soon as one of them hears tlie reeping in the soil down goes the beak, .ight to the worm, which it brings up /b eat. Tlie creeping noise of the worm in the soil is like that made by the -.and of a. watch, but rather louder. That is what the kiwi listens for. On account of this habit the hunter carefully pre caries little pieces of wood, which are tied tc the dogs’ necks, so that they may rattle as the animals move. Hearing this the kiwi thinks .t is a worm, and stops.to listen. While it is doing this the'dogs are able to approach, and by the time its starts to run the dogs' are baiting, it. The. men then advance with their torches ,hich are burning, and consequently the birds cannot see and are caught and killed. Kiwis are never hunted by daylight.

At this time of the year the snails and slugs, in fact all sorts of insects and spiders, get a bad time when the young blackbirds and thrushes are ceing fed by the parent birds. A student of nature the other day observed a blackbird endeavouring-to dispose of one of those large slugs that are often found under boards that have been lying on the ground for some time. They are an introduced form called linuix maximums, and are very destructive in the gardens, home gro.wto about six or seven inches long. The blackbird in question had no easy task .11 disposing of such a big fellow. As' is known to those who have handled, them they are almost ns slimy as an eel. The'bird dug its beak in several, limes and each tune the slug would, adhere to it. After a great deal, oi' effort the blackbird swallowed its vie.im, which proved a good meal for a bird of its size. Both the blackbird and thrush come, in for a great deal of adverse criticism as being destructive in orchards, etc., but if we consider how ~seful they are in destroying many of the insect pests in the garden they are not such undesirable birds as they are often supposed to be. It is quite interesting to watch blackbirds in tearch of food lor their young ones. They evidently prefer spiders as food tor the youngsters, and il observed will he seen to alight on fences or anywhere where they! are able to find them. They are able to carry quite a number in their mouths at one time, id a nest of young blackbirds keeps .je parents very busy for three weeks or so. Even when they are able to fly die father and mother will attend to t.ie feeding of the young ones until diey are able to forage for themselves.

Dr. L. Cockayne who made a botanical survey of Stewart Island a number of years ago reported lic.w suitable ,Stewart Island was as a sanctuary for for.-st and biids. It is well known down south as a beautiful summer resort. Dr. Cockayne mentioned that -“except in "h- immediate neighbourhood of the settlements, and in certain cases, the birds of Stewart Island are just as plentiful as thev ever were. This

'/leasing stale of affairs arises from tire smaJness of the population, and the difficult nature of the country, the primeval character of the vegetation, and the absence of naturalised ferrets, .veasels, and stoats. Brit the birds are not without their enemies. Wild cats are common in many parts of the lowland •.egions, and rats —the most deadly enemy of the indigenous birds —are abundant. Also, visitors from the mainland. in wanton so-called “sport,” a oi k havoc amongst the seabirds, shooting them from boats; nor are those of the land uumolest.d, notwithstanding most are protected by the law. Burling the heath and hog vegetation also causes much destruction so far as 1 certain birds are concerned. I would stiongly recommend that notices pointing out that shooting birds was illegal be posted up in public places, especially on the wharf. Nearly all native birds are protected, while scenic reserves and areas for preservation of the fauna and flora are sanctuaries.” It is hard to speak of the scenery of Stewart Island, states Dr Cockayne, without using a superabundance of superlatives. There is. indeed, no part hut is delightful, and in many spots it is unsurpassed by the best that New Zealand as a whole can offer. Paterson Inlet and Port Pegasus, with their numerous wooded islets, 1 deep or shallow indentations, and hidden nooks, present ever-chang-ing pictures. Caerhowel Arm, piercing almost to the centre of the island, is vonderfullv beautiful. At first a oowple of miles or less in width, the hills on either side rising steeply over 1000 feet, and covered with a close forest of varied greens, it gradually narrows as its head is approached, the mountains increasing in height. Then the calm waters of the Kakiahua River are gained, which, winding through, the forest, unfolded new beauties at each bend, the banks adorned with tall shrubs of many ■ kinds, their leaves glittering in the sunshine, while the forest, shrubbery, and the neighbouring mountains are perfectly mirrored in the dark waters unruffled save where the dainty little teal swims quite fearless of* the intruder, ,

A correspondents we I! informed in bird matters, writes to the official jcnii-nal of the Mew Zealand Bird ProVett.on Society as follows:—“I well remember when the introduction of the weasel tribe was mooted; the letters Which appeared in the Otago Daily limes, p.j. tiling out that it meant the deistracticii of all our rare ground birds, Kiwi, icakapo, etc. But. it isn’t only rlie giouml birds which have suffered. The weasels pounce upon pigeons sitting sleepily upon a branch, and come to tne yao.i.id with them. They also rob ne ,Is who esale. Lately owls were imported. These prey largely upon • fantails and tomtits, and in some localities nave quite cleaned them out. The a thorities (.p ast and present) have been the neatest factors in the destruction •f our bird life: and it .is surely time .ame amends were made tor the lawful jas* mistakes by at least fostering a remnant in suitable well-protected sanctuaries.”

Messrs H. Hamilton and W. It. B Oliver, who undertook a trip to Hen island and the Poor Knights, north of Auckland, lor the Auckland museum, also made some interesting discoveries. O'n the Poor Knights were found a great deal of Maori stone work and sites cif old whares. The stone work was without mortar, and was quite common in various parts of the island. These were the chief evidences of the Maoris, although there were two finds in the nature of carved totara posts, which must have come from the mainland, as no totarar-grows on the.island at all. The Maoris left this island about the year 1818, when a tribe from Hokianga paddled round the North Cape and massacred practically everyone. The islands are bird sanctuaries. and the* explorers found them doing well in their seclusion. Oh Poor Knights was found a distinct species of plant belonging to, the family to which flax and the cabbage tree belong. It grew in immense tussocks of about six to eight feet across, and was found on the ton of the island. The leaves were about a foot long, and the plant was surmounted with bright red flowers like the Australian bottle bush tree. So far it has not been discovered anywhere else in the Dominion, and is quite unique. The waters around. Poor Knights abound with fish of a tropical nature, and here several weird and .vonderful specimens were secured. These will be transmitted to the museum, and Mr. Ollive- declares they are marvellous!v coloured.

The discovery of a spot in the Pacific Ocean, south-west of Japan, 32,636 feet deep, will not greatly astonish oceanographers, for the Pacific hag long oeen known as'the deepest of all the great seas of the globe, says the Daily Chronicle. Nowhere else has any deptli been reached as great as 30,000 feet, but in the Pacific as many as ten soundings have been made exceeding that figure. In -the Atlantic only two places are known with depths greater, than 24,0CX) feet, the deepest being a spot north of the West Indies, where the lead found bottom at 27,072 feet.

From time to time large stingrays are taken ip the waters in the neighbourhood of Tauranga. A giant specimen was captured in a net last week ('states the New Zealand Herald). When killed and brought ashore it was found to measure 6ft. Bjn. in length and 4ft. lOin. across. Many sharks up to 10ft. long have lately been observed between Matakana Island and the mainland. Inquiries received indicate that a good number of outside sportsmen will test the deep-sea fishing grounds during the holidays.

Recently we published a paragraph referring, to the homing instincts of quail, instancing the case of a covey of quail that had frequented the YieLoria Park. Te A.wainutu (says* the Waipa Post). A local resident informs us goobe belonging to a -esident of Park Road has the homing instinct 'highly developed, and he explains that in October last the eoose wa.s sent out, per motor-car, to Farnwera, nine miles from its home, and there it was intended to fatten ■uni later on form the chief item of an appetising dinner during the festive season. .After a sfcav of a. couple of days at Parawera the was missing, and nothing further was heard of ijfc for seven weeks, when it du]v anpehred at the old home in Park Road.

That animal life ascends the mountains, far beyond plant growtii 1 is one of the discoveries of the Mount Everest expedition. "The brightest growing plant observed was blue vetch at 18,ODft.,” writes Lieut. Col E. F. Norton, leader of the expedition. “Yet animals possess permanent habitations as high as 2,000 ft. A minute and inconspicuous black spider hops about on the rocky cliffs and hides beneath stones in those bai« places which happen to be swept clear of snow. by the wind. I cannot think on what it lives at such a height. “In these altitudes there is no other living thing—but lock and ice. This little spider is worthy of note, being the highest permanent' inhabitant or the earth. \Ye therefore find life on the highest mountains far above the permanent snow line.”

There has been some excitement at the London Zoo. Ranee, the ten-year-oid female Indian elephant presented by the Prince of Wales, has refused alt tne summer to give rides to schoolchildren, or to ahow keepers to 'get on her back. She was therefore subjected to the diciplme of “breaking-in.” Said Ali, the Society’s Indian mahout, began to train her, and before 11 in the morning she had gone through a first course. This proved successful, and at the end Said Ali was oil good terms with Ranee. Indarini, the big female Indian ele>pnant, was taken into Ranee’s compartment in the elephant house, and Ranee, having been hobbled, - was fastened to the big elephant’s girth by a rope. As soon as Indarini began to move out, Ranee trumpeted and squealed with rage. Indarini, who seemed to understand what was wanted, pushed and pulled her younger charge, and in due course got her to the open space in front of the refreshment rooms, where Said Ali descended and tried to tpke control. Ranee, however, was in a lively mood, and made a good deal of fuss. The measures taken to subdue her led to comnlaint on the score of cruelty bv some women visitors. It is denied that the process is any more cruel than b’eakiug-in a horse. “The only tiling,” says an official of the Gardens, “we were sorry for was that by kicking and struggling Ranee slightly scraped the skin off her hack legs, and I have given instructions that the legs are never to he tied again except with soft bandages. The abrasions wi]l be well in two days.”