MAORI NATURE NOTES

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XX, Issue 147, 11 June 1930, Page 9

MAORI NATURE NOTES

FOR TRIBUNE READERS (Copyright—J.H.S.) Readers of the “Tribune” who are interested in the Hora and bird life of New Zealand, by cutting out these Maori Nature Notes each day as they appear and filing them in a suitable scrap book, may compile a book of reference which will be to them a source of pleasure and instruction in the years to come.

TARAWHATU (a woven mantle), a singularly appropriate name for the ruddy brown duck, shingled from breast to tail with round pointed feathers of varied hues, each overlapping to form its waterproof mantle, the whole making a picture of symmetrical colouring. A great diver but a poor flyer, it is seldom seen on an open lake, and prefers the pools and backwaters of bush streams. The male bird has a white band across the throat and shining dark green feathers on the head. In the tangled marsh lands where the Kiekie covers the trees it is safe from the hunter. Across a secluded pool or stream the Maori placed three parallel cords, the two outer lines having open snares to the water level, the centre line carrying the bait of worms or fish. Being a night feeder, this mode of catching was very effective. In daylight their sight was poor, and with equally defective flight they fell an easy prey to dog and gun. In small flocks they were tame and trustful, and were easily located by the low musical sound. They often sought safety in a thick rnupo swamp, lying all day with bodies submerged and heads hidden in the green mass.