IN TOUCH WITH NATURE

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXXIII, Issue 15920, 4 May 1912, Page 5

IN TOUCH WITH NATURE

NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY IN NEW ZEALAND. (By J. DRUMMOND, F.L.S., F.Z.S.) Dr B. M. Moovhouse, with the instincts of a naturalist, always makes a note of the birds ho .sees when he is out in the open, and when he was deerstalking near Manuka Point, at the top of the Rakaia Gorge, in the second week of April, he recorded the native and introduced birds ho met with there. Ho states that ho saw very.large numbers of Paradise ducks, two pairs ol blue mountain ducks, and also grey ducks. Tliel-e were keas high up in the country, and harriers and sparrowhawks were often seen. There was a fairly large numbor of wokas, and one brood of five frequented his camp. 1 heather native birds seen were uioreporJi owls, ri.ncm.on wrons (plentiful), fantails, White-eyes, tcm-tits (very plentuul), grey warblers (plentiful), and ground larks (fairly plentiful). He saw no kiwi 3, kakas, bell-birds, bush wrens or rock wrens. There were a few pukekos at Double Hill, but he thinks that they have gone there recently. It is interesting to know that he has a etroug opinion that he- saw a brown creeper, although he did not obtain a sufficiently good view to be absolutely certain.' His list of English birds' comprises blackbirds, thrushes, chaffinches, green linnets and sparrows. The chaffinches and sparrows are well represented at the homestead at Manuka Point. Tho chaffinch, indeed, probably is tho commonest bird there. From the remains cf feathers and other evidence, he concludes that the spar-row-hawks make very successful raids on the flocks of chaffinches.

There has been some discussion in this column as to whether kiwis are on Soames Island, in "Wellington harbour, aud Mr Cornish, who lives on the Terrace, Wellington, has sent the following note, which is specially interesting, because it deals with tho early days of colonisation:—"ln 1871 I was sergeant in charge of some sis men of the Armed Constabulary, sent to Soames Island from the township to prevent healthy immigrants from communicating with sick persons landed from the ship England, which arrived with smallpox on board. I was on the island for about three months, and, although there were many small penguins there, I never saw or heard a kiwi, whoso cry, as stated in your column previously, is quite unmistakable. Wekas, ae well as penguins, were very plentiful. At that time the island was covered with native grass and toi-toi bushes, but there was little flax on it."

It has been pointed out several times j during the past few years that exag- • gerated statements have been made in I repard to the extinction of several ipecies of native birds, and very conrincing evidence that a wrong impression has been conveved is supplied bv Mr C. L. M'Coll, of Amodeo Bay, Corom and el Peninsula. ''l am sure," ho says, "that if some of the bird-Were who deplore the decreaso of- the tui were to come into this district at the present time they would get a pleasant surprise. Here tuis are simply innumerable, and the air is filled with their gleeful song, especially in the mornings and the evenings. I counted thirty in one dry tariri tree. At the same time there were dozens—in fact, I might, without exaggeration, say hundreds—in other trees .and flying around. I think that tho abundance of tuis here is accounted for by the groat food _ supply. Strange to say, . their food is not indigenous, as these birds are eating the reeds of the inkweed, a plant that thrives wonderfully here. It is so abundant that it is a pest. As ebon as settlers fell and burn the bush this plant is up before the grass seed, and covers at least half the ground, chocking out the grass and growing vigorously, for several years. Pigeons, kakas; -crows, fantails, greywarblers, kingfishers and moropork owls are still fairly _ plentiful, with odd parrakeets, robins and long-tailed cuckoos about, but bell-birds have not been heard for several years. As we live on the sea coast, it goes without , saying that seabirds are extremely : numerous."

At the end of March. Mr Ivan G. L. Blytho reported that he had seen an Australian swift at Mount Eden, Auckland, and asked if other observers had noted swifts in this dominion. Mr A. Hansen now states that two were scon by him on Portland Island, and were reported in this column in the springs of 1899 and 1900. Only one bird was seen on each occasion. They were to all appearance quite happy and felt at home. Thoy did not show the least fear, and allowed him to get quite close to them as they were sitting on the fence-wires or stays of the flagstaff. They did not leave the immediate vicinity of the lighthouse on the island-, and only stayed one dav. Proh/ibly they were attracted' to the light during tho night, as they were first seen early in the morning. Another swift was seen by the late Mr James Barrowman, a very reliable observer, at Capo Foulwind, near Wostport, flying along the railway line. These are the only instances known to Mr Hansen in which, these stray visitors from over the Tasman Sea have been seen on this side. "It would bo of more than passing interest," he says, "to know what eventually becomes of these stragglers. Probably they find their way back again, but no evidence so far is available to prove it. Officers and passengers on steamers and other craft trading between New Zealand and Australia may bo able to tell us, or in time to settle the question."

The shining cuckoo has been abused so often and so sweerjingly in "In Touch "With Nature ""that it v is quite a, relief to learn something good of it. The words of praise are from Mrs Hallyburton-Johnstone, of Howick, Auckland province, who writes:—"An acquaintance of my husband told him lately, that he had seen the shining cuokoo very busy eating the leeches that infest tho pear and plum trees in his orchard; and an acquaintance of my own told me this cummer that every morning she and her household were very interested watching tho cuckoos breakfasting off the black, hairy-bear caterpillars and their moths that cover the Cape "ivy growing over a stolie wall at the end of their yard. They watched the birds from behind tho blinds, as they promptlv flow away 'if anyone appeared." In tho same letter Mrs Hnllyburton-Johnstone says:—"W Q had the large kind of taro growing for over ten years in our garden near Patoa and though in a warm, damp situation, flowers never appeared. We used the leaves and stalks as vegetables, the young leaves as spinach and the stalks boiled like asparagus. Often, when cutting the stalks into convenient lengths for cooking, we found a rudimentary flower inside the stalk and one with it. It wa«t pinkish purple in colour, with the yellow spike clearlv defined, and that i was the richest and nicest part of the stalk to eat."