IN TOUCH WITH NATURE

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 17206, 28 June 1916, Page 2

IN TOUCH WITH NATURE

NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY IN NEW ZEALAND.

(By J. DRUMMOND. F.L.S., F.Z.S.)

Although the Notornis is one of the rare birds of the world, there are other New Zealand species of birds of which lew specimens arc preserved. The Notornis is represented by four skins, two ia tho British Museum, one in the Dresden Museum and one in the Dunedin Museum, hut there are no fewer than three species of New Zealand birds represented by oulv one skin each. Mr H H. Travers, of Kilbirnie, Wellington. who has brought this position under notice, lias reminded me that there is on record only one specimen of a bc-autifui rail belonging to the Chatham Islands. The skin is in the British Museum, and was deposited there by Dr E Dieffenbach, naturalist to the New Zealand Company, who obtained it from Natives on the islands seventy-four years ago. Only one individual could he found, at the time, out Dr Dieffenbaeh slates in his writings that the bird one? was quite plentiful, and that the Natives limned it specially, using it for food. Since his day, as far as the rocords show, it lias been, neither, seen nor heard of. Fifty-three years ago, Sir Walter Duller wrote to a Maori friend of his on the Chatham Islands, offering a handsome reward for a specimen, hut the Maori wrote in reply saying that his efforts were unsuccessful. He could not find a specimen* but he remembered seeing the bird when lie was. a boy. ■ The Native name of the bird is moeriki, and in scientific literature it bears the name of Dr Dieffenbach— Nesolimnas dieffonbachii.

There is only one specimen, also, of tile Auckland Islands rail. It was obtained by Captain T. Musgrave, master of tho Grafton, who was wrecked on tile islands. After living there with his sailors for twenty months m 1863 and 1864, he escaped in a primitive boat to New Zealand. The specimen was sent to Baron A. Von Huge], and was named, in honour of Baron von Mueller, of Melbourne, Hypotrenidia Muelleri. The specimen is in the British Museum. Sir Walter Buller, in his “Supplement.” state®, that there is a wellpreserved specimen of this bird .in tho Stuttgart Museum, but its

identity does not seem to be conclusively established. Finally, there is only one specimen of the Macquarie Island rail It came into Captain F. \V. Hutton’s hands thirtyrseven years ago, and now, I believe, is in the Dunedin Museum.

Mr Travers also mentions the strange - distribution of the grey kiwi, Apteryx oweni. Its district is the north-wes-tern corner of the South Island, where it still is fairly plentiful, but forty-one years ago a. single specimen, a [very, handsome one, was caught on Mount Hector, at the head of the Hutt River, Wellington province. It -was caught by a dog iip.the snow-grass, gt a height of 3000 feet, and at a higher altitude the species was reported by a Government surveyor to be “comparatively abundant.” From that time to this, there has been absolutely no record of Apteryx oweni in the North Island. This is strange, as Mount .Hector has been visited often from both the east and the west, and parties have camped in places where kiwis like to make their homes. In the early “seventies” Mr Travers visited Mount Holdsworth. on the Tararua Range, also in the V ellington province, with Mr John Buchanan, th| botanist, and Mr L.: G. Reid, Stipendiary Magistrate at Master!on, and ascended the mountain .again ..three years ago', but neither saw nor heard the oweni. Why has it. disappeared from a district where, less than fifty Jears ago, it was “comparatively abunant? - ■ =*•

A few notes supplied hv Mr G. BiggWithe r seem to show'that his - 'district, whose name perpetuates'im this distant comer of the Empire the memory or perhaps the most popular of England's traditional heroes, is a decidedly interestin'’ - place to naturalists. Robin Bay is on -tho coast of Marlorough. near Blenheim. Although there is no Sherwood Forest there, many native trees are represented m the noi a of the district, and these attract native birds. On the list of Birds are tuis and bell-birds—both of them occasional visitors—fantails, tomtits, grey warblers—all fairly plentiful—and owls. The shining cuckoo is a regular visitor; the long-tailed cuckoo has not. been recorded from the district. M ood pigeons come around My Bigg -Wither s house in the soring and feed, on the young willow leaves. i On August 13 and I*, 1912. when there were severe frosts in too district, the thermometer registered In degrees below freezing point oil one day and 16 degrees below freezing -point on the other day. The native fuchsia trees then were coming into leaf, and the frost attacked them and earned their leaves, to become' black. Ine fuchsia, is 6ne of the very few r\ew Zealand plants that shed their leaves with the .change of'the.seasons. Ino leaves attacked by the frost we:e young and tender, and it. is not surprising that they could not endure the cutting frost; huh Air Bigg-Wither states that another native tree, tho kewakawa. whicli belongs to the peppei familv, and is evergreen, was cut quite as severely, - and its leaves also were blackened' aiv occurrence lie had litter observed previously. Both Hie t.nnias and the lcawakaVas recovered.

The New Zealand passion-flower, ft slender climber, with delicate flowers, grows at Robin Hood Bay, and .ast autumn a specimen on the edge of the forest made a brilliant display with l s bright orange berries. Local residents never had noted berries on it previously There are none this year, and Mr Bigo-Witlier wishes to know - , if this plant is irregular in its flowering habits, a subject on which botanical works do not seem to touch. Some of the native mistletoes are present, but not ihe two species with beautiful scarlet flowers, although one is common m the Nelson district, not far away. Another notable absentee is tho kovhai, which is found in other parts er Marlborough. Referring to the bell-bird, Mr BiggWithor expresses an opinion that it is sometimes called “the mocker,” not because it is believed to mock other birds, but on account of a misunderstanding of the bird’s Maori names, kcrimako and raakomako. The names first were misunderstood, he thinks, and then, to account for the corrupted name “ mocker,” people attributed to the bird powers of mimicry.