WOODLAND'S SONGSTERS.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIII, Issue 1844, 19 June 1920, Page 7

WOODLAND'S SONGSTERS.

DO TiiEY USK OUR NOTATION'.' ABlttQ LOVER'S VIEWS.

I A well attended meeting of the Philosophical Society w«,s held in the Returned I Soldiers' Club rooms last, evening, win n Mr Johannes C. Andorsen gave u most iuteresthig and instructivo address on the miißjisil capabilities of New Zealand nativo bvds, Mr J. Murray presided, The chairman, in introducing the sneaker, stated that Mr Andovseu— who in librarian of the Tunibull Library, of yV'elliiigton—besides being'a lovrv of books, was also a lover of birds. He had written several both in verse and prose, of native life, among which was one entitled " Maori Life in Aotca." Ho would describe to them that evening -some of the sounds, us well as the sights -\ol the New Zealand native bush. The lecturer stated that, he was a lover of all branches of nature. Among her many wonders he had studied and taken, a keen interest in the life of our native birds. As years rolled on these beautiful little creatures were becoming rarer and rarer. However, as sanctuaries had been provided for them, he thought they could not become altogether extinct. During his studios in the Xapiti sanctuary in Cook Strait it had occurred to him that he might be able to take down and preserve the songs of tho birds, and this he had commenced to do. To-day he had in his collection the songs of many of the little denizens of the woods. Writers had said that birds did not. sing to the same notation a.s that upon which our music wa.s based, but with careful study he had come to the conclusion that this idea was erroneous, and that the birds did use the same notation as we did, but that they, whose ears were much keener than those of human beings, sometimes used quartertones, while our smallest margin was tho semi-tone. This fact, he maintained, gave that wrong impression, for it seemed to us that, the bird was singing either sharp or flat when it was really the quarter-lono which was being used. In his study, h,e, had paid great attention to the tui, and Had, noted over one hundred of its songs in which ii used the same scale a.s we did. One seldom heard the .song of the fantai?, but it had a song, and a veiy beautiful little song it was. 'the grey warbler was a well-kuoun inhabitant of our bush. This little fellow could be heard to advantage in the autumn, but strange to say, in the different parts of the Dominion gave a. different., though similar, call. All our birds had set melodies of their own. -Some of these they used seldom, and others often. The speaker stated that he had noticed the native tomtit had only one soul;. However, this was Varied a little at times although tin? theme remained the same. The brown creopi is were amongst, the most cheerful of name songsters. He related how on one afternoon when he was alone in the bush he had commenced to whistle. A company ol these creepers had flown up and started to sing, hut he, unwilling to refrain from his amusement, had whistled harder, but the birds, not to Iso outdone, had continued. 'I be harder he. whistled, the louder they sJlig, until lie abruptly gave up the contest. Perhaps of all our illative birch", tho tui was the best known, both by appearance and by tho peculiar and almost hai.-h noises he makes. \Vit.h ih" latter he indiscriminately punctuates iiits melodies, sometimes much to (lie i oyaueo of his auditor, lie had a greater variety of notes, ihe speaker said, than had perhaps and othor of our birds, but very seldom would he weave lhem into one comiilito song. However, there were two distinct melodies he often used. One of these was on a pitch iquivalenl to our treble, but j ihe. other was two octaves higher. The! latter was hard lo hear and little known. The lower notes were clear and bell-like, and were usually • used when the bird was resting. Although the bell bird's songs were not as varied as those of the. tui, ho was nevertheless a splendid songster, and ( i.no of the. most beautiful melodies of bird music the lecturer had heard hud been sung, by a bell bird. Tin's melody had actually a theme and not content with that ihe bird i had given a series of variations. In concluding, Mr Andersen remarked that tlio best time to hear the sweete,-t■' bird music, was at daybreak. 'Hun, all the feathered songsters greeted the dawn with their o«n ( melodies, which, when taken as a whole, presented a most beautiful rhapsody. | Sir Andersen then answered several questions, and with a lua.ity vote of I hanks lot tlio lecturer the meeting concluded.