NATURE NOTES.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLII, 14 December 1908, Page 1

NATURE NOTES.

THE BIRDS OF TWO COUNTRIES. SOME QUAINT AUSTRALIANS. (By Jarn-os Drummond, F.L.S., F.Z.S. in the "N.Z. Herald.") Although there is a romarkable dif ference between the birds of New Zea land 'and of Australia if each avifaun. is regarded collectively, there is quiti a long list of individual birds that an represented, in both countries. Seven i birds popularly believed to be pcculia: I to New Zealand- are common in Aus j tralia. As a matter of fact, Nevi I Zealand is indebted to Australia foi i some of the most attractive member! 'of her bird-land. At one time in th( 1 really dark ages, probably in ' the j Eocene period, a land ridge connected ; Now Zealand with Now Caledonia and j New Guinea. Tbe ancestors of some of the present New Zealand .birds, which belonged to the same species as the ancestors of-tke present Australian birds, probably came to this country • along that ridge, which sank again, and Now Zealand-was cut off from thc outside world. Some Australians, however, must have crossed the Taaman Sea and come to New Zealand by a direct route. The practicability of this extraordinary migration over tho wator Sb demonstrated by tho arrival ! of the littlo white-eye within historical times. As tho ages passed, isolation l' and a-- life free from care brought ' about changes, which have " caused ; many New Zeaiahd birds to becopne •so peculiar and eccentric that their relationship" to tho ancestral type can hardly be recognised. Mr "Will Lawson, who is now a resident of Wellington, has supplied mo with some notes . on a few Australian birds which are not soen in New Zealand. "I Tead j -with pleasuv. your notes concerning ! the white-eye and its migration to New Zealand." he says; "and having some years ago lived for a time in Queensland, where the little bird is kuown as the 'silver eye,' its mention revived memories of bird life in Australia. Your more recent allusion to : the wliite heron prompts me to offer ! you these notes on some of the more

1 i if ii _■__ ■ ri i - ... unusual Queensland birds; unusual that is ,to New Zealanders.*" He says, that in Queensland, as ii other"* tropical a__T -sub-tropical coun tries, there are mdny varieties ol birds and many pf each kind, gaily coloured and strident- tongued; finches „ parrots, crows, pigeons, and othe: sorts. Of pigeons and doves there art quito a dozen kinds, the wongo-wougc :- and squatter pigoons most nearly re sembling the New Zealand wile a pigeon. The Torres Straits pigeon c and the bronze-wing, the former black 0 and white and the latter bronze- ' brown in colour, are wilder and stronr ger-flightcd birds. As in New Zea- !• land, the finding of tbe nest of the v pigeon is a rare o_urre_.ee. There is a r Queensland bird, ■ popularly known _as s the wiliio wagtail. In appearance it b is much like the New Zealand fantail. s. It is a most confident litle bird, and 1 hovers abbut the pastures wherein 1 cattle are grazing. The bird is pos lygamouß, eaeh male having six or , seven mates. It feeds on tho grass 3 seeds of the native grasses. When > on the ground the whole flock is of ' brown colour, but occasionally the , I birds rise to seek fresh pastures, and ! I then the male ruffles his feathers in a , way that changes his colour to a • brilliant scarlet, thus marking him- ' self out as tho leader who must be I followed. N ) ' Another interesting ground bird in I Queensland is the bower-bird. It is I about the. size of a magpie. These t birds dwell in colonies of about a i dozen and each pair has its nest, a l most untidy, hastily thrown-together i affair, stuck promiscuously in adjacent ' trees. The whole energy of the eoi lony is centred in- the bo;wer, which each group of birds builds, and which is a marvellous construction. Twies i are laid. on the ground and their ends i are" curved upwards. Then more ■ twigs are woven into these, their ends ; still curving, until -a woven tunnel is tbe resul-t, built so strongly that it in ; difficult to cause any movemont by shaking with the hand. These tunnels, or bowers, have several ramifications, and hero the birds play all day long. They d«corate their bower with bright leaves, flowers, pebbles, and shells, and if by chance a silver spoon or ornament falls into thoir clutches, it is given a prominent position in their play-house. A friend in North Queensland told Mr Lawson that on ono occasion he found a bower so strongly "and compactly built that he . could have raised it and carried it off witliout misplacing a singlo twig. The laughing jackass, or "kookaburra," is a bird whose fame n3 a humourist has travelled far, and yet a person must k«ar two of tliem laughing to appreciate this eccentricity of bird-life. . There are two kinds of laughing jackasses, tho grey and tho blue, and tho laugh of each is quite distinct, even though given in a somewhat similar way. One bird gives a "hoo-hoo-hoo," while the other chatters and cackles. The sound rises in tone until it is very loud, and then it quito suddenly dies away. Another bird, whose cry is a combined effort is the stock-whip bird. One of the pair (Mr Lawson does not know which) emits a whistlo, sharp and shrill, which rises in crescendo, and is then cut short off with a "whit," very liko the sound of n wet stock-whip lash. Then tho hitherto silent mato gr-vc. two quick notes, just as though it said, in startled tones, "Wbat oh!" Closely related to tho stock-whip bird aro tho soldier bird, all uniformed liko a red-coat, and the leather-head. The latter has no feathers On its head. These two chatter all day long in tbe scrub. Thero are curlews in Queensland, too. "Ghost birds" they were believed to be when Mr Lawson and his schoolboy frieuds passed up or down tho river at night and heard them calling near the moonlit swamps. Their call is a moaning whistle, like wind crying through a half-open case ment. Sometimes they were disturbed by persons walking on the river bank, and they fled silently, without any sound at all, just like shadows. One of the most romarkable birds is tho , native companion, sometimes called tho gigantic crane and the great g>ey crane. It dwells on the plains, and is much addicted to playing anl dancing. Its favourite game resembles a set of lancers. Pairs march onl, bow. and retire. The last act i.i the performance is the forming of a grand chain, the birds running in a ci-rclo, with wings poised and fluttering over low-curved necks. Near the coastal rivers and in the bays are found the pelicans, which belong to the same order as the storks, herons, and bitterns. ,Tke pelican 's peculiarity lies in a pouch depending from the lower mandible of the head, and used to carry a store of the fish which th? bird catches. The birds move in flocks, sometimes of fifty or more. Usually twenty or thirty are found together.. The enormous beaks make them unsightly and ungainly. Like the pigeon, the pelican hides ils nest well, and few have been fou _•_.. At sunset, when the red beams of light make the water crimson and thc sand.banks gleam like gold, the solemn, 'pouch-jawed pelicans gather on tbe sandbanks and watch the sun go down, and their dull-grey bodies look quite bright. At other times they ; are ugly birds. \ Something between the native com- 1 panion and the pelican is the "jahe- : roo." This name is an Australian; version of the Brazilian word "jahiru." Long-legged and long-billed, with the bill heavy and thick and . slightly curvod at tho tip, this bird frequents the northern rivers. It is exceedingly shy, but can be tamed. Its colour is greyish white with black legs, bill, and skin. The bird also occurs in tropical America, and doubt- ' less in other parts. \ m.. . -■ j