NATURE NOTES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 14453, 20 August 1910, Page 5 (Supplement)

NATURE NOTES.

BY JAMES DRL'MMOXD, F.L.S., F.Z.S.

Ala. H. H. Travebs's recent notes on the efect of eats on small islands at the Chathams have reminded Mr. S. Percy Smith of a somewhat extraordinary sight he saw in 1868 on a low peninsula jutting out from Titt Island in the direction of Mangare Island. At that time Mr. Smith was making the survey of Pitt Island, and was camped near the peninsula, when a % cry strong gale set in from the west, accompanied by heavy rain and fierce squalls. The peninsula is about 70ft or 80ft above the sea level, is Hat, is about 100 acres in extent, and is covered with forest. On the morning after the gale, in crossing the peninsula he found an enormous number of the small blackcapped terns and white-headed terns scattered over the ground. They were all dead, and a large number of them, at least one in eery four, had its head partly bitten off, it was supposed by cats, of which there were a great number running wild on the island. These pretty little birds had evidently been driven ashore to take shelter in the forest by the violence of the gale. They were so numerous that there was a bird to about every ten square yards of the peninsula. They were a subject of astonishment to all the members of Air. Smith's party, and the wounds in tlie heads showed how very plentiful the cats were.

Black swans are fairly plentiful in the Lower Northern Wairoa, Kaipara. A correspondent states that their chief rendezvous is in the vicinity of the lakes adjacent to the North Head. Mr. Gustav Schick, of Tangaihi, reports that- on his estate two birds, male and female, have resided for 14 years without having any brood. He placed them with geese, but the swans would have none of it, and fought desperate with the geese on all occasions. In May last he was delighted to discover the female':; nest, in which there were six eggs. The nest was formed in a macrocarpa hedge, and is composed of leaves and humus. The male bird is very jealous of intruders. Hawks arc plentiful, and when one makes its appearance the male swan prepares for battle and fiightens away the bird of prey. At the first note of warning given by the poultry he takes upon himself the duty of defence, and the hens have come to look upon him as a valiant champion. Mr. Schick is protecting his swan visitors, and is looking forward to the advent of the cygnets.

Several correspondents have commented on the fact that the 'urge shell-fish popularly known as the toheroa, seems to be confined to the West Coast of the North Island. A correspondent at Whangaroa seeks for a reason why this animal does not Hourish on the east coast as well, and he wishes to know it' any attempt has been made to establish it there. Other shellfish are believed to have become extinct, or very rare, on the. east coast. Amongst these is the. kuwaru (probably Tellina glabrella). Although it is reported to be plentiful still at Hokianga, it is believed to be extinct at Whangaroa. where. 50 years ago, it was a common article of diet. It, is stated that on the embankment roads of Totara there are great numbers of a large shell-fish of a species not now found alive. An old Maori woman told an inquirer that the Maori name was "nowi," and that, many years before her time, it was very plentiful, and was eaten by the Maoris.

Mr. E. T. Frost, who is a keen observer of these things, states that the toheroa is found only north of the \\ airoa Heads. Between that plat i and Manukau there are only occasional patches, but on the northern sides of the Kaipara Heads these shell-fish may be collected almost anywhere on the great sandy stretches. The dimensions are sometimes six inches in length and four inches in width. The shell is verv thick, but brittle, and, if dropped from a height of a few feet on to the sand, will break. This is very eon venient for the seagulls. When a. gull secures a toheroa it flies up into the air and lets it drop to the ground. The gull, however, does "not always reap the reward of its ingenuity, as other birds hovering below sometimes snatch the tit-bit and eat it. " Anvone who did not know how to find these edible bivalves," Mr. Frost adds, " would walk on top of milHons of them and not, be aware of it. They are buried deep in the hard sand below highwater mark, and the only indication of their presence, is a small _ depression in tlie sand wherever there is a fish, and sometimes a small vent-hole. It is strange to see them bury themselves again as soon as they are dug out. 1 hev have a long tonuue, which they put down in the sand, and pull themselves under. They get out of sight, in a remarkably short time in view of the size of the shell. If they arc stuck in the sand with the tongue upwards they are check-mated and cannot move. When the fide is flowing they get near tlie surface and must feed with their tongues out, as at times, when there is not much swell on the beach, the schuappcr have been seen head down and tails out, of water feeding on them. '1 he sehnapper pull them right out of the sand and crunch shell and all in their powerful jaws.

White crickets, mentioned by Mr. Driver a few weeks ago, do not seem to be as rare as was generally believed. The Rev. W. J. Elliott says that 25 years ago they were fairly plentiful on his family's (arm, about four miles from Auckland. Nearly alwavs, without any definite exception, he. found them under heaps of partially burnt eow-(!ung or manure. .Farmers often burnt that manure near the doors of their houses in tho evenings to prevent mosquitoes entering after sunset. The presence. of white crickets some time afterwards in the old heaps did not seem to Mr. Elliott to be strange at the time, but in later Years, when he wished to find a satisfactory explanation, he was unable to do so, and will be glad to learn if there is one.