NATURE NOTES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 15884, 3 April 1915, Page 5 (Supplement)

NATURE NOTES.

BV J. DRI'MMO.VD, F.L.S., F.Z.S.

Km: Dink Ciock. mi tin- Goiiland Down?, runs into Big River, and the confluence of the two streams is .1 favourite meeting place of tin- blue duck, the mountain duck, iir the whin. It is known by all three names, but usually by the first, which, in a general way, describes the appearance of its plumage. .Mr. K. K. Houston, Sir. F. Sparrow and [ were breaking through dens,' shrubs on the banks of the Big River when we saw three of these handsome mountaineers some distance below us. They were in a row, but each was standing on one leg. on a separate stone, with head tucked under a wing. This attitude they maintained for a considerable time before one and then, the others put the other leg down and watched the surface of the water for floating caddis-worms. The stones on which they stood were flat on the top and had been washed by spray, and, being grey in colour, harmonised so well with the blue plumageit is a dull, slater, greyish blue, not a brilliant blue%that a person might have passed them by time after time without realising that they were nut part of the permanent setting of the surroundings.

Mr. Clouston, who has had a very long acquaintanceship with many native birds, told me that it was not uncommon to find a male blue duck at the confluence of two mountain streams, and that it takes up that position in order, apparently, to wait fur other blue ducks that come down both the streams. It stops there, like Patience on a monument, until several others arrive, and then there is a noisy discussion. The Maori name, " whio," is a fair imitation of the sibiliant cry of the adult, but does not represent its qualities. It is heard above the musical notes of the running waters, and intermingles with them in a very pleasing harmony. The cry, often heard in the day time and sometimes from the impenetrable darkness of a deep gorge in the early evening, was one of the pleasantest sounds we beard on the downs. The blue duck, which is one of New Zealand's exclusive possession*?, rightly has been brought under the protective shield of the law, and cannot be destroyed, but in former times, when sentiment in this direction was not as strong as it is now, sportsmen 6hot large numbers, and Mr. Houston noted that the cry always was uttered when a short was fired, and consequently often was the bird's death-song.

The blue duck is a kind of recluse. Unlike the grey duck and the shoveller, it is not widely distributed. Although it is not always found in high latitudes, it seldom leaves typical mountain creeks. This habit probably has led to the development of some physical peculiarities that other ducks do not possess. One of these is a soft membrance that hangs like a fringe on the bill, specially useful, it is believed, in the capture of aquatic insects. Another is. a bare, horny hardness of skin on the joint of each wing. These callosities a>-e the result of tho bird's habit of searching for food under the surface and using the wings as a means of clinging to the rocks, in order to resist the force of the rushing waters. On one occasion, in the month- of October, Mr. H. Guthrie-Smith, of Tutira, Hawke's Bav, watched a family of four young blue ducks in a stream on bis property. Through the glassy, translucent water he was able to see the little divers in the pebbly depths, their white markings showing very distinct as they explored the floor of the stream or rose with a plop to the surface. Above water they were equally active, skimming after flies on the surface and scrambling half out or the water after insects on the damp cliffs. He often felt cure that the strong water at the pool's tail would suck them down, but they crossed it safely above the very break, and every now and again from the parents would come a rattling note or the sibilant "whio," "whio." The description of the blue duck as a blue bird is an unimaginative, matter-of-fact statement that does a distinct injustice to one of the ornaments of this Dominion's avifauna. In certain lights, the blue on the head, ueck and back has a green metallic sheen, which gives a satiny appearance and softens any harshness there may be'in the general effect, The sun. dancing over the feathers, brings out patches of sheen here and there, like the sheen on a piece of polished metal. The colour of the breast is relieved by spots, with which it is liberally bespattered. These are rusty or reddish, or, perhaps, should be properly described as nitons. Under the wings the soft feathers are tipped with the same coloui, and on each of the secondary feathers of the wings there is a dark velvty band, in which the metallic tint is preserved. Be ; low the breast, the colour is a delicate blue, merging into grey. The bill is Jignti pink or flesh colour, which contracts with | the dark membrance that hangs from it. j 'the eye is golden yellow. The female's coloius are not quite as bright as the male's. The young bird has a slightly deeper blue on the upper parts, the spots on the breast are black instead of rufous and give a speckled effect: the feathers under the tail are light red or brown; the upper mandible bluish, and the lower one yellow. It is only when the blue duck is examined fairly closely that the great beauty of its plumage is seen. There is not a feather on its body that would not give lasting delight if it was made the object of a serious study. For general effect, the blue duck, to be seen at its liest. mm* be seen in its proper setting in the setting in which it has passed through the stages of its development. If it is taken from the hills and valleys, and is placed j in a cage in a town or city. it. at once loses its charm. It should be seen and heard in its own home, which is in the heart of Nature ; and its home must be seen to be api>iej#ted because it cannot be adequately described. It is simple t<> write of mountain torrents, noisily bub blini;. boiling, splashing, and foaming; ;t sunlight falling on running water: of steep banks, two chains apart, rising like the walls of a house to a height, perhaps, of 100 ft, their sides covered with mountain lurches heuecked with scarlet mistletoe: of the sweet aroma of manuka and the smell of moss ami bark, of the wbirt of a long-tailed cuckoo in a neighbouring valley; of the twitter of a flock of whiteeves overhead : and of the drowsy stridulations of an invisible cicada : but it is difficult—utterly impossible, in fact—to give an adequate idea of the blue duck's home to anybody who has not actually been there.