NATURE NOTES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 16032, 25 September 1915, Page 5 (Supplement)

NATURE NOTES.

ax. J. SBcifMoin)/lCz>.s.; F.Z.S. .' *' v .■' i .w> ' . • y-'■vv ■ --•■■"- :-.-- : -~x iy Pebw at a distance the tui seems to have ? a coat of greenish black,, but if it draws * closer and comes out into the Jijht;; where '■. the rays of light can play on its feathers, r many hues are disclosed.- Some of these v shine like polished metal. There arc ' green, steel-bine, brown, and purple. The small feathers that rise from the base of the bill and lie towards the ~ forehead are a bright, lustrous green. They con- " tinue over the crown and down 'the*'nape They sweep round the cheeks and on to the throat. The brilliance is lost to some .extent at the bottom of the nape, • but just here begins a series of slender, white filamentous plumes, which lie gracefully over the top of the interscapular region and curve caressingly with sweeping line"* on both sides of the neck. On the dark plumage they have the effect of delicate pencillings. At the limits reached by these white feathers the iridescent metallic green becomes conspicuous again. The larger feathers that bear this colour extend in a distinct row across the back. Further down the back, for an inch and a-half, there is a tract of peculiar dark purply bronze, very rich and deep. "Tie bright green, with a metallic lustre, is noticeable on the greater wing coverts, •where it is set off and held out to contrast by a white spot on each wing. It is continued down the upner surface of the tail feathers to the rounded tips.

Under the throat, springing out fron. the dark-background,'there are two tufts of curly feathers, delicate in structure and absolutely pure white. Each tuft con sists of eight or nine feathers, about oai«inch long. Each feather has the metallic green for half its length from the base, but then the barbs bunch out like a fan and the colour disappears, leaving the tips pure white. They curl gracefully upwards. In. Sir Walter Buller's large work, published in 1888, there are" woodcuts showing the tufts curled downwards, a slight mistake that has been made in ornithological books for over one hundred years. These tufts led Mr. G. R. Gray, an English scientist, seventy-five years ago, to give'to the tui the Greek name ~it has retained ever since, Prosthemadera

" Prosthema," appendage, and "dere," throat. The ornament also attracted the attention of Captain Cook, -who named the tui the poy-bird, "from its tuft 'feathers, resembling white flowers used as ornaments in ' the ' ears by Tahitians and called there ' poowa.' -V- In old dictionaries and encyclopaedias and books on New Zealand the tain's always named the poubird. The ' tufts - reminded early settlers of the white bands formerly •worn by a clergyman, and led to the application of the name parson-bird, still in use in some country districts. * > " . f. "■,

The metallic green spreads from j the throat down the breast, bat gradually changes into the same dark, purply bronze -that covers part of the scapulars. This, in turn, merges, intojsa • velyetv brown. In Sir Walter Buller's .1888.edition, the . bluish-green -is too bright,- especially on the head and breast; 'the •brown on i the ■ sides of *the""fabdomen *.is too light; the single white feathers curling around the side of the neck are too stiff and short, are not; sufficiently filamentous, and are, in fact,' unlike feathers. To an' observer who has no opportunity to handle a specimen the most notable' features of the ; tui's i. plumage are the metallic green, colour, iJie ; white threadlike feathers at the back. of the -neeS, the white spots on' the wings, and the throat tufts. In the body plumage, contrasts usually are avoided by .the blending of the 'coldtsrsj-'-one merging ''in'to* the other imperceptibly. ; Sitting -amongst. the foliage or flashing past in; the .sunlight, .the tui is a sight worth going a longiwayto see. r. It represents J the p jnielariiitic, s.ibr. black, . element- in the' Dominion's _a-vi-fauna: but .if 4it lacks ' the ' crimsoti and gold of ; brighter birds in ; other countries, it can claim at least . a.moderate degree of beauty 4 and * a "quiet i elegance which 1 gaudier birds not, possess. .-:v \^',~-.'

. - -■ . . , ._ -•- J ! A native ? shrub, with crimson and sweetly-scented. 'flowers,'"'" is';; 1 strongly % re- ~- '. commended >by i Mr. H. "i B. Devereux, of \f. fl Waihi, -as a suitable f plant"' for -New Zea- '„. _- - land gardens.; I do not know- of any ;",; popular name-it possesses, bat-it belongs ;j'V?'': to the f same 1 family.- the honeysuckle, r : t "f" and ; botanists "* call it Alseuosmia (grovj >i T arid sweet" ; smell) macrophylla V" leaved): '-Mr., Devereux's -letter is dated ■ ■•,; September 5. "I 1 have r a bowl ofsthess";"' '< flowers in front of v me-as I write," ;.-;. says; " and: they - seem to me to ,be .■"as :}_:"( [:; beautiful as the flowers of other % plants -- of the family and, quite as fragrant!"^ Ms states that >it is rare in the jWaihrCdii- V- '" trict, but Mr. T- F. ; -C&'eesemanf-repb'ri that it is ; abundant in woods from ' -"."" North > Cape to '. the; East", Cape, arid- rare r ; and locali further south. An f interestari!i sight on one of S the outlying bilk, at '0;l] Waihi, ' Mr. ;-- Devereux i further- states,- is arewarewa, Kiiiglitia «celsa. ■ commonly :•■• called, the New.Zealand■; honeysuckle, side -"•',->".■: by side jwittrj a* pinus radiata. ; B Both -. are about ten feet high and only a few inches v apart, and both are .vigorous.;' ! In a few- - years it will be interesting -to- record > their vrogress and to note which outlives -~ the other* Another; beautiful native plant, - Olearia macrodonta, "is in flower in Mr. . Dev*reux's.-. district, o with' ;an i unusual :■-;''■■ I wealth of district, ; with : : an unusual wealth of blossom.

"Here in Ida Valley, Central ?Otaio, the barded dotterel is very plentiful;'* Mr. J. Naylor .wrote oh September 10. "It came back about six weeks ago. ' I always know that spring is here s when the little fellow appears. " The visitors are in pairs now. but later on they will gather in large flocks. Finally, in early autumn, they .will disappear. Where they go to every year I dc not know, a I have found their eggs accidentally. A There- is no nest. They'lay in a few pebbles-in a dry lagoon. The eggs are like the pebbles, and are hard to see. The young are funny little fluffy things. The told birds try to entice strangers away from*; the young by running lamely in front." In notes on other birds, Mr.-Naylor says :— " About twenty miles from :here; in the Molyneaux - Valley, there are many' orchards. ;A , small brown apparently a morepork-. introduced .-in order :to kill the small birds, which attack the fruit. The owls have spread all over." the place, and now are" in- the rocks on this run. They do not come out in the day,but are very active at night. I am a shepherd, and I had one at my. for over four months. It was quite- tame. I fed it on liver and pieces of bacon and mutton. It used to come and sit on the table at night close to. the lamp where I was reading. Unfortunately, it was killed by a dog. Paradise ducks are very plentiful here, but are not destructive. There, are also grey ducks and teal ; the latter/ are rare, and black swans are often seen, especially in the winter. .. There are a,few harrier hawks ; they are very fierce;, : i the common hawk is very plentiful. Seagulls are a great nuisance to us shepherds. They lay here, but make no kind -of a nest, and I destroy large quantities of their eggs. . There is one gull here with only one leg; it never leaves the place, and I have seen it certainly for two years. In the ranges at the top of the valley there are many wild goats, which often come in when we are mustering • the sheep." ..'■'."■'