NATURE NOTES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LV, Issue 16823, 13 April 1918, Page 1 (Supplement)

NATURE NOTES.

IT J. DBr/MUO.VD, 1.L5., F 2.3.

Mr. W. Best, of Otaki, has made m.tural history observations in New Zealand for fifty years. He does not ramble, through the forests and rough country now, but lie kindly has .sent a few notes on the knowledge he has < umnlated during the past half century. His first note refers to the rare North Island crow. He saw a fairly lai:e number of crows in his wanderings, notably in the Otaki district and on the Coronundel Peninsula, but he never saw the slightest variation in the colour of their plumage, and ho believes that if there are any cases of albinism amongst that species of nature birds, they must be very rare. This belief, probably, is correct, he says, because the native crows are very inquisitive, and if app roaihed quietly come almost within arm's length, and, therefoie, are easily observed . Due pair—they always are in pairshe met, were except ionally tame. He noticed them every time ho went near their baunt. If he remained quite still, they came within his reach, and examined him with the greatest curiosity, uttering a low warbling note, as if they were pleased to see him. The North Island crow has blue wf.ttles, and the South Island crow yellow wattles, but Mr. Best stu'es that he saw one of the latter at the Thames in 1869.

Ther» are a fairly large number of centipedes, of different sizes and colour, in New Zealand. The ugliest specimens Mr. Best lias seen were in the Thames and Cororoandel districts. When working in the forests he found them usually in clumps of whara-whara, Astelia Banksii, in the tops of trees. They were up to eight inches long and half nn inch broad, and in colour were either black or black and brown, in a kind of marbled design. Mr. Brst has not heard of anybody who was bitten by these centipedes. He chopped them into pieces, each about nn inch lons, and each piece, if it had a sufficient number of legs, ran around on its cwn Mr. Best reports that one of the native animals that seem to be disappearing, in his district at least, is a small scaly, fresh water fish, between four and six inches long, with a pale blue stripe on each side, from the gills to the tail, a dark colcur on the and silvery beneath. Maoris know of it as tikihemi, and state that it goes to the sea to spawn about March, and that the fry come up the river with the whitebait or inanga. Maoris also told Mr. Best that the tikihemi was very plentiful in the Otaki River once, and was caught in large quantities, but now is seldom seen. Many years ago, ho caught tikihemi in the K-nepuru stream, which rims into Porirua Hirbuur, Wellington Province, but he never saw the fish anywhere else. The upokororo is still plentiful in the upper reaches of the Otaki River, but it does not come in large numbers down to the lower reaches, perhaps, Mr. Best says, on account of the trout. A half-caste'told him that, contrary to a popular belief, upokororo may be caught with hook and bait.

A correspondent at Nukulofa, Tonga, | Friendly Islands, has sent me an interesting account of bird life in the group of islands where lie belongs. There are twenty-two species of birds in a list he has completed, and some of the names have a close resemblance to the Maori names of Now Zealand birds. A parrot, peculiar _ to the island of Eua, for instance, is called kaka, the name of our commonest parrot. A white owl found in all members of the group is kulu, and one morepork's name ruru. A pigeon found mostly in Vivau, has the name hipe, and one of the names of the New Zealand pieeon is rune. A white heron in the islands is motuku. and our own I white heron is koturti. There is an isI land rail, named moho. This is one of I the Maori names of our famous notornis, but the moho of the islands is closely related to our little marsh rail and swamp rail, and not to tho large rail, that was last reported from the Southern Sounds twenty years ago. The strangest item in the correspondent's list is the veka. He thinks that this is a rail and describes I it as " almost flightless, of a pugnacious j disposition, and with a great fondness j for all kinds of egsrs." This description fits our weka, except that it is absolutely flightless. The weka, as far as is known, belongs exclusively to New Zealand. The correspondent thinks that the veka mav jbe another native name of the moko. In any case the use of the word veka in the Friendly Islands and weka in New Zealand for members if the same family of birds has sorao significance.

Mr. J. Barrett, who has lived in New Zealand for about sixtv years, laments the disappearance from Christchurch of "our beautiful and lovable birds." When he was a hoy he kept birds and tuis in cases and avaries. He fed them with bread, softened with hot water and sweetened with sugar. "In this wav," he rites " I kept them alive for considerable periods. The hell-bird is a bom singer. I know of no bird that has the same melody in its song. The notes seem to follow one another like the notes of a musical composition. No operatic singer could put vivacity into his work. The hellbird throws its head from side to ; de and swells out its feathers until they seem to he almost twice.their real size. The soriL' often is finished with a great burst of melody, The tui has a loud ringing note of great sweetness, but its son? is not the lengthened song of the bell-bird. Still, their notes have a resemblance, and the two species seem to have a fondness for each other. I have often seen one following another in flights from plantation to plantation." Mr. Barrett suggests that pairs of bell-birds, tuis, bush-canaries, and the small native birds should be taken when ther are fledged and able to eat, and be liberated in the public gardens] where they and their progeny might make permanent homes. Fantails and grey-war-blers are plentiful in the Christ-hnrrh gardens at present, and may be seen or heard amongst the trees at any time of day. This year, a pair of native tomtits have made a nest amongst thick foliage. _ Both birds come when attracted by a labial sound, and approach close to visitors.

Some weeks ago, Mr. C. Williamson, of Takapuna, offered to snnplv to readers of this column cuttings of the flowering shrub escallonia in his garden. He states that he hag received an extraordinarily largo number of applications from all parts of the Dominion, and that he will •rv to supply some to all as soon as possible.

, : Mr. C. Havlock, of Awamarino, referI ring to a report that white stocks have a i I had effect on bumble bees, states that , since he lias grown white stocks, few bum- , ' hie bees have been observed. He finds , , that the columbine is "extremely deadly" - , to those bees which are seen dead under 1 the plants and hanging to the flowers. Mr Haylock states that the harrier hawk i is the most deadly enemy of the pheasant , . and of white breeds of fowls, and that i { " its ravages on cast ewes and young • I lambs in the spring are sufficient to condemn it forever." . I Mr. H. Wilson, of Stratford, believes I that the moa became extinct at a much . later date than is assigned to the event !>v Sir Julius Von Hnast and Captain F. \V. Hutton. In support of this theory he states that in the early " eighties" Mr. B. , Evans, who now lives in South Timaru, while ploughman for the late Mr. P. Lismore, of Timaru, found a complete skeleton, the bones lying in the same position as when tho bird died. The large bones were collected by a doctor who was staying with Dr. Lismore, and he 3et out for England by the Mahoaka which was not aitenvards' heard of,