NATURE NOTES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17145, 26 April 1919, Page 1 (Supplement)

NATURE NOTES.

BT J. DBUMIHOND, F.L.S-, J.Z.S.

A correspondent has written asking if native larks at Taupo are likely to become ] a nuisance. They feed mainly on grasshoppers, caterpillars, insects and insect grabs, and to a very '.slight extent on minute seeds, and there is no danger of their becoming a menace to farmers, even if they become as plentiful as the sands on the sea shore. A pair of native larks Mr. H. Guthrie-Smith had under observation on his station at Tutrra, Hawke's Bay, seemed to have a little freehold property of their own. It was a clearly defined area for th:> collection of food supplies, and the pair returned again and again to particular runs of rock and sandy flat. One of them, when its bill was full, flow off to the nest, always, however, avoiding a direct flight, and pausing many times en route for observation and critical inspection of the neighbourhood. On the arrival of food, the young, at least during their last few days in the nest, seemed to be unable to forbear an eager twittering and chirping.

" Although silence in the later days of incubation is neglected by the hungry I youngsters," Mr. Guthrie-Smith says, j " the golden rulo for ground-lark nestling, j their first and greatest of commandments, is never transgressed, However hungry, | nay voracious, the .fledglings are, they never budge from the nest, and, although easily able to do so, never edge on to the little run and platform made by the repeated visits of the old birds. I suppose inherited experience has shown the race how full the world is of deceit and wickedness in the four of harriers, rats, and other vermin." -Mr. GuthrieSmith has occupied Tutira for about thirty years, and during that time native larks have greatly increased there, as, indeed, they have increased in marry other districts; in open spaces, hundreds may be seen flocking together. It is doubtful, however, if, on the whole., they are as plentiful as they were fifty years ago. Dr. Otto Finsch, a German ornithologist, who travelled through both islands of New Zealand in 1875, staled in the account of his experiences that the native lark was by far the commonest bird seen by him, and that he met it everywhere.

Mrs. H. F. Chaffey has sent ran from Ghost Creek, Upper Takaka, Nelson, a grey warbler's nest, which, evidently, was the scene of one of the tragedies that take place in bird life in New Zealand. The nest is an exceptionally compact, strong, well-built one, made mostly of moss, lichens, down, wek.is' feathers, a spray of tea-tree, and some scarlet material Mrs. Cliaffey had placed cowpicuous'y before the owners of the nest when they were busying fchemselveii with the work of construction. A hole has been mac'} skilfully through the back of the nest into the bottom of the dark, warm cup in which the eggs were laid and the youmi;, if there were any, would have been hatched. The grey warblers, evidently, were the victims of a robber rat, which extracted the eggs or the young through the hole. The damaged nest is strong circumstantial evidence against the rats of the forest, probably the species of black rat, introduced unintentionally from the Old Country. The nests of many other grey warblers, and other species of native birds, have been robbed in the same way. _ Close to Mrs. Chaffey's sittingroom window, j there was another grey warbler's nest, similar in style, structure, and materials to the one impudently robbed. One day I she heard the owners making an unusual noise, evidently in great excitment. Finding that tie noise continued, she went out to discover the cause, and, to hor surprise, saw a shining cuckoo at the nest. It immediately flew away. On the nest being examined, two grey warbler's eggs were found in it. The regulation number is four, and Mrs. Ohaffey believes that the cuckoo saw the parasite very clearly and describes it as exceptionally beautiful— destroyed two of them. ,It may have intended to place its own egg in the nest, which, hovever, d'd not contain any but thf two tiny, fragile, white eggs, marked and freckled with red dish-brown, typical of tlie grey warbler. Perhaps tho best account of the longtailed cuckoo's method of placing it* egg in a victim's nest lias been supplied by Mr. Overton, headmaster of the public school at Tarara, Cltitha, Otago, to the School Journal. When he was riding home from school one evening in November, he passed a plantation of willows and pinue insignus on an untenanted farm. He heard the danger note of a bell-bird. Following the sound, he saw a female bell-bird spreading her half-extended wines and ruffled feathers protectinglv over her nest, while the male, stiffly defiant, sat close above her. On a willow close by sat a long-tailed cuckoo. It took flight almost as soon as he saw it, but suddenly returned: and in its mouth he saw an egg. It half spread its wings and crouched down on a branch of the willow, uttering gurgles and chuckles not unlike the clucking of & broody hen. This seemed to infuj'ate the bell-birds, and both instantly attacked the cuckoo hotly. No sooner was the nest vacant than th> cuckoo flew to it and deliberately tried to deposit t'.ie egg in it. This was resisted bv the bell-birds with their utmost strength and with great fury. The cuckoo, defested in its effort, returned to the villow, while the male bird celebrated the victory with a magnificent burst of song. The cuckoo, after a short rest, during which it was distressed and was handicapped by the egg in its mouth, j renewed the attack. Up to this stage, it had shown no fighting capacity, but when the bell-birds made another attack, it returned hastily to the willow, and there, to Mr. Overton's astonishment, it transferred the egg from its mouth to one , foot with the easy facility of a parrot. It made for the nest again, and this time, . accidentally or on purpose, it hurled out . J two of the bell-birds' eggs, which broke . | in the fall- It then pecked viciously at . | the valiant defenders. The male bell-

bird, fastening on to the cuckoo's neck , with the hold of a bulldog and using his firm little wines as flailr, bewildered the enemv and drove it to the ground, while he all the time was savagely tumbling and : flapping. The precious epn, the bone I of intention, was completely shattered, i : The battle was over. The cuckoo, with J la loud "srro-e'e-e" of despair—the only 3 I sound it had made the exception of the a purglrp and chuckles—flew from the scene i- ' and left the bell-birds in possession of their ! home. The female tidied her house, and y' settled down contentedly, and the male ' pnir.g " itpstairs." sang bis best song. \ i The incident confirms Mr. Overton'; !i opinion that the cuckoo lays it* ppir? soon ~ after it« arrival in New Zealand fr>m its i. lone flight across one thousand miles o! e I ocean. e J Mr. H. Stevenson, Tinakori Roac o i Wellington, has asked if the as i- : well as the porpoise, is found in New 0 ' Zealand waters. There is some confusior d ' in the use of the names of these animals ; Both are commonly called dolphins, but ii I is the pirpoise that, is found abundantly I in the sea- off the New Zealand coast it! The dolphin has net been recorded south J. I of Cool; Strait. It never goes far mil (1 : land while the dolphin often goes far out a ' into the open sea. Both are gregarious, ie both are remarkably agile, and both seem ts - to have a strange liking for human socictv. i" ! On the upper surface, the porpoise is pa ss .mv and the dolphin is brown. The r- d .'i'hin has an advantage of one or l*o I. fee in length. The most noticeable rs dWii-BuUhing characteristics are in the ra ,b i i.gmw » porpoise's beak seems to form to Sof £ Q the dolphin -s beak . ,' & ed and protruding. Some of the a diffeiences are zoological and cannot be A! rt tid here, but the porpoise usually has 3 im2sto 30 teeth on each jaw and the I- f„ in a£ on each iaw. Both feed on ; I JSS US dSIpW? /argely on flying.fish i which it seem, to find sport m catching D 1 Tl Nov Zealand porpoise is restricted n I to New Zealand waters, but the dolphin '. Mound in nearly all seas. In zoological iJI I rat'ne our y rp< i?e is fVphaWirhy minis n I-that' is '" headed snout,"-ajid the. dolphin lis Delpninus UelphLs.