NESTS OF KIWIS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21274, 30 August 1932, Page 13

NESTS OF KIWIS

found in gqrse hedge EGGS SENT TO MUSEUM Mr. J. H. Burnot, director of the Alexander Museum, lias made the following statement in reference to a letter accusing the museum authorities of robbing kiwis' nests; —''Yes, the senior sergeant did bring us in two kiwi eggs, and when our taxidermist blew them he found them perfectly fresh, and by the strangest coincidence tho very ne.\t day Mr, Gary brought in anothr pair. These were older. The Jviwi is a rara avis. For one reason it is not prolific. Two eggs per annum is about tho average. "Tho old Maori hunted tho kiwi keenly, principally for the sake of its beautiful soft feathers, which tho women of tho pa wove into their priceless cloaks. About 70 years ago the Maori persecution ceased, cloaks were more seldom made, and today tho making is practically a lost art. Tho kiwis began to pick up, but a new enemy introduced by the Europeans was the wild pig, who robbed its nest, always on the ground. Now, alas, has come the opossum hunter, with his cruel traps—the worst enemy the poor old kiwi has yet had. "Possibly you put me down as one of his enemies, because I suggested the taking of the eggs for the public museum. Thoy had to be moved, for they were found in a gor'se fence that was in process of being grubbed up. This is the only reason that would excuse the taking of tho eggs."