IN TOUCH WITH NATURE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14899, 30 July 1910, Page 2

IN TOUCH WITH NATURE

NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY IN NEW ZEALAND. -By James Dhummgnd, F.LS., F.Z.S. Mr J, Patterson, writing from Mangaweka, states that.. he was' bom - in the Baunta of the native birds,' on the banks of the Pourapourakino River, which rises amongst the heavily-wooded Lon|gwood Hills, in tho Western District, Southland. Sometimes with other lads, sometimes by himself, he did a great deal of shooting, in the forests and on ths rivers and lagoons. About 37 or 38 years ago, on the Long Lagoon, which is amongst the 1 sand dunes near the R-iverton-Inveroargsll beach, and is about two miles and a-half from Riverton, ho saw four beautiful and graceful whito herons wading in a creek which is the the lagoon to tho Southern Ooean. The white heron, he says, was as plentiful in Southland thonas the bittern is now. A solitary white heron was seen on the estuary of the Orofci River about 17 years ago. It wa watched carefully by tho local constable for a few days, but suddenly disappeared, having been taken, it is supposed, by a fowler or collector. In Southland, 10 years ago, a white heron in a glass caso whs a common sight in tho settlers' homes. "Between 1866 and 1871, when I was a boy," writes Mr A. P. Sharky, of Rosa, " the West Coast forests teemed with large numbers of beautiful birds, many of which have been exterminated in that part of the Dominion by. wild cats' and bees. My mate and I studied the habits of all the small native birds in the forest around' Okarito. Sometimes it took us a long time to find the nests, and wHen we took them home in triumph we usually received a thrashing for staying away from school and tearing our clothes and skin. Fnnkila are still plentiful here. When. the weather is cold and ■ wet, they come about the houses in search of' flies, of which they eat great -numbers.■ I have counted 100 flics taken by fahtails in less than four minutes. Some time ago, a pied and a black fantail flew into our kitchen, and soon cleared away every fly in the Toom. After I; had .left. tho. house my sister, heard a bird singing in her room. Entering quietly, she was surprised to see a black fantail sitting on a picture-frame,'' and singing in a most charming' style in a low, sweet voice. One morning, about the same time, as soon as I arose, I opened the door of my room, and in flew a pied fantail. It made a determined attack on the flies on the ceiling. I clctsed the door, so that, my visitor con Id not get out again, and I then awaited developments. After an hour's patient watching I saw the fantail fly on to the end of t my bedstead. It began to arrange its feathers as if it intended to have a sleep, but'it suddenly spread out its tail, elevated its head, and give tho first notes" of one of. the sweetest ■ songs.-I have .heard• any native bird sing. The song was continued for five minutes and then it was brought to an end by,the noise-of the opening) of a door."

Dr F. W. Hilgendorf, of the Canterbury _ Agricultural College, at Lincoln, supplies information which seems to show that the eyesight ,of. the' fantaik, or at any rate of one fantail, is very defective. Ho states that he knew-a fantail-which, following in ' the habits of its Sspecies, made it a practice to go into, the house in, search of flies,, but its sight was so poor that it frequently mistook a nailhead in the wall for a tty. It was greatly attracted by the mirrors, and never passed one without fluttering in front .of it for a few minutes and chirping t-o : the bird it imagined wi»s en the other side of the glass. For some time it was, thought that large numbers of fantails visited the ho'iae. but one day tho visitor was found dead, jammed between the panes of a window, and as there were no visits after that it was concluded that the' fiouse wa honoured by the attentions of only one - fantail,: . .. -.

" 1.-am'glad t-o : know,"- writes Mr J. W. Slnrdoch, from .Half-moon Bay; Stewart Island, " that Mr Lindsay Jackson is able to affirm that tho kaka and tho pigeon will breed twice a year,under fiivourable conditions. Whilst on the subject of birds, I may say that I think it is strange that we in Stewart Island should have nearly all the land birds of the South Island, yet not all. Perhaps it is a question of food. Jor instance, I am surprised that we have not the saddleback. It is to be found in the forests of West Waiau, just across Foveaux Strait, not many miles distant, and our forest is practically the same. It is a , great pity that such a fine bird should disappear so' rapidly before, settlement. • We, have open country on our mountain tops, yet we have neither the kea nor the rock wren. In their cases, food supply is probably the reason for their absence; we do not have the, mountain berries which are found elsewhere. The native thTush, is- another , abseetee, and the little, grey kiwi has never been reported on the island."

A note on the nellie, a gigajitic voracious. and filthy member of the petrel order, is supplied by ivlr G-. Thomas, of St. Asaph street, Christchurch. He says that it "is usually seen in company with its mate. Hour after hour the pair wing their way over the ocean wastes in search of food, On account of the gluttonous manner in which: they devour all kinds of refuse, he describes them as the scavengers of tho sea. Although, apparently, they live on good terms with the. other members of their own order, they have little sympathy for a wounded comrade. Mr Thomas saw one of these birds wounded by a rifle bullet. It was immediately toin to pieces and- devoured by its fellows. The nellie reaps a,rich harvest during mutton-bdrding seasons in the south. When the young ■ mutton-birds have matured they make their way in night to the high points of the islands, where they fly off to sea. The nellie waits in tho water below, and any muttonbird too fat or too weak to make a successful flight quickly falls a prey to the enemy, and the loud savage squeak of the nellie anil the terrified cries of the. mutton bird tell ol the destruction that is being done. Sometimes the nellie is outwitted. Oho afternoon, on Evening Island, Mr Thomas found an old mutton bird caught by the leg in a tree, a common occurrence

when the birds are settling on the island in the evening. He released the bird and set it at liberty. It flew a sort distance and settled in the water. A number of nellies saw the mutton .bird, and thinking, no doubt, that it was a. young one,.turned in its direction, and mutton bird and nellies strack the water almost : at the same time. The mutton bird, dived immediately, leaving its unwelcome visitorsswimming - round with 'wings spread out as if searching for their intended victim; " and if such a thing as a- look'of surprise can be imagined on the face of a bircl," Mr Thomas adds, "it was on the faces of those nellies a few momenta when the mutton bird rose to tho "surface some 20 ot 30 yards away, and, rising on the wing, passed swiftly into safety.'