BENEATH THE EVERGREENS. NEW ZEALAND'S NATIVE BIRDS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2412, 24 May 1900, Page 57

BENEATH THE EVERGREENS. NEW ZEALAND'S NATIVE BIRDS.

By B. N. N. H,

If you care to hear the music of our birds you must wander afar into the depths of the native bush, where the stately pine and the twisted broadleaf still flourish, untouched by the woodman's axe.

Around the outskirts, close by "the coriifiolds and orchards of the settler, the imported songsters have established their home. Timorous and watchful, "they flee at the sound of an approaching footstep ; but yet seem unwilling to dwell beyond the sound of the human voice. Tuneful singers they may be, and as soloists, perhaps, may rival the best of our native birds ; bub they are not worthy of a place in the melodious choir -that dwells in the .depths of the evergreens., No oxaiorio of

the old mapteis. rendered by trained voices amidst the brilliant surroundings of the concert hall, can compare in sweetucs? with the glorious symphony of our native birds in the early morning, when the air is perfumed with the sweet scent of the ribbon wood and the, maple, and the everlasting hum of myriads of insects above the tree-tops acts as a soft accompaniment.

Long before the sun has risen, the mokis assemble among the branches of their favourite trees, and the sweet chiming of their bell-like notes announces that Nature's concert has begun. Soon the deep notes of the tui, the soft tenor of the warbler and the louder voices of the canary and the robin take up their appointed parts. It is hard to distinguish each voice where all blend so harmoniously, but later on, when the sun is high in the heavens, and the concerted music dies gradually away, it is pleasant to sit in the cool shade and make the acquaintance of the individual members of the chou\

One of the first to make his appearance, hopping about on the carpet of dead leaves with which the ground i.s strewn, is the yellow-breasted robin. He is very similar in appearance to his little cousin, "the tomtit, that with sidelong glances of astonishment perches on the low branches of a tree almost within reach of your hand. Both are so gentle a/>d fearless that they seem to be old friends at once, and if 3-011 sit quite f-till the robin perchance may perch upon your shoulder.

One of the most interesting of the birds is the liny wren, that flits about among the branches overhead. He is ever on the move, and is so small that it would be hard to distinguish him were it not that he chirrups softly to himself as he moves about. The tui, which the pakeha has named the "' parson bird " on account of las sable plumage and white collar, is a beautiful creature. When the sun glints on his gloss}"- feathers as he darts above the tree-tops in chase of the insects upon which he feeds, the far-famed bird of paradise is not more graceful than he. The mold is a, near relation of the tui, and although he is smaller and not nearly so grand in appearance, his music is quite as sweet and many would prefer the soft bell notes of the mold to the richer music of the parson bird.

A curious family are the grey warblers, that in colour so nearly resemble the wren. They are sociable fellows, and are seldom seen alone. At odd intervals, as if at some given signal, they flutter close together into groups, and keeping time with the motions of their bodies, they uplnt their voices in a perfect ecstasy of delight.

The pretty fantail is almost as fearless as the robin, and, with the canary, is perhaps the most gaily clad of our feathered friends. But ths canary is not nearly so conscious of his beauty as the vain little fantail that spreads his tail like a miniature peactfek. as he struts along a branch near by, twisting and turning his body, the better to display the beauty with which the* great Architect of the universe has endowed him.

In the evening when the sombre light of the forest dies away, and the joyous members of the choir have retired to rest, the deep silence is unbroken, save for the screech of the cuckoo or the mopoke, or the weird cry of a distant weka calling to his mate from out the depths of some lonely gully.