OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS COLUMN.

Otago Witness, Issue 2744, 17 October 1906, Page 86

OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS COLUMN.

FOR BOYS AND GIRLS.

[Conducted by Magister, to whom al) communications mu3t be addressed.]

THE BITTERN.

The following came to hand too late for last week' 3 column: —

Dear Magister.— Seven or eight years ago bitterns were net infiequently to ba sesn about the extensive swamps lying to tbe west of Mataura. Unfortunately, considering the character of the nverage run of New Zealand " sportsmen," they did not seem at all overtimid or wild; in fact, one usad to frequent the hoTse pond quit? close to the homestead of a farm I knew. I ne\er noticed them in Pa Could you kindly publish a description of the bell-bird. I have not been about bush country, except very temporarily, for over 30 yeaTS and the bell-bird is so seldom seen or heard nowadays, it would seem, except far from settlements, that mos* people know little, or nothing of it —even those of us who knew it in the earlier days. Tour Stewart Island correspondent e?lls it the makomako. I remember well the name mokomoko. btu is not that a gTeeE-plumaged bird somewhat smaller than the tui and sometimes called the Erreen tuiV If cot tbe mokomoko. what is the name of "that bird? It has. if I remember a deep guttural note resembling some of th-> tui's notes. If you or some of your correspondents could give some description of the bsli-bird, and anwser my other queries, I would ieel greatly obliged.— l am etc., Old Times.

I think that "Old Times" must be wrong in stating that tho fce!l-bird is called mokomoko: "Animals of New Zealand saj-s that the bell-bird i« the makorr.ako, and uses mokomoko as the Maori for the common lizard. The following extracts are from the book I have just referred to:—- " Male yellowish olivaceous, the head tinged with -steel black. Wings and tail brownish black. Eye blood red. Length of tho wine, 3£in; of tho tarsus (kg from claw to joint above.— IVUgipter), lm. Female and young, brownish olivaceouswings, and tail, brown; a white line from the bill towards the side of the neck. The female is rath-r smaller than the male. Egg, pinkish white, with irregular markings of reddish brown, principally near the larger end. Both islands and the Auckland I c !and»." " Over a hundred yeais ago Captain Gcok described the delight he experienced when this bird's splendid son? first foil upon his. ears. It wat= in Queen Charlotte Soucd. when the ship of the fir?t navigator was about a quarter of a mile fiom the shore. ' And in the morning,' he says, we w<»re awakened by the singing of the birc's. The number was incredible, and they seemed to strain their throat* in emulation of each other. This wild melody was infinitely superior to any that we have e\er heard, of the same kind: it Eecmed to be like small belk, mot exqinsitply tuned: and, perhaps, the distance and the water betwesn nught be no small ad\antage to the sound.'" " The decrease in the numbers of the 1 oilbirds is attributed to bu>h fires. e-.pM.-i.illy in the North Island, and to the doprec'aUons of cats. rats, and honey bee=." (Ehewhore, however, honey bees are discarded as a cause of the bird disappearing. — Magisteh.) '• The beii-hird is both bold and tame. It eats berries, as weil as in=c>tts and honey, but its special weakness is the honey in the flower of the phormium tenax. the delicious liquid beinf obtained by jnserting the bushy tongue into the calyx." Buller's " Manual cf the Bird* of NewZealand " «ays:— "lt i.« called the bell-bird from tbe fanciful resemblance of cne cf its notes to the distant tolline of a bell. Its ordinary song is r.ot unlike that of the tui or paison bird, but is more mellifluous. Its note*, though simple, are \aried and swc-etlv chimed: and as the bird is of social habit <- the morning anthem, in which tcore6 of the=e sylvan thcn.stois perform together, as :i concert of occentiic part?, producing a wild, but p'easing melody. . . When alarmed or exoitod. they utter a strain of notes which I can only compare to the sound produced by a policeman* rattle quickly reiolxed. This cry, or the bird-catcher's imitation of it. ne\er failto attract to the -.pot all the bell-bird's within hearing." Hull, r gii<'^ it-, other names as meeker. Korunako, and m;tkomako.

Perhaps some readers who ha\e an intimate knowledge of the bird and its haunt -> will favour "'Old limes" with other particulars.

STARLINGS OX TOAST

Have any of you tried this dainty? The following is cut from a ladies' column. " Feminine Facts and Fancies, ' in, I think, the Melbourne Argus: —

''A country hostess, who naturally regards the killing of larks for food as> mo-t reprehensible, confesses to having turned an Italian recipe for cooking these birds to most, excellent account. s>he lives in a starling-infested locality. and has much to say about these much-discussed members of feathered society. ' The grasshopper plague descends on us, and we give the crops up for lost, when down comes the starling and saves the situation. We hail him as a delherer a? he departs, when, behold, he returns cheerfully, and devours the grain we thought he had saved for us. It's the same in the orchard. He descends and consumes m*xt>. flies away, and when the fiuit is ripe come 1 ; back and consumes that too. When wo are not blessing starlings we are cutting them. We are supplementing the process by eating them too, and I iirmly believe if people only knr-w what excellent " quail on toast " and " brai'-cil larks*' these starlings make, tho Melbourne market would absorb thousands of them. The little sinners are almost alwav* fat. and if something- is not done soon ihey will eat us out of house and home. I cook

them in a stewpan with butter, bacon, and a glass of white wine, and however my men folk rail at starlings loose. I have never had any objections raised to them on the table.' " THE MIGRATORY BIRDS ARE COMING.

I wonder if I have any young readers who note the arrival and departure of migrants. According to " Animals of NewZealand," the god-whs are due in Otago from the North Polar Regions about the end of the month. What a tale they could tell if they could .'•peak!* They*can be distinguished by the tripod fashion they extract dainty morsels from the ooze. Then there are the impudent parasites, the cuckoos. The shining or bronze cuckoo from New Gum pa ought to be here by now (pipiwharauroa. the Maoris call it), and the long-tailed cuckoo. perhaps from New Guinea, too, ought to be here before the month is up. Dr Fulton, of Dunedin. has made a special study of these rascals. Look iuto the nests of the Native canary, the grey warbler, the tui. the robin, the tomtit, and the white-eye, and see if there is a strange egg in the nest. You might find one in the nests of imported birds, too. I may give you another note on the cuckoo some other day.

Just after writing the above our editor handed over to me the following note from J. Rimu: —

The little cuckoo lias been calling in Cathns Binc-a the 2lst of September, but I d.d not hear it myself until Tuesday, the 25th. I have heard it every day sue*. It is much efiilier this year. I never beerd it calling in September before. I have ssen it as lats as tho loth of October in Cat in«. I have heard nothmg of the long-tailed cuckco this season. . And this on the bittern : —

Km'och, October 1, 1906.

Dear Magistar,— l ha\e just been reading the notes in your column anent the lxtteru. I may state there have been bitterns in thu locality, to my knowledge, for -Llie last 10 years, and one can be seen any day within a mils of the lake and post office at Kinloch. I have seen it quite frequently, and have often been close to it. One was reported us shot about two years ago, so whether tlieio ba more than one now I could not say. 1 do net "think it ever leaves the locality which it frequents, which is a marshy prea cf small extent— say, about half a mile f-quaie.—ex-tending back from the lake It^ never fl:cs very far away when distmbed.— W. A. G.

THE TREES' PARTY. Th's is a bright piece, and fit" in wiih the joyotisness of the beautiful spring v.o are having: — Our orchard ga-"e a ccrcert ar.d a paity for the trees; The trees brought the birdies and the flowers brought the bees ; The birdies did the singing, while the bees just hummed a tune. And the fxoggies in the little brcok came m with their bassoon. Old Mother Nature gave tlie trees new gowns. both rich and .gay. Of most becoming sliade3 of green, with posies apphaue- , „ . . It was as gay a gathering as one could wish to see — Bright colours flaunting gorgeously on pear and apple tree. The concert was a swell affair; the orchestra was fine ; Breezes whispered to the branches, and the branches kept the time ; But I've some shocking tales to tell — I'm blushing. I declare — Boes bo'dly kissed the blossom 0 , and the blossoms didn't care! A giddy robin red.breast flirted scand'lous with a wren ; She sirufered and looked modest, but she flirted back again ; And then a, saucy blackbird, spick and span iv brand-new clothes. Trilled out the sweetest notes of leve to other birches' beans. The leaves were green v.uh er.vy as the lovenoles flew around , Some grew «o agitated that they fluttered to the giound. Just here a gruff old bull hog m ducoid<tnt toiifs of bass. Said to a uttle ti'dpole that she had a pretiy face At this the tadpole wiggled, ar.d the gossips. it is said. Are sure the silly creature has a bad case of " big head.'' The revelry grew wilder as the shades of uight grew deeo And then the whole cieation went a-snoring fast asleep. ■ — Sarah Babbitt Buller, in " Our Dumb Animals."

THE HISTORY OF MILTON". I am sorry I have not u=ed thib before but it will appear in a week or so.