IN TOUCH WITH NATURE

Otago Witness, Issue 2902, 27 October 1909, Page 12

IN TOUCH WITH NATURE

NOTES 'ON NATURAL HISTORY IN NEW ZEALAND. (By James Drummond, F.L.S., F.Z.S.) : Mr Elsdon Best- states that the "morepork " owl was believed by the Maoris to give warnings of danger. It was supposed that if a hostile" party approached, tbe " ruru," as the Maoris called it, cried out in the evening, " Kou ! kou ! ' whero! whero! whero!' The notes were interpreted as representing: " Arise and fly! iiy fleeing you escape the enemy, who .. - 3-.-auit the- empty hamlet!' 1 There was a taying amongst the Maoris : " The cry ot the iuru is • Jibu ! kou;' It answered b\ a pereon, it replies, 'Kou! kou!' It will -eply agaui, ' Kou ! kou!' But at the s Third or lourth cry it will cease to reply." | At Te a Putenga, Ruatoki, iv the Bay" of Plenty distiict, thei© is a belief that" two ..jbino •• mo- eporlcs," called Kaliu and Jvau. give signs as ro whether the ceabou* :ro likely to be prolific oi not. They ne ■ ixdoweri with supernatural power.-.. Is a it-i'-on belonging- to the di.-trlct goes to ihe iof-e-:t ana taKes birds ard boms thun ;or iiottini.', and the two albino owl.- ii t - oear. it is a sign that there will be \t mnttnl season, if the owls do not appear when .the fiist bird iias been boned, th^icwill be a lean season, and the fowlei. having read the signs;, returns. Mr Best .- dd- (- a note on the mythical origin of the kiwi and other bird. 1 -. It se?n:.s that Tangauu-akiu-akiu was the offspring of the goU Tan had Feven children. The fir-t \>as Noho-tumutumu, " Stiunp-.-itter," tlw origin of tho kawau, or shag; the next wa.-Aloe-tahuna. '"Sleeper on Sandbanks." !].<> < :igin and pf-rsoniricat.ion of the duck; then came Haeic-awanva, " Cullv-rakar, ' the oiigin of the kiwi; th<-n Turuki, apparently a personified foim ot moulting birds: then Hakaiiai. which was buliev-.-d T > be -a bird heari] only at night in /firmer times, and known to Ponit- tribe*- a- hokiui. The ]ast t«o were Tu-te-wehiwe!n and lu-'le-wanawaim, who were the orr-in oi lizards. ° ( Dealing with the branching nikou. M. Be-t sgys:— '• A bianrhiny toi. oi Cou(-. hue mdivisa. is. I think, a iare thin'-. At an\rate. I have not seen one in the'il-ia-toki distiicr. A fino sperimen of the toi >tainls= be-idc- the Taumata-miere trail at Kotore-mu. I have often admired it a-, I lode alonj (he trail, it.s leaves be.'n > 8;: i in width. Some time ego a soulie-- r utsL,n ot the local abcvigiiu s cut off the top <.f tins hue trie, in on'.er to prcnide » part..] meal fo, him- If. On my la-t tiip thiou^'n the guldi J noted tbat se\\-i(,l lif^Js had i'Jimerl i.n the nuitihrted ciown. sh .wuv a Miroious gi,),-.tli. It will be o f mttMv-.^ to oWeive wjielher w not tlu-e will .!,■ vtlop inuj so many blanches." \ r-orreftpr.ndeiH states that th,. wrv-biUc-d j.lover. whu-h is t)ie only bird 'in Ihe world k.own to have its l,i»" turned („ V ' c ! : If ' c '- '" --I'^vly disappwimicf „-0,, i th.* Nortli C.'.iiterbiuy x!i-tiii-t. A few wnpgo it w,.- abim.lajjt. 11 usunlly f.npe.iH about t'-it- lir-t w-jek i:i September, at th ■ c-^ine fnif ;is the dottLM-fl-. a -id it |i v -l :>nd noted in th ■ same Inca lit ic>> .is Hivv lavour. Tiie pev tiJiarity in the sitane (it tiv wiy-bilifcd pl O \e:-'s bill ha< nu'zHcd many onntholo.cct-. Sir Walt Bullor ;md oih-n- nr.f.-iiui-tov.s have t-v.unhen n tiieory bas='d on utilitai ian ground.-'. Th-\-niggf^t that the bent bill oive- tho bird sper.al f?filit.(« in »eg..id to ontanii.ig '[■od .npplp--. 'T have notice,! on the niei liPrK. att^.- a n.^h." my corn > 1 ioi ! lent sr.y-. "tJ IP :i! ril | v -^ o f theic fevt <m the .-.Tiid -ironti-l pool,--, l.ut I, could not fn,d ,irv inaik> to .-how that their bills h-i.l bn,'.. i"cd -iUway-.^ They breed and make ii apolu4y icir ;i nest on' tho -hinglf. the si;n.. :i.i tiio <!oU<-i <_>!-. but aie iniuli inoi,- v ; r V iiiid I'ard- , to appiomh. and ih ni:i';i iiunlrir. _ Tbcv -oou di.-Mj)|;r-,u ifte the boding -,'l-om i- ovei . " l-'-niiiti Iv tii v !' v i.mi 1 fa^h year about the -mv tn,... T-.'.-tT -.'.-t \ear. h«>wc\tr. I toubl n.»t ln.d unv :-' '! 't is the -aine this \c;u Ila«.> .t... <>I M'Hi < nnc-jiomk-nt- nolf 1 ti • \ a'l-en ... and do ihf\- know w iieis thj- iiitd- .; > t • 'ii the white. Air J W. Murdoch, of H.!fipo.,n Btv, Stewp.il l-'and. is -etkiuo intcnm iti-m ,n repaid to Ih" bieedma bnl>!t> </ the kaki. ]lo wants to know it the kaka-, lire- J -twice a year. He says that he has found their ne-t^. rontainin" bot'n t'g«s \ud \ounc:. in A]»iil. and he is certain that in Klevjiii I<l-nul they bre^d from th- end of M-ivth t) the- beqinniiis; of May r aii! vc-ar. On the West Coast, howovc-i. ii? has found K?kas' e<j;gs in Januaiy. Mr V. Phillip.-, of Kaitoke. in the Noitii T-Uuid. filate- that there is i:« doubt tint th" " niorepork "' attacks btid.-. Las' June, he -a_\.-. about 5 o'clock in the own iup hi^ biothfV. while going utoss svii'f padoSrk-. hid his attention draw n tf> a ]ie< unar noise in a hug^ white pi'ie. Fio::i a hole in tho tiee theie suddei'K- i'.sut-ri a biail: ball of feather-. whi< it teil to the Li'Tid. K\amination showed tha.t it \sa;i " «iTi:cp,)ik" with a starling Ja->pt-d in its -1-iws. Ihmi the owl was mt.-rf^ied with ii 13,.l 3 ,. w slowly art ay. and settled oil a .-lump t-'vj-p )iv. The- stai-lmc; M>nn re <o\ered _:ui-' t u>>K to the wino. hut thn owl w.^.- on it ?■,■"«• It caught its victim. (rni'd it ,ib',.n two chair.-> aw.i\ . ar.-l M-ti'id il«.vn to f-nt it, but ri,\> -tailing w=i;i<;ain it-n:td. ..nd finally e-cipcJ. Mr H. Car.- p. of ICai-iki. Man^unui. in tip north ot Aiuklaud district. =ui>pli« s a noli' whirli illu?tiate> the ingenuity ot :i f|iiai'. In the spring, two yeas-, ago, Mhile he wa.- rutting blac!:bfri ies, ho accidentally luicoveied a quail's nt*at with ahout a dozen e^sj- in it. He wan afraid <ha» tho female -would desert ihe nest, and to uno her a 'rhanfo. lie slopped rutting at tliat place. Next day Ik> lookvsJ at the nc.-t a<j«i'n. Tr> his great surprise, ha found Ihat *-he had rot -only remained faithful to her trust, but had built a dt»m<»-<hapc-d co\.M- over th? neisl to alude jt from i\w sun. The donr:c was made of flirt t-tiff culms of locksfoot and "' wiwi," with eoft-er .t-.- and moss iiit-ertMined. On tlie

sba-dy side there was an entrance. Within a week the young quail were hatched. Mr Carse says that he would be glad to know if such cleverness has been noticed in the quail before. " When I first visited thus part of the country, nearly 30 years ago," writes a correspondent in Patea, " though it was virgin bush, with only occasional Maori clearings ih the river, there were no kiwis and few wekas. About 20 years ago I noticed the call of a kiwi. New there are thousands of these birds. All through the hus»h there are signs of them everywhere, and their caL can be heard every night. Dogs kill them, and they are sometimes burned in bush fires. Still they are plentiful, but I have found only four or five nests with eggs."