BIRDS OF THE BUSH

Taranaki Daily News, 18 January 1930, Page 1 (Supplement)

BIRDS OF THE BUSH

MAORI NATURE NOTES

(By

J.H.S.—Copyright.)

The Godwit. —

The Kuaka, or godwit, is as famed in the history of migration as is Cook in that of navigation. The departure of godwits in tens of thousands from the far North is seen by .many personawho know to a day when to look for it. The habit is persisted in by each fresh generation, though it is obvious that myriads must perish on every journey. Departing in great number and breeding in the other hemisphere, they return only in scores. But each year finds the quota. Some day there will be found a more likely reason for the great (light than that it is merely a survival of the age-old habit, confirmed in them a million years ago,. when we linked up with Europe as one great continent. • They may be identified by the. grey and brown plumage and more than average length of bill. The flight of the godwit from Te Reinga is a source of vVorld-wide interest. The Spoonbill Duck.— The Kuruwhengi (weary one) is probably, like other Maori translations, only a fanciful idea so far as the meaning of its name is concerned. “The stealthyone” would perhaps more aptly/name, it, for it moves but little and is»not easily found. It is generally known- as the. spoonbill duck) and is commonly regarded as a visitor from-Australia, - where it is said to be plentiful., bor several seasons the bird becomes very, scarce, then it reappears in flocks. _ It favours muddy shores as feeding grounds, and. finds food, among ’the watei weeds. . Unlike the big brother the karakahia, it does not dive. It nests far from the waterside haunts, perhaps on the mountain sides to which it- retires for several months. Other birds of the duck tribe which are on the 'long • highway to losing the power of flightin the total absence of animal enemies are the patekc, a poor flier, and the pere kei (flightless) duck, which scrambles over the rocks as awkwardly ns a seal. Specimens are preserved in the sanctuaries, but even these are not likely to survive. The penalty of idleness is extinction. The New Zealand Quail. — The Koreke, or New Zealand quail, known to the Maori as manu oho (treasure bird), is now numbered among our vanished friends of the fern flats, where quail used, to live literally in thousands. The birds were plump, fat and tender, and the supply was regarded as endless. Among the sandy fern dunes in the old Whanganui. (Wanganui) township competitions of ■ killing were carried on with as keen a zest as a golf tournament of to-day. As the birds were of low;-.short flight, the sporting dog and the schoolboy caught more than the average bag. Fern fires to clear the land for grazing were the main cause of their rapid disappearance. An eight-foot paling fence kept them in captivity, where feeding and safety from enemies made them tame as a domestic fowl.

Though Californian quail multiplied hero as first, they too disappeared like magic after a few years of increase. Perhaps the game laws and the Arms Act would justify further trials of importation on a large scale. Happily these protective measures are having good effect in the restoration of many Maori birds. The Bell Bird.—

The komako or koriinako haunted the sheltering leaves of the makomako, and fed upon the honey of the korai'i (flax flower) in season. It has been our beloved “bell bird." since Joseph Banks of Captain Cook’s staff likened its well tuned melody to a thousand tiny silver bolls. It is about the size of a canary, but is more graceful in form. In the olden days a fashion writer said it was “the ambition of every pretty maid to appear in a Princess robe of olive green, shaped like a bell bird, with voice as sweetly tuned, and manner as daintily graceful.” There is no question that the almost total disappearance of the komako for the past 25 years was due to the cutting of the flax stalks by millers, and the burning of 'the bush by farmers. Within four or five years the spread of the tree lucerne seed by our birds has given the bell birds a renewed supply of nectar. Their song is heard, and their nests are now found, in the home gardens where the lucerne grows. A peculiarity of the bird is the reddish, tint of its shining eye. The Chatham Island bell bird., is darker of colour and even richer in song than ours. The White Heron.—

The Kotuku Rerenga Tahi (messenger of a single flight) is otherwise brown as the rare, shy and lonely white heron of the marshes. Romantic young wives find in its Maori name a subtle reference to the well beloved visit of its English relative, the stork. The bird was tapu to the Maori, but the l atter found some way to secure the highly valued plume feather from its crest without injuring the original owner. 1 Ina adornment “piki kotuku” was, iiatuially prized for its rarity and beauty. Other birds of the species were brown or grey bittern or heron, called matuku in th® north and kotuku in the South Island, Their feathers, woven into the silky meshes of the hand dressed karakeko (flax) were of great value as whariki (mantles). The flesh was too tough for food when fresh, but like well, “ripened” venison it was a rare delicacy. This food was aptly named ‘kotuku. pirau,’ literally, ‘rotten.’ The birds were fish fed, and had to be borer fishers or die of starvation. The Blue Heron. —

For many years there has existed at the sugarloaf islands, New Plymouth, a colony of the Blue Heron. It is a slatey coloured bird, and may sometimes bo seen haunting the reefs at low water near the New Plymouth baths in search of food. It is a shy creature, and not easy to approach. It stands about teen inches in height. When id. fhg.i. it extends its long legs backward, and skims close to the bi'eascing wave*. Aiq crab, shellfish or small fish, that may become stranded is seized and devoured.