BIRDS OF THE SEA

Taranaki Daily News, 22 November 1930, Page 1 (Supplement)

BIRDS OF THE SEA

MAORI NATURE NOTES'

(By

J.H.S.

—Copyright.)'

The Gannet.—

The takupu (a chief) ko to takupu 'l tenei nana nga korero nui, (’tis. a rangatira who makes great talks), is our well known gannet. The gannet is at least a silent member when on the chief quest of his life—the search for food. On land, where thousands, aye, tens of thousands sit side by side at breeding tim£, no doubt they gossip freely of the coming brood. He is an expert on the wing and in the water, but a poor landsman. To see him flying swiftly, then suddenly wings, drop from fifty feet, and dives--' upon his selected grey deep into the. water, is a thing to admire. He seldom misses his catch or fails to swallovy, it alive.

Happily the gannets’ nesting grounds in Hawke’s Bay can no longer be disturbed by crowds of irresponsibles, whose mischief led the intervening land owners to bar the way except by special permit. No one really interested should miss so memorable a visit where he may mingle freely with, them unafraid as so many broody, hens. The Champion Aeronaut, —

The toroa pango (th© black toroa) is ' ■ the champion aeronaut whose easy ' flight of six hundred miles probably gave us the first dream of the modern , flying plane. Even now, every ..flying pilot watches his ability to float aloft without a tremdr-of wing, tail, or feet ' with growing envy and perplexity. It Is an unsolved problem as- to how atmospheric pressure and gravity are sus-

pended for half an hourv at wilL One pilot believes that .the bird always sails on the surface of ari air current and in

the same direction. Similarly this black sea plane will skim the surface of the water for hours without.,touching it. In flight or on the water h’e/seems to be ever silent. • There are evidences that; his powers of sight are equal to his .flight in distance. Thp nest is madey&i the high cliffs and is seldom eeeni .OI?! .time Jack Tars declared that the '/|iird6 were hatched full -grown or lived ;on the nest for a year; as they could never identify the young. \ The Sailor’s Mollyhawk.— , / •' The toroa iti (small toroa) is . -the Mollyhawk of the sailor. He is white, with black wings, blue bill and blue legs when young, changing to yellow. He is not, such an expert high flyer as. , his big brother the toroa, but a better swimmer and fisher, - though not a good sportsman, for he allows the ;little reoreo to dive for a fish which he promptly annexes after a chase. ? Toroa ma is the Maori name fop the Snowy Albatross and also for the white cap Molly hawk. The big white bird is • now rarely seen in. New Zealand waters 1 but takes the place of pride in 1 the; : Tropics. A curious feature in the ■ breeding habit of the Albatross i hear 1 our shore is the nest of grass and earth taken from the moat about niniT’feet'; /• round the elevated platform in the : I centre. There were no animals / ing enemies, so we may wonder what im / . stinet prompted the building of this /... castle. The white cap. Mollyhawk. .. differs only from the toroa iti in colour.’ and comparative rarity. : / The Wandering The toroa (t-o stretch), or great Wap.,-; dering ■ Albatross, is a white giant wiiyj. black lines on the . back, hooked bedfeet and legs pink, and epread'of .whg up to twelve feet. A. ven tabled kng of the air, where he may-'foyoy- c a •vessel without visible' for 1 ■’sfiyb' hundred miles. On-, sea t'th'ay 'jogt easily,’‘but he is no .fisherman' apd never , wets his head. In-" the a»t pf alighting, all grace. of| movemejij<is, abandoned, and he'is compelled jb flap awkwardly along the • supfickr;/using outstretched feet as peddles fifty yards. On land or on bo is equally helpless, and musM a strong breeze to enable? lifjirtp rise. His food, apart, from sttH/s jefuse, is- - said, to .consist' mainly cifitle 'fish;- . ’ but one would like 'Ttc. actual fight before belief in tjhis. tleory. In ■ keeping with' their size* th?, birds do . not, reach maturity years, though they are bundled f ,»ut of the nest each year to make ro?m for the .■£ new babies. ' '

The Tern.— ■ The tarapunga (s£oniT-&c.hor.) is the tern, of which thereTar&iseVeral varie-. ties identified by -WMaSfi, as taraiti, taranui, tarateo, tarakakao, ctc.f each indicating some distinctive feature. The birds feed in ' ■ the seashore, and when y oungtpre' ; easily captured. With one joint of ?£ wiig-' removed, they are model gardeners, Wing exclusively on snails, slugs,; and<< other pests. If provided with' fresh 'dean water every day, they firsij.-and bathe after, r never the reverse. - 'They have been known to live .-under, these favourable; conditions on b>wling green for *• twenty-three any change of appearancei&br; even being “off;., colour” for a sihgls day. < In their ipti;ive f element they div® from a great .height to seize their prey, • which is geiififally a crab or a cryfish deep in the wafer. Every enclosed garden should' liave a pair. They are / interesting pets;and beautiful though shy. ''g i '.\V : £ ; . -• The Black Petrel.— . ' ;

The taiko" (leper) is the black petrel. Old whalers X'gave it an opprobrious name because- of the repulsive odour from its body and its nest in the ground or a hole iii th© rocks. The smell is likened to that of the skunk, and ia probably The bird is as black as tie night in which it flies swiftly and unseen across the sea on a foraging expedition. It lives during the day in burrow on the highest point of a rocky island. Th© Maori regarded it with superstitious dread, and its wailing night cry was likened by the pakeha to the warning of the fire siren. Of course the mystery surrounding it was increased by its’jet black plumage, nocturnal habit, swift flight, and a weird cry unlike that of any other bird. It is not shy,gand may be handled, in the burrow/but fights against intrusion. It is 'believed that the bird is found only in *?jew Zealand; but it may easily ; escape observation in rough rocky / heights elsewhere.