IN TOUCH WITH NATURE.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LV, Issue 13921, 27 March 1909, Page 10

IN TOUCH WITH NATURE.

TEN DAYS OS THE WEST COAST. TOMTITS AAD Tlli-'Jil HABITS. (By JAMES DRUMMOND, F.L.S., F.Z.S.) During my vi^it, Lo Mr. Gatcb'3 place, near Hoivitika, l'&,aw more tomtits than any other birds, i never went into the bush without arcing home of thorn, .and at nearly all time* of the day they could bo mot near his residence amount the trees. There are two tit*, indeed, that include the hoiis^ and the whole cleat ing in their particular district, wlvich covers several acres oi iorest land. Thew two little birds are mi>/prisiivli' tame and friendly, fins.. u> accounted ior partly by their trusting nature, which they share with tits in I all parts of Nvw Zealand, but main y jv the gentle and generous treatment given to"them by Mr. (iat»s. They have jeen hi:, friends and comrades tor seven >ears er more, and he and they are on terms oi familiarity not often established between human beings and the wild children of the forests. When food is scarce and worms obstinately hide iii the earth, the tits find 9JiPP»,es in a tin on Mr. (Jates's verandah. Ihe most tasty insects the land possesses are sought out for them, and whenever supplies can be pb.tamcd they are made available rt a spot which Mr. Gates and the birds know well. There is hardly a day that he docs not hold communication with them, and often when he has been away all day »° n K ne finds the tits waiting on branches near hv to give him a welcome back, and to receive his kind attention. Early on the first morning I spent in the fores*, Mr. Gates asked me to come out and be introduced to his pets. I here were no birds in sight, but he began to call the tits in a loud voice, and to imitate their chirrup by drawing in 'the lips and making a solfc labial sound. He had fossicked in ,the garden tor grubs, and lie now held several in the palm of his outstretched .hand. Jiy-and-bye there was a "tweet-tweet m the foliage of a- I arse pine-tree some distance away. A ball of fluffy leathers fluttered down to a small tree within ten or twelve- feet of the house, then to a rail, and then, with a quick movement, on to Mr. Gates's hand, where it took two of the grups and flew leisurely away with them. He usually gives them their breakfast. They. .conic to him more readily in the morning than at other times, but they have no hesitation in responding to his call, at all times. , Thej have preferences m their diet. Their weakness is a small white grub, found in wood. They eat eartli worms only when they arc very hungry, and they find that lame grubs are rather difficult for little birds to manage. They take Mr. Gatra s friends on trust, and. are as friendly with thorn as they arc with him. There is a good deal of jealousy in their -little breasts. The male is not at all pleased when t«b much attention is shown to the female. Otherwise the sexes are on the best of terms, and their lives are marked by domestic felicity. 1 Although the female takes in hand most of the work at the building of the nest, the male often helps her, >and when the family is increased, which occurs regularly once a year, the male feeds both the mother and the ypungjsters when her duties tie. her to the nest. Sometimes, if the male is away when Mr. Gates calls, the female flits down from her nest, *eize!» the grub, and flits rapidly hack again, without •stopping to be petted. f , , • The male, apparently, largely dominates the female. His supremacy seems to he tacitly acknowledged by her.. The pair have been watched closely, anu on no occasion has she beeta known to <hs4)Ute his will. He displaya a groat deal of anxiety in regard to. her welfare. When she goes down to receive the grubs he ibfteu sits on a branch gome distance away, and, with a quick, intelligent air, watches the operation. Occasionally he gives a sharp suppressed note of warning, and then, like a flash, she is away on the high branch of a tree. She has so much confidence in Mr. Gates's friendship that she has no hesitation in bringing her young ones to ljook for grubs near the house. Both parents do their duty to their family while the little ones are helpless; but as soon as they -become big birds, and are able to make their own way in the world, they are off and chased out of tho district, to seek their fortunes in other parts of the forests.

The young females seem to be grateful 'to * both parents, but the young males are sometimes ungrateful enough to attack the old male and to deal out to him rather severe punishment. This conduct, apparently, is quite common amongst tits. On one occasion Mr. Gates had to step in and actually save the life of an old male tit which had been attacked by young males, presumably its oivn chicks. There is a great deal of trouble when one male invades the domain of another male, but it is child's play coafpared to the trouble that is fcau&od when a i'emale finds another of her ovvai sex on her preserves. There in f- absolutely no quarter. Tho bitterest feeling is shown on both sides. The sharp little bills, cracking together, are used like rapiers with deadly effect, and not infrequently the fight ends in the death of one of the combatants. It is believed that these most unnatural duels are brought about by the fact that one female has lost her nmte and wishes to take the mate belonging to another female. At any rate, the presence of a strango female is not regarded as a friendly visit. It is presumed that she is aft^v no good. Tho proof of her honesty lies in the quickness with which she takes her leave.

■ I was improved with one peculiarity in tli;* appearance of the tits near Hokitika. The North Island ami South Island tits are distinguished by the colours of their breasts. In tho North Island the tits have pure-white breasts, and in the South Island they have bright yellow breasts. All the tits that T saw, however, had white breasts. The white was a very dirty white, it is true, but it certainly wars not yellow, and Mr. Gates told me that thd yellow breast is lost during the whole, of the moulting season by both male and female. It conies again latpr on, and is then specially bright. I do Hot think that this has been noted before. The male's colours are always more pronounced fhan the female's.

His head, neck and back are jet Mac'-. while she is brown on top and j.-; throat is brownish-whit". Ihv male i, a poor specimen of a bird when he 1. moulting. He is a dilapidated ri^irauffin, and the loss of ionic of hi-. tail feathers makes him very ndjeul<;;r, in tho eyes of everybody. \\ hen My is in this condition ho seems to lose lir-ielf-rospeet and to ke«p out of su 1 lit as much as possible . With ln.s i^w suit, he becomes sprightly a^f'-in and loves to display his plumage, which, iJ not yaudy, is neat and spruce.