NEW ZEALAND BIROS.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13918, 1 June 1909, Page 7

NEW ZEALAND BIROS.

LECTURE BY Ml* STEAD

Probably the most interesting lecture on bird life ever given in Timaru was that given last evenrng by Mr Edgar F. Stead, of C'hrNtehurch. in St. Mary's Hall, Bank Street, under the auspices of St. Mary's Young Men's Society. Mr Stead had a lot 'of beautiful pictures depicting birds in their native haunts, and these were reproduced on the screen very nicely by Mr Hardy, the lecturer keeping up a running fire of comment as they were shown. The views had been taken by Mr Stead, and some of them must have been secured at a good deal of personal risk judging by the account given of the task by Mr Stead. In some cases it took four persons to secure a single photograph, one han."ins: from the other over steep cliffs when it was desired to ••take" a bird '.on its nest and there was no other way of -reaching it. The lecture was divided into three parts. .First, the birds that nest in trees, cliffs, and swamps were shown and spoken about: then followed a most interesting discourse illustrated bv pictures of birds which make riverbeds their home: and lastly, some views of prettv native bush were exhibited, the speaker telling when these were on the screen the different parts of the hn«h mostfancied bv different bird«. rfe spoke first of the domesticated little fantail familiar to all, showed its nest and its eggs, and mentioned with pleasure that it was in Canterbury at all events. The <rcy warbler was shown to build an oblong Tiect with a hole in one sid* through which the young are fed. b-th male and female assisting in l™l-- ; ng after the vaiiii". .Speakuif the blip-lit bird (known more famil'-"-ly as the white-eveV Mr Stead sa»d *hat this little bird came f>-oni Australia originally to Stewart Island. :nd gradually worked its way up through the Middle and North Islands. These birds would eat fruit, but net to any <:re-t extent, ard any little harm t'sey might do in this way was more than eoun-terbalar-'-ed by the good thev did in eating blight. Nests, each with eggs in, were shown of the woedhen. the nnkaki, and the hawk. Mr Stead explained that the wootUien generally hmlds a lot of nests, and then selects the best: the pnkakf\built in rushes 10 or 12 feet, and sometimes out in the onen grass close to a swamn. They provided a floating platform for the nest, so that if the water rose the 7«» st would float and not be swamped. The harrier generally built in swamps, and laid from three' to seven eggs at irregular intervals, so that the young tltd riot all hatch at the same time. When the harrier attacked a pukaki the practice of the latter was to sit tifdit and snueal, when- a host of his fellows would come to his assistance, and the moral effect would.be such as to scare the hawk away. A verv fine picture of a wounded hawk was shown, and the sneaker stated that though the bird looked very fierce it could not'hurt a person's finger if put in its month, provided the finger was not held rieid, but allowed to move with the bird's head. " This, he said, applied to all birds of prey. The-chubby little penguius were next dealt with, and it was said that in an encounter with stoats and weasels these birds come off best. The grey duck was spoken of, and soine time -was devoted to the shag, Mr Stead repeating his plea for this much-abused yet interesting bird, Knowing a host of pictures of the various species of it. and telling how and where it fishes and nests and rears its voting. Coming to riverbed birds, Mr Stead told of the pretty little dotteril, how carelessly, it lays its eggs on the sand? anefhavfufjs colour harmonises so nicely'with the stones and sticks among which it lives, that it is a very difficult matter to find it on its nest. The black and.'white stilt (often seen at the Washdyke lagoon), the redbiil, the plover, the teriij the black-backed gull, the flying albatross, the wood pigeon, the kingfisher, the little owl, the grebe, the bittern, and the black swan were all in turn dealt with in a most attractive way, and the pictures and descriptions given of the birds which rear their young in schools or colonies were very tine. Many of the pictures shown' were taken in the Kakaia Gorge, with its high terraces, and there were others taken from all parts of this island. At the- close of the lecture Mr Stead was very heartily r.pplauded. The chairman, Mr F. J. Dunn, spoke of the great value of such a lecture, as did also the Rev. T. M. Curuow and Mr R. \V. Simpson, and a vote-of thanks was passed to Mr Stead by hearty acclamation. In acknowledging the compliment, he said that he took-these pictures for hS own pleasure, but the pleasure was added to when he was abie to show them to such an appreciative s.udienc* as he had that night. '['he native birds were getting all too few in number, and his desire was to arouse a greater interest in them, so that they might he protected and given a longer lease of life in their native country.