NATURE—AND MAN.

Waikato Times, Volume 112, Issue 18803, 26 November 1932, Page 7

NATURE—AND MAN.

KINDNESS WINS THE BIRDS SCENIC VALUE OF FORESTS. (By Leo Fanning). The thing I'd like best in the whole or the land , t _ m , r Is to have a wild sparrow come sit on mi A little" wild sparrow, or robin, or linnet Come sit on my hand and eat ciumhs th And a jr? when it’s done, it would rather I’d just love’to watch it n - v / r l el L a ?;' ay! Joyce L. Brlsley. Anybody striving patiently in the way of kindness, can win the confidence of birds until they will teea fearlessly from the hand. Tins friendly touch of man or woman with birds may be seen frequently during lunch-time in Wellington where the “public pigeons’* perch on certain folk in the sure hope for something good. Even some of the common sparrows have similar faith in humanity, N?t long ago I was sitting on a bench in the Wellington Botanical Gardens gazing at daffodils as they nodded their golden heads to the caress of a gentle spring breeze. A cock-sparrow hopped up to me and paused expectantly at my feet. Evidently he was used to feasts of crumbs from friends at that spot, and although I was a stranger ho had similar trust in me. It is well known, of course, that many of the native-birds quickly get on a friendly basis with folk who are kind to them. “There is no such thing as a wild bird,” says Captain Sanderson, honorary secretary or tne Native Bird Protection Society. By that remark he means that the socalled “wildness” of a bird is not inherent in the bird, but is caused by enemies (Including mankind, alas I) Call of the Forest. The Thermal Wonderland of Rotorua, Waitomo Caves, the Wanganui River, Nit. Egmont. Mt. Cook, Franz Josef Glacier, the Southern Lakes and Fiords and other well-known featuies of New Zealand have their recognised tourist value, but probably the worth of the native forest from that viewpoint is not yet properly appreciated. Yet in the eyes of many Americans and Australians, the evergreen ferny forest, with its freshness and peace, ranks very high in scenic charm. When a former Consul of the United States was leaving the Dominion he requested the Government Publicity office to permit him to make a selection of scenic photographs. He duly made his choice —and about threefourths of the pictures were views of forest Interiors and exteriors.

Apart from the tourist matter, New Zealand Is vitally concerned with the preservation of forests, which are also a very important scenic asset. The Brave Kingfisher. New Zealand's Kingfisher is not a big bird, hut it is very brave. The Australian magpie is a fierce defender of its nesting-place, but it has no greater courage than the smaller Kingfisher. “They will tolerate no intrusions into their home, and resent trespassers even In the vicinity,” remark the authors of “Animals of New Zealand.” “The female has often been seen to meet a person 200 or 300 yards from her voung, dash at the Intruder, return to the place where the young were perched and repeat the attack several times. A kingfisher "has been known to attack and drive back a dog, and, on some occasions, it will make one of Its famous lightning darts Into a group of pigeons or other birds, merely. apparently, for the sake of standing by and enjoying their terror. While • sheep and cattle have been allowed to graze close to a nest, a cat, a dog, or a human being has been determinedly attacked. Tuls Are Not Timid. A preceding article has mentioned that tuis quickly chased away some starlings which were poaching on their preserve of flowering flax. Another chronicle of the tuis’ valour mentions their onsets against longtailed cuckoos. The tuis evidently know that the cuckoos look for opportunities to sneak their eggs into other birds’ nests, and therefore war is declared against the impudent rascals. Mr W. W. Smith says that he has seen tuis utter a wild-alarm call, boldly assail a cuckoo, and pursue it through the bush. As the cuckoo is- able to offer only a feeble resistance to a number of angry tuis, it seeks safety In flight, and its superiority in this respect soon takes it out of danger. The cuckoo is evidently too cunning to try to slip an egg into the nest of the hostile tui. It prefers to impose on the gentle little warbler.

Bird Intelligence. Many folk who are not close students of birds may have an impression that all members of the same species are much alike, and act wholly In accordance with inherited instinct, i Observation shows variations of Intel- J ligence among birds of the same kind. For example, the common black-back-ed gull is not a diver, but one day near the Petone end of Wellington Harbour, I saw one of those gulls dive several times. The plunges were ■from only a few feet above the water, but they' were complete dips for two or three seconds. Many other gulls were near that spot, but only one had developed diving sense and skill. At the other end of the intelligence scale was another black-backed gull which I watched in Evans Ray, Wellington. Flying low near the shore it noticed a dense shoal of sprats, swimming slowly near the surface. Did that gull make an easy dive? It did not. Did it show any intelligence? it did not. It alighted on the water, and tried to stalk those fish. It crouched on the water, and paddled along very quietly, and always the fish took" flight before the hunter worked within a yard or two of them. If the gull had remained perfectly still the fish would have probably come, within easy range of that butchoring beak, ever'ready for a lunge. That thick-whitted gull’s diving brother of petone would have had a great least that day. Tamo Red-Billod Gulls. The dove-like red-billed gulls, numerous in some harbours, seem to have more sense than their larger black-backed relatives. Roth are protected; bread is cast upon the ’ ~,(ers for them ami also upon the wharves The red-hilled birds seem to work on this line of reasoning: ••We. are not worried by those big wingless creatures. Indeed they throw us whole sprats or pieces Therefore we’ll t ' loso to nn,i ~v to coax more food from them.” Tbev will walk softly up to the back of an unsuspecting fisherman, and steal (Continued in next column.)

bail that if within reach of his hand, black-backed gulls are never so daring. They will loiter near by, but usually they will not go williiu four or live yards of a flesherinan. Their lack of confidence denies them many til-bits which llie red-bills enjoy. The only comfort that the lug fellows can llmi is when one of the little chaps seizes a piece which is lon large for one gulp. lie (hitlers away with iI, a few yards—and immediately lie is chased by the black-hacks, one of which soon lias the booty.