NATURE——AND MAN.

Waikato Times, Volume 119, Issue 19913, 16 June 1936, Page 10

NATURE——AND MAN.

BELL-BI‘RDS AND THIS. FEEDING AND SINGING IX GARDENS (By Leo Fanning). It; is very heart—warming to hear the good news that. many people in vari—ous districts are forming firm friend—ships with bell-birds and tuis by a policy of kind gardening which as—sures feasts for those ‘charmers. For example, Mrs P. Hoby, whose ‘home is at, Tutnraimaka (about, 15 miles from New Plymouth), told. me recentl}r that. bell—birds and ‘tuis came regularly to ‘her garden to enjoy nectar of flowers and berries. and they sisal}r paid for their feasts with songs, especially in early morning. In one bush of fuchsia i’uigens she saw seven bell—birds sip—ping the beautiful ohaliccs. Some of these feast—yielding shrubs are close to the house. but rthe birds have no fear of the folk who pass near. Sometimes when Mrs lloby used the iPiPp‘hnnc the hell—birds near the house sang in such Volume that the melody could he heard at the other end of the wire in New Plymouth. “Blackguard” Snags. In a previous issue I gave part of If. Guthrie—Smith‘s remarks on the raiinus conduct of a species- of shags in their nesting-pinch on a. rook islet of Stewart Island. Readers will enjoy another instalment (from “.\luttonBirds and Other Birds“) 2»—

] “The nests on the southern edge of . the. hrceding grounds are never, I he—lievo. finished. In this ‘Nn Man's t Land' nu pair of shags can complete their work. Here stand the ruins of - scores nt‘ half—built, and quarter-built inests, their walls broken and eroded iwith ronlinuous skirmishes. scufih 5 inns, and chusings. From the pillars rather more. advanced, the seaweed lining is pilfercd us isoon as spread. On the untidy floor. (Minty \\‘ith tramp—ling and gritty with guano, ‘sund, and fragments of ilsh hone, eggs are senttererl everynhere. Any real knowledge of the, building habits of these ; Stewart. Island shags cunnot 01' course be gathered in a day. but, I think that birds relegated to this Alsatia must he .hrevding for the first. time. Thim’ing, ‘ though general throughout the rulony, I does not, elsewhere culminate. in rum—.mumil ruin. Even, however, in the ibetter portion of the nesting rom—lllllllil)‘ stunting: is, :ill prevalent. und ail'tt-r illl hour uluiusl rcuses tn :ittrurl attention. "1 ‘lilVl‘ .\‘t‘l‘tl :l hird Like up in his iltilt t-s'gs. presumtihly {rum :1 strange ‘urnt. aunt \\ilh u slight Illl\\('l||t‘llt of 1 his hwut I‘llh' thrni nlhitlt‘. llr then, 1 rrmrlnhur. [ii-m'm-dmt nu hl:~ \\u)‘: Elllll. us this humwnml iuuuvdiutl-l)’ .tllvr hunting tht‘l‘n' \\.lS st. grunt u runt'usion I and Mt tllllt'll nl' illtl't'l‘H In t'ulluw that. liulxin: tli_\ I'.‘(‘ t'ur :l ill-lim'llt HIT tlliS 'lnu‘tit'ulur Inu'xl, l |u~t hilu 11l thi[crowd-

Pitlleu Pll'erlng. “Then. again. I saw a. bird ransack his next door neighbour's nest. In it there were little helpless jet-black.l naked chicks. No kind of pity was' shown them. . Their bedding was not taken a bit 'here and a rhit there. but borne 01! in huge greedy mouthfuls. until the wretched nestlings were left] bare on the sun-beaten top of theirl coprolitie pile. But I think the evi‘. propensities of the race were even! more markedly shown in a third case. The sinner was evidently, from his size, an old bird and one of tho socalled dark ‘pink-i’ooted‘ species. The tardiness of his every action gave him a. double air of sobriety. lie might have been an elder of the Kirk in his ‘hlaeks'; yet he paused to rummage over a whole nest for a pitiful bit of dirty stick. and then hopped still very slowly from tier 'to tier of the rows of nests vacated. in the immediate proxi-g mity of the camera. I think it was the deliberation of each downward hop and the shamelessnESS of the paltry theft, so open and so ‘hrazen———n penny stolen from the plate—that emphasised the cold depravity and passinnlQSS sin of the old bird. Ido not know but that the wickedness of the action was increased \\ht‘n the wretched twig was tirupped‘; it had not, even iw‘n re—' quired. I 1 “Although most of the stings hadl ihuilt, many were still attempting tol i do 50; yet during; the hours spent on ‘ the rock :1 single him only was noticedl i flying in laden with seaweed. ’i‘hci {habits of rahhm-y and theft ‘so I‘ll-i grained in the breed must causr‘ :i (‘nn-I sitter-able wastage in eggs and youngl . life.“ 1 __fl