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Te Ao Hou, December 1957, Page 48

birds lest they become shy and desert the forest on seeing their dead relations. Feathers not required for the ornamentation of their cloaks, were carefully burned, and young people had to learn not to leave stray feathers around. Cooked food was not permitted to be carried in the forest lest it desecrate the tapu of the mauri and the forest lose its birds. In the event of visitors being given uncooked birds to carry home with them, preservation of the tapu and Maori etiquette demanded that one of the birds be handed back to the hosts. Pigeons have been known to settle on canoes of fishermen when far out to sea. Although the pigeon was exceedingly numerous at one time, today, its numbers have declined alarmingly. This has been mainly due to the felling of the forests and the introduction of firearms. As with the Maori people themselves, so with the pigeon—the introduction of firearms was a disaster. Because the bird shows no fear of man, it is easily taken. And because it lays but one egg the increase in pigeon population cannot possibly keep pace with the death rate if people persist in shooting down this beautiful but harmless bird. But not only is the pigeon beautiful and harmless it does great service to mankind in distributing the seeds of our timber trees. Therefore, by killing off the pigeon the regeneration of the forest is retarded. In an attempt to prevent the ultimate extinction of the kereru, the Government has placed it under absolute protection. This means that it may be caught or killed under no circumstances. It is sometimes considered by certain thoughtless people that by merely taking say, a dozen birds for a meal, no appreciable difference would be made to the total number of pigeons. Perhaps not. But, supposing a hundred people were to have the same idea? What would happen? In a mere five years, six thousand pigeons could be lost. That is no exaggeration, for each of those birds could be female which would result in the loss of twelve hundred eggs per year for that specified time. The writer realises that it is extremely unlikely that all birds would be female, but the thought is interesting. As a deterrent to those depraved ones who still are determined to shoot kereru, the writer understands that they are now liable to a fine of up to one hundred pounds, plus the confiscation of their guns and the “bag.” Persistence in shooting the pigeon will lead eventually to its utter extermination, when we will be speaking of it in the past tense for it will be as the moa—extinct! ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ The Rotorua Maori Golfers' Club will be hosts of the 1958 Maori golf championships, which will be held on the Springfield links in the second week of August next year.