Art. XVII.—Notes on the Ornithology of New Zealand.

Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Volume 8, 1875, Page 181

Art. XVII.—Notes on the Ornithology of New Zealand. By Walter L. Buller, C.M.G., D.Sc., President. [Read before the Wellington Philosophical Society, 29th January, 1876.] In continuation of the ornithological notes, read before the Philosophical Institute of Canterbury last year, I beg to lay before this Society some

further observations, relating for the most part to the nests and eggs of those species whose history is still imperfect. As it is my intention to publish, at an early date, a new and revised edition of my “Birds of New Zealand,” in a cheaper form, to serve as a hand-book for students in the colony, I am anxious myself to collect, and to encourage others to record in the pages of our “Transactions,” any new facts in the economy and life history of our native birds. Some of the nests and eggs mentioned in this paper have already been described by Mr. Potts in his usual happy style; but there is an obvious advantage in having, for comparison, the accounts of independent observers who often look at the same object from different points of view. And as the value of observations in natural history depends entirely on their accuracy, I offer no apology for the minuteness of some of my descriptions. Falco novæ-zealandiæ. In the fine collection of New Zealand birds' eggs in the Canterbury Museum (brought together chiefly through the industry of Mr. T. H. Potts, F.L.S., and his sons), there is a singular specimen of the egg of the above species. It.is very ovoido-elliptical in form, measuring 2.25 inches by 1.4, of a warm sepia-brown, prettily freckled and spotted, more thickly so in the middle, and confluent in a large patch at the larger end, with reddish-brown, varied with darker brown. Falco ferox. There is a beautiful specimen of the bush hawk's egg in the same collection, from the Chatham Islands. It is of a rich or warm reddish-brown freckled, and slightly smudged with darker brown, presenting a close resemblance to the merlin's egg, broadly ovoido-conical in form, and measuring 1.95 inch by 1.50 inch. There is another egg of the same species, from Paringa River, South Westland, differing very perceptibly, in being of a dull cream colour, freckled and stained all over with brown. It is of the same size as the Chatham Island specimen, but is slightly more oval in form. Spiloglaux novæ-zealandiæ. Mr. J. D. Enys writes me that he met with a nest of the more-pork at the Ohunga River, containing three eggs.* I have a similar report from Mr. W. Fraser, junr., who found an owl's nest in a hollow Puriri (Vitex litoralis), containing three young birds. The owls bred there for three successive seasons. Sceloglaux albifacies. From the same correspondent I learn that the nest of the laughing owl has been discovered in the Mackenzie country. It was placed under the shelter of a boulder, and was composed of dry grass. It contained the broken fragments of a white egg.

Platyoercus novæ-zealandiæ. Like other members of the family of parrots, this species nests in hollow trees. I stated in my book (p. 60) that it deposits its eggs “on the pulverised wood at the bottom, there being no further attempt at forming a nest.” Although this holds good as a rule, I ought to mention that in the Canterbury Museum there is a loose nest, formed of moss, and lined with fern-hair, and green paroquet feathers, which was taken from the hollow of a tree, and assigned (I believe correctly) to this species. Zosterops lateralis. Mr. Enys informs me that, at Akitio (in the North Island), where wild pigs are very plentiful, the blight birds habitually line their nests with pigs' bristles, as a substitute for horse hair, which is generally used by them in other parts of the country. In a multitude of cases I have found the cavity of the nest lined entirely with long horse hair, intermixed with dry bent, all carefully twined together; an example in the Canterbury Museum has the cavity lined entirely with long horse hair, and two other specimens in the same collection have a lining composed exclusively of fine grass stems carefully bent. The nests of Zosterops vary somewhat in size; but they all maintain the character of having very thin walls, with an unusually large cavity for the reception of the eggs. These are generally three in number (occasionally four), and of a lovely pale greenish-blue. In my account of this species (“Birds of New Zealand,” pp. 80–86), I mentioned the circumstance of a flock of these birds being generally attended by two or more sentinels or call-birds, who take their station on the topmost twigs, as a post of observation, and whose sharp signal note instantly brings the whole fraternity together. On a recent occasion, while out pheasant shooting, the sound of my companion's whistle, although more than 200 yards away, attracted the notice of a flock of Zosterops consorting together in the top of a lofty Kahikatea tree. The call-birds gave the alarm, and the whole flock, amidst much clamour, ascended high in the air and disappeared behind a neighbouring hill. The sentinels appear to be always on the alert; and I have seen the same effect produced on a flock of these birds by the cry of a hawk, or any other suspicious sound, although there was no appearance of immediate danger. Anthornis melanocephala. The nest of this species (from the Chatham Islands) is very much larger than that of the Anthornis melanura. A specimen in the Canterbury Museum measures in its largest diameter about eight inches by seven inches. It is composed chiefly of dry narrow flags or grasses bent in a circular form, the outer wall being strengthened with an admixture of fibrous twigs. The cavity, which is rather loosely formed, as compared with that

of A. melanura, is roughly lined with sheep's wool, with a few small feathers intermixed. It contained two eggs, which differ somewhat from each other, both in form and colour. One of them is of a warm salmon-pink, thickly blotched at the larger end, and spotted at irregular intervals on the general surface with reddish-brown, ovoido-elliptical in form, and measuring 1.05 inch by .75 inch. The other egg is more oval in form, paler in colour, and less marked with reddish-brown, the spots being much smaller and more scattered over the surface. Orthonyx ochrocephala. Mr. Potts has pointed out (“Trans. N. Z. Inst.,” Vol. V., p. 177) that the description of the egg of O. ochrocephala, given in my “Birds of New Zealand,” is defective, and I take this opportunity of rectifying it. The egg of this species is of a uniform dark cream colour, minutely and faintly freckled over the entire surface with a darker tint, approaching to pale brown. It is ovoido-elliptical in form, measuring 1 inch by .7 inch, although some specimens which I have examined are slightly smaller. The nest is similar in construction to that of O. albicilla in the North Island. It is a round and compactly built structure, composed chiefly of mosses, having the cup lined with fine grasses. In the specimen under examination, there are a few feathers of the Tui and Paroquet intermixed with the other materials. The eggs differ in colour from those of O. albicilla, but the type is the same. Xenicus longipes. The nest of this bird is a compact building formed entirely of green moss, oval in form, measuring about eight inches in length by about five inches in breadth, with a small entrance on the side not far from the top, and so small as scarcely to admit the tip of the finger. (Cant. Mus.) Gerygone albofrontata. The nest of this bird is similar to that of Gerygone flaviventris; but with a larger aperture, and without any threshold projection, although the upper edge is overhanging. The green-coloured nests of the meadow spider (Eperia) are used among the building materials, and likewise the white cocoons of some ground species, which I have not been able to identify. Certhiparus novæ-zealandlæ. A nest of this species in the Canterbury Museum is of a rounded form, with a slightly tapering apex, and not unlike a large pear in shape. The structure is composed of dry vegetable fibres, fragments of wool, moss, spiders' nests, and other soft materials closely felted together. The entrance is placed on the side, about one-third distant from the top, and is perfectly

round, with smoothened edges. The interior cavity is deeply lined with soft, white, pigeon feathers. It will be seen, therefore, that the nest of this species shows its affinity to Gerygone, rather than to Orthonyx. An illustration of it was given in Mr. Pott's paper on “New Zealand Birds,” Part III. (“Trans. N.Z., Inst.,” Vol. V., p. 184); but no full description has hitherto been published. Turnagra crassirostris. There is a nest of this bird in the Canterbury Museum, from the River Waio, County of Westland. (Potts). It is a round nest, somewhat loosely constructed, composed of small, dry, twigs, shreds of bark, fragments of moss, etc., with a rather large cup-shaped cavity, lined with dry grasses and other fibres. To all appearance it is carelessly, but nevertheless firmly, fixed in the forked twigs of a small upright branch. Mr. Potts, who studied this bird pretty closely in Westland, states that the nest usually contains two eggs; but he is of opinion that the bird breeds twice in the season. The Museum collection contains four specimens of this egg, which exhibit considerable difference in form. Two of them—probably from one nest—are very ovoido-conical; one of these measures 1.3 inch by 1.05 inch, and is pure white, marked at irregular distances over the entire surface, with specks and roundish spots of blackish-brown. The other is slightly narrower in form, the white is not so pure, and the markings are less diffuse, being collected into reddish-brown blotches towards the larger end. The other two eggs (apparently also from one nest) are of a long ovoido-elliptical form, and of equal size; the one I tested measuring 1.6 inch in length by .95 of an inch in its widest part. The shell is pure white, with widely-scattered irregular spots of blackish-brown, less numerous and of smaller size in one than in the other. Both eggs have a rather glossy surface. Creadion carunculatus. Captain Hutton was the first to discover the nest and eggs of this species, on the Little Barrier Island (“Birds of New Zealand,” p. 151). An egg received by the Canterbury Museum, from the West Coast, in June last, is of a rather elliptical form, measuring 1.2-inch in length by .85 of an inch in its greatest width. It is of a delicate purplish-grey, becoming lighter at the smaller end, and marked all over the surface, but more thickly at the larger end, with points, spots, and blotches of dark purple and brown. Glaucopis cinerea. One of the many interesting discoveries, since the publication of my work, is the finding of the nest and eggs of the Orange-Wattled Crow. The

Canterbury Museum contains two nests of this bird, both of which were obtained at Milford Sound. One is a massive nest, with a depth of eight inches, composed of rough materials; but with a carefully finished cup. The foundation consists of broken twigs, some of them a quarter of an inch in diameter, and placed together at all angles, so as to form a compact support; over this a layer of coarse moss and fern-hair, to the thickness of two inches or more; then a capacious well-rounded cup, lined with dry peats, intermixed with fern-hair. The general form of the nest is rounded, but at one end of it the twig foundation is raised and produced backwards, being intended, as it seems to me, to serve as an artificial support for the bird's tail during incubation. In connection with this, I may remark that, in a nest of the Lyre Bird (Menura superba) lately added to the Australian collection in the Canterbury Museum, I observed the same form of construction, in a more pronounced degree. The other is a nest of similar construction, composed of numerous broken twigs, intermixed with dry moss, and the “tail-bearer” is as conspicuous as in the other, extending some eight inches beyond the nest proper, which is about a foot in diameter. The cup-shaped depression is shallower than in the other, but has the same thick lining of dry grass. Mr. Enys informed me that this nest was discovered by himself and Mr. Potts, placed among the branches of a totara, overhanging a stream of water, in the month of January, and that it contained young birds. The other nest, also, as he assures me, was found in the vicinity of water. There are two eggs of this species, collected by Mr. Dogherty, and now belonging to the Museum collection. They are of a regular ovoido-conical form, one of them being slightly narrower than the other, measuring, respectively, 1.60 by 1.15, and 1.65 by 1.10-inches. They are of a dark purplish-grey, irregularly spotted and blotched with dull sepia-brown. These spots and markings are thicker and more prominent at the larger end, and are of various shades, the lighter ones fading almost to purple, and presenting a washed out appearance. At the time of the publication of my work, the only information I could give on the breeding habits of the blue-wattled crow (a near ally of the present species) was contained in the following passage:—“A young settler, who, in addition to being a son of the soil, was well-skilled in all bush-craft, assured me that he once met with a Kokako's nest fixed in a mass of kareao vines (Rhipogonum scandens), and he described it as being of very large size, and composed of moss and dry twigs.” Carpohaga novæ-zealandlæ. A nest of the New Zealand Pigeon in the Canterbury Museum (received

from Milford Sound) consists of a layer of dry twigs, so loosely put together that the eggs are visible from beneath. There is another nest, however (collected by Mr. Potts, at Little River, April, 1873) which forms a very pretty object. It is placed on the lateral fork of a branch of totara, supported underneath by an epiphytic growth of native mistletoe (Loranthus micranthus), which, although dried, still retains its leaves. The nest is very slight, and admits the light through its foundations, being formed of slender dry twigs of Leptospernum laid across each other and forming a shallow depression, with the ends of the twigs projecting all round. Slight as the structure is, however, there is some appearance of finish about it. Mr. Potts suggests that “the spaces and openings of the latticed nest befit the dirty habits of the pigeon; as the excrement dries, probably, most of it disappears through the nest.” The nest described above contained a single egg, of small size in pro-portion to the bird, measuring 1.9-inch by 1.4-inch, perfectly oval, of the purest white, and without any gloss on the surface. Ocydromus australis. A nest of the South Island Wood-hen, from Ohinitahi (Canterbury Museum) is a massive bed of dry grass, measuring 20 inches by 14, with a uniform thickness of about 4 ½-inches. In the centre there is a slight depression, which contains five eggs. These are yellowish-white, irregularly spotted and marked with yellowish-brown and pale washed out markings of purple. In form they are slightly ovoido-conical, measuring 2.25-inches by 1.6, and presenting very little variety in colour; the spotted markings being generally thickest at the larger end. Mr. Enys states that the ground colour varies in specimens from different localities, from a pure white to a rich cream colour. I have observed that they are often much soiled, probably from contact with the bird's feet during incubation. Ortygometra tabuensis. An egg of this pretty little Rail, in the Canterbury Museum, is broadly elliptical in form, measuring 1.3 by .95 of an inch, and is of a uniform pale creamy brown, minutely and obscurely freckled over the entire surface with a darker tint. The shell is slightly glossed. Ardea syrmatophora. The nest of the White Heron is a rather massive structure, with a flattened top (no appearance whatever of a cup or hollow), rounded in form, and measuring eighteen inches across. It is composed almost entirely of fern fronds by way of foundation, with a thick rough layer of dry twigs above. On this are deposited the eggs, three in number, differing very slightly in size, the largest measuring 2.2-inches by 1.6-inch, of a regular ovoid form, of a uniform pale green colour, and without any gloss.

This description is taken from a specimen, in the Canterbury Museum, collected by Mr. Potts in Westland. On looking at the structure, it seems difficult to understand how the bird can incubate the eggs without their falling out of this rude flat nest, or getting broken against the rough twigs on which they lie, without lining or protection of any kind. Ardea sacra. An egg of this species, received from Hawkes Bay, is of a narrow oval form, measuring 1.9-inch by 1.35-inch, very finely granulate on the surface, and without any gloss. The colour in the dried shell is a delicate pale green, but it was no doubt brighter when fresh. Botaurus pœciloptilus. A nest of this Bittern in the Canterbury Museum is small, flat-topped, and rounded, with a diameter of about nine inches, and a depth of three inches. It is composed entirely of dry rushes and flags, and contains three eggs, ovoido-elliptical in form, and of a uniform delicate creamy stone colour. There is a specimen of the egg, however, in the Museum, of a delicate dull green, and three others of a greenish-cream colour. The green tinge is no doubt more pronounced in the shell when fresh. Casarca variegata. Mr. J. D. Enys writes me that, in the Upper Waimakariri, he met with a brood of thirteen young birds. Larus dominicanus. A remarkable nest of this species, in the Canterbury Museum, affords, to my mind, an explanation of a point raised about the nesting habits of L. bulleri, in my controversy with Captain Hutton in 1874 (“Trans. N. Z. Inst.,” Vol. VI., pp. 126–138). In my account of this species, I had stated that “its attempts at forming a nest are of the rudest kind, a few bents of grass or other dry materials loosely collected round the edges being deemed a sufficient preparation.” Captain Hutton contradicted this, and stated that it “forms a very good nest.” As a rule the Black-backed Gull forms a very rude nest, and as often merely deposits its eggs in a depression in the sand. In some localities, however, where the ground is damp or swampy, or liable to be overflowed, the bird appears to adapt its building to the requirements of the situation. The nest in question is a massive agglomeration of sea-weeds, rushes, twigs, grasses, and other rubbish, closely pressed together, and forming a flattened globular cushion two feet in length by eighteen inches in breadth and nine inches in thickness. In the centre there is a slight depression, for the reception of the eggs. Mr. Enys (who was present when this nest was found) informs me that it was placed between the roots of a drift stump of

totara, near the river mouth (Milford Sound), being surrounded by water at every high tide. In the Museum there is a similar nest of the small gull (L. scopulinus) formed of dry twigs, grasses, and sea-weed, a foot long by eight inches across, and raised five inches from the ground. This was found under similar conditions with the other. And we may fairly assume that the same would happen in the case of the closely allied species, L. bulleri. Diomedea exulans. The following is a description of a perfectly mature example of the wandering Albatros, the fresh skin of which was received at the Canterbury Museum from one of the emigrant ships. The whole of the head and neck, as well as the upper and lower parts of the body, of the purest milk white. On each side of the nape, or upper part of the neck, there is a broad longitudinal mark, of a beautiful roseate pink, covering an area of about six inches in length by two inches in breadth, which fades soon after death, and ultimately disappears altogether in the dried skin. This is, I believe, quite a new fact in natural history, for I have never seen it before myself, nor have I found it recorded in any history of the species. Another specimen obtained at the same time shewed traces of this feature, but in a very diminished degree; and I conclude that it is to be met with only in very old birds, or at some particular season of the year. The only dark markings are on the tail and wings; on the former, each feather has two sub-apical irregular spots of black, larger and darker on the other webs. (It is probable that these spots ultimately disappear, leaving the tail entirely white, for I observed that on some of the lateral feathers there is only a single irregular spot on the outer web.) Two of the upper tail coverts (which otherwise are perfectly white) are crossed transversely with delicate vermi-culations of dark brown; the under linings of wings and the axillary plumes, pure white. At the insertion of the wings some of the upper feathers have delicate vermiculations; the inferior secondaries are broadly marked in this manner, and the longer ones have a broad terminal patch of black. Along the edge of the humerus there are spots of black, having a very pretty effect, each feather having a broad angular spot on the outer vane. At the humeral bend of the wing the white plumage predominates, the spots appearing again like irregular inky patches, and becoming thicker and larger towards the carpal flexure. The secondaries are white in their basal portion, greyish-black towards the tips. The primaries are brownish-black, with white shafts fading to grey on their inner webs, and white at the base. Mr. J. D. Enys writes me that the Albatros is said to breed on rocks north of the Chatham Islands, and that the Maoris go out periodically to collect the young birds as an article of food.

An egg of this species in the Canterbury Museum is ovoid or slightly ovoido-elliptical in form, yellowish-white, with a roughly granulate shell, wholly devoid of gloss or polish, but without any excrescences. It measures on its axis, 4.8-inches in length by 3.3 in width. Its longest circumference is 12.6-inches, and its widest 10-inches. Phalacrocorax brevirostris. In the Canterbury Museum there are two nests of the White-throated Shag, differing entirely in their construction. One of them is very compact, rounded in form, with a diameter of more than a foot, and a thickness of five inches, and presenting only a slight depression for the eggs, and composed of weeds, grasses, and dry flags, on a foundation of broken twigs. The other is formed entirely of broken twigs, with the leaves attached, closely interlaced together, with a deep cavity for the eggs, the whole being securely placed in the fork of a small tree. It is, in fact, a compact structure, of a round symmetrical form, and very firmly put together. Each of these nests contains three eggs, all of which have the surface much soiled. Phalacrocorax novæ-hollandiæ. A nest of this species, in the same collection, is a massive bed of flax leaves, toe-toe, and dry grasses pressed together into a thick flat layer, measuring about 20 inches by 15 inches, with a thickness of 3 to 4-inches, and with a slight depression on the top. It contains three eggs, elliptical in form, greenish-white, with chalky incrustations, and measuring 2.5-inches by 1.6-inches. Podiceps rufipectus. The frequency of albinos, of various species, is a very noticeable feature in New Zealand ornithology. We have now to add to the list an albino Dabchick, presented to the Canterbury Museum by Mr. Thomas Waters, of which the following is a desciption:—General plumage pure white, the sides of the head and throat shaded with brown; crown, nape, and hind neck streaked and spotted with black; fore-neck and breast varied with pale rufous; shoulders, back, and scapulars with numerous scattered black feathers, giving the upper surface a pied appearance; wings dusky black, more or less varied with white; bill and feet of the normal colours.