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Short Notes on Some New Zealand Birds

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Short Notes on Some New Zealand Birds Vol.1934 LI1] DEIGNAN,Notes on New Zealand Birds. 487 SHORT NOTES ON SOME NEW ZEALAND BIRDS. BY H. G. DEIGNAN. DURINGthe firstfortnight of June,1932, I enjoyedthe interesting experienceof visiting the North Island of New Zealand,paying especialattention to the blrd-life of the country. To onewho has just come from the forestsand plains of Australia with their abundanceof birds,it is somethingof a shockto seethe denuded and over-gazedhills of the North Island, and to walk through largeareas of the "native bush" withouthearing or seeinga native bird. It is an unpleasantsurprise to find the native forestsvan- ishingbefore the onslaughtsof the axe and of introducedherbi- voresand with the foreststhe birdswhose survival hangs on their continuedpresence, to be replacedwith government-plantedstands of eucalyptsand boreal conifers,inhabited by Chaffinchesand Song-ThrushesI New Zealand, as is well known, is the Paradiseof Acclimatiza- tion Societies,whose activities sufferno restraint by the Dominion Government,and scarcelya year passeswithout somenew impor- tation to harry further the native biota; this year it is the Chukar and the Nightingale. It is unhappilytrue that in all countriesthe view is held that the natural life of a land is the possessionof its people,to be protectedor destroyedat will. It might morejustly be considered,ignoring the right to life of the creaturesthemselves, that the floraand faunaof any part of the worldbelong to mankind as a whole and are merely held as a trust by the inhabitantsof the particularregion. Of late yearscertain places have beenset asideby the Dominion Governmentas wild-life sanctuaries.Owing to the prevalenceof introducedpredatory mammals such as weaselsand stoats,to say nothingof feral dogsand cats,such refuges, to be successful,must be on islandsoff the coast. This meansthat in many casesbirds which needprotection must be introducedto the sanctuariesfrom the mainland. A particularlybad mistakewas madein establish- ing the Weka on Kapiti, when a male of Gallirallusgreyi and a female of Gallirallusaustralis were releasedtogetherl Through the courtesyof the Honorablethe Minister for Indus- 488 DEIGNAN,Notes on New Zealand Birds. [oct.[Auk tries and CommerceI obtaineda permit to visit the sanctuaryof Little Barrier Island, where native birds of many speciesare still numerous,but owing to a protracted northerly gale which pre- cluded any possibilityof landing on the island, I was unable to avail myself of this privilegein the time at my disposal. It must be remembered that at no time had New Zealand a large representationof land-birds,and. that, due to the inclemency of the winter weather, I did not visit the wilder South Island, where more birds might have been seen. However, I travelled over a great portionof North Island, and, whereverpossible, went out of my way to placeswhere native birds were said to occur. It will be noted that in almostevery casewhere I found a species numerous,it was either a marine form or a bird which is common or abundant in Australia or elsewhere,and hencepossessed of no especialinterest as a New Zealandbird. It may be well to give a brief accountof the localitiesmentioned in the followingnotes, for the benefit of those unacquaintedwith New Zealandgeography. Wellington,as is well known, lies on the cliff-boundshore of Cook Strait. The city is confinedbetween the harbor and a range of steep grass-coveredhills. No native land- birds were seen, though European forms were numerous, and certain water-fowl were common in the harbor. Auckland, some three hundred miles north of Wellington, is placedon the narrow isthmusbetween Hauraki Gulf and Manokau Bay. The vast mudfiats of Manokau were, accordingto Bullet, the winter home of large numbersof Wry-billed Plover and other interesting waders, and probably, even to-day, support many migratoryshore-birds during the northernwinter. I found only three species,one of them representedby a solitary example. Three or four native birds can be seenon the Auckland Domain, a large park surroundingthe new War Memorial Museumof natural history. This elegantbuilding placed on a hilltop is the first and last sight of New Zealand to thoseentering or leaving Auckland by sea. Titirangi, in the Waitakeri Hills, is a large tract of almostvirgin forest belonging to the people of Auckland, and about twenty miles distant by motor-car. The native flora and fauna are here protectedby law, but the Kiwi, thoughformerly common, has not Vol.1934 J DEIGNAN,Notes on New Zealand Birds. 489 beenreported for years,and, exceptinga few Pigeonsand rather a lot of Tuis, no unusual birds were seen. Leigh is a hamlet on the east coast somefifty miles north of Aucklandand the placeof embarkationfor the Little Barrierby the bi-monthlymail-boat. The shorerises in steep,high cliffs from the seaand thereare numerousreefs. A few milesabove is a long, wide beach of white sand, Pakhare. The inland hills have been longcleared for graz/ng,but a few tiny patchesof bush,completely devoid of bird-life, persistin the hollowsand gulleys. Native land-birds were almost absent, and confined to a few common species. Rotorua, the capital of the thermal districts,is in the north centreof the Island. Probablyat no time, in this regionof geysers, hot lakes, boiling springs,lava, and other evidencesof volcanic activity, were birds numerous,but, thanks to the prohibition of shootingon the Governmentlands, certain speciesnot seenelse- where proved to be rather common. Mamuku is a village about ten miles from l•otorna, surrounded by native bush,and herein smallnumbers were seeneight species of bush-birds. At no other placedid I õnd so many species.As lumberingis the chief pursuit in the neighborhood,it is probably only a questionof time until the birdsdisappear from heretoo. The Tongariro National Park embracesthe country about the active volcanoes,Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe,and Tongariro. A fine hotel has beenbuilt near timberlineby the DominionGovernment. Although,at the time of my visit, the countrywas under snow, certainEuropean birds were commonup ,to the limit of trees,and at leasttwo native specieswere exceedingly numerous. 1. Podiceps rufopectus. N•,w ZEALANDGREBE.--Tw0 seenon T•.ke Rotomahana near Rotorua. 2. Daption capense. CAPE PIGEON.•0mm0n in the Tasman Sea and in Cook Strait. 3. Macronectes giganteus. Gi2a•r PE?RE•,.--Fairly commonin Cook Strait; one followedthe ship into WellingtonHarbor, 4. Pachyptila sp. PBxoN.--Birdsof this genuswere abundant in the Tasman Sea. 5. Diomedea exulans. WANDERrinGALBA?ROSS.--¾ery common in the Tasman Sea and Cook Strait; one followedthe ship into Wellington Harbor. \ 490 DEINAN,Notes on New Zealand Birds. [Oct.Auk 6. Thalassarche melanophrys. BLACK-BROWEDALBATROSS.--This was the commonestbird seenin New Zealand waters, exceptingthe Prions. 7. Phalacrocorax carbo. COMMON CORMORANT.--This Cormorant is common everywhere,in spite of the price on its head. Owing to its wari- ness,harmless species are usually shot in its stead by the bounty-hunters. 8. Phalacrocorax varius. PIED CORMORANT.--This common Aus- tralian bird is equally commonon the New Zealand coasts. 9. Phalacrocorax brevirostris. WHITE-THROATED CORMORANT,- About a dozen were seenon a small pond in the suburbsof Auckland. 10. Moris serratot. AUSTRALIANGANNET.--Seen daily in small numbers at Leigh. 11. Casarca variegata. PARADISEDUCK.--TWO pairs of this hand- some Sheldrake were seenresting on the shore of Lake Rotomahana near Rotorua. They showedno concernwhen the launchpassed within thirty feet of them. 12. Anas superciliosa. GRAYDUCK.--This Duck appearedto be com- mon everywhere. Several wild pairs live with domestic Mallards on a tiny pond in the Auckland Domain. 13. Spatula rhynchotis. AUSTRALIANSHOVELLER.--One female was seenon a small pond near Auckland with Gray Ducks. 14. Nyroca novae-seelandiae. NEW ZEALAND ScAuP.--Several hundred Seaups were seen on Lake Rotorua. 15. Hydroprogne caspia. CAsPI.• TERN.--CoInInon along the coast north of Auckland. 16. Sterna striata. WHITE-FRONTEDTERN.--Large flocks were seen daily near Leigh, restingon the reefs. 17. Larus dominicanus. SOUTHERN BLACK-BACKED GULL.--This fine Gull is abundant along the coast and in the harbors. 18. Larus novae-hollandiae. SILVER GuLL.--Common on the coast and also inland. Flocks may be seen feeding in fields and on the lawns of city parks. 19. Charadrius bicinctus. BANDED DOTTREL.--I-Iundreds of these Plover were found on the great flats of Manokau Bay at low tide. 20. Limosa lapponica. BAR-TAILED GODWIT.--One WaS seen at Manokau Bay. 21. Himantopus leucocephalus. WHITE-HEADED STILT.--Stilts occurredin hundredsat Manokau Bay. 22. Gallirallus greyi. NORTH ISLanD WEK•.--At Leigh, whfie in- vestigatinghollow logs,on the off-chanceof a Kiwi, I drew forth from one the mummified corpseof a Weka, probably the victim of a weasel. A pair was said to occur in a mangroveswamp a few miles from the village, but I saw nothing of them. Itowever, I was so fortunate as to see, while at Leigh, a wild bird, which was in the habit of coming into a dooryard to take food from a man's fingers,in spite of the presenceof nine cats in the garden. The bird could not be touchedand kept a watchful eye on the Vol.1934 LI] J DEIGNAN,Notes on New Zealand Birds. 491 felines;it ran back into the bushat the approachof strangers. The people of the housetold me that a pair of Blue Penguinsbred in the gardenunder an overturned boat last year. 23. Porphyrio melanotus. NEW ZEALANDPURPLE GALLINULE.--This specieswas numerousat a pond near Auckland. 24. Demigretta sacra. REEF HERON.--Birds in the gray phase are commonalong the coastand one was seen regularly on a buoyin Wellington Harbor. 25. Botaurus poiciloptilus. AUSTRALIANBIT•ERN.--0ne Was seen from the bus at a maxshyplace beside the Rotorua-Taupohighway. 26. Phasianus colchicus X P. torquatus. PHr,AsAh-r.--Common about Leigh. 27. Synoic!ls a!lstralis. BROWNQUAIL.--TWO coveys of this Aus- tralian bird were seennear Leigh. 28. Callipepla calffornica. CALIFORNiaVALLEY QuAIL.--Common everywherewhere conditionsare suitable, often enteringgardens. 29. Hemiphaga novae-seelandiae. NEw ZEALANDl•ar, oN.--0uly two of theselovely Pigeonswere seen at Titirangi, although•ey weresaid to be numerous.
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