NATURE NOTES

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 90, 13 October 1934, Page 17

NATURE NOTES

OBSERVATIONS OXNEjST-

BUILDIXa

THE GREY WARBLER

(By E. H. D. Stidolph, E.A.O.TJ.)

Most pairs of grey warblers, having reared the first brood of the season, are now busy building the nest for the second batch of youngsters. A-few hours spent in a manuka clump the other day revealed two nests, one completed and ready for the eggs and the other only just started. The completed structure was a very cosy affair, built in a small manuka only about five feet from the ground, so that it was possible to in-. spect it with the utmost ease. Compactly made with material that had been. woven into a strong felt-like structure, the moat remarkable feature of the nest was the large number of spiders' egg cases that had been used, evidently as an adhesive medium, the small silken threads attached to the cases serving admirably for this purpose. Building operations were in full swing at ttio other nest, of which only about an inch of the top portion had been constructed. The male bird apparently takes no part in building, as during the time this pair of birds was watched he was never seen to take' any material to the nest, this work being carried out by the female alone. Her mate was content to fly with her to the vicinity of the nest, all the time fluttering his wings just as if he was a young bird being fed. It was interesting to watch the hen bird, She gathered practically all the material—small pieces of bark—from the boughs of a nearby manuka and flew with these to the nest. Invariably she alighted o.n the small part of the struc-ture-already constructed and added material to the bottom or sides. She would pay many visits in five or ten minutes and would then disappear for a while to feed. Many other birds, both introduced and native, are also busy building their nests. In a hillside clump of bush, where there are large numbers of the kowhai in flower, the tui is regaling itself on the nectar, and the time between feeding is occupied in courtship arid nest-building. High up in a titoki tree, a week or two ago, the nest of a tui was seen, well beyond the reach of . any but the most expert climber. Prom the ground it appeared to be ready for the eggs. The owners were flying playfully around the bushes, stopping at intervals to visit a hollow in the trunk of a tree to enjoy a refreshing drink of water from, a tiny reservoir hidden in the recess; at other times, chasing away other tuis that ventured into the vicinity. Among introduced birds the starling is now occupied in building its nest in all manner of situations. One seen the other day near Dalefield had selected a roadside letter-box, and every time it entered and left it had to push!" aside a piece of weighted sacking. la another instance a pair of these birds had selected a hole in a'= corrugated iron building in one of the main streets of a Wairarapa town. A piece of tow rope about three feet long lying on the roadside was considered to be suitable build, ing material. One bird waited in the hole to receive it and the other one made several unsuccessful attempts to carry the rope to the hole but always dropped it before it reached the crevice. At last the waiting bird grew exasperated at the other's repeated failures and flew down to the road, seized the rope in the middle, arid'succeeded the first time in placing it in the hole. An unusual visitor was found on the. road at Pirinoa, near Wairarapa Lake, about a week ago. The driver of a, cream lorry on his early morning round discovered an albatross in the middle of the highway. Apparently the bird had been driven inland or had become benighted* He managed to capture it but not before he had received a gash, on his arm from the bird's bill. At one of the Lower Valley factories the albatross was treated to a drink of milk. It was then placed in a sack.on the top of the cabin of the lorry and conveyed to Masterton Park. As it was impossible to keep a bird of this kind in captivity; arrangements were made to have it released at Castlepoint on the following day. It spent the night in a shed, ia company with "Billy," the park custodian's pet opossum. The albatross proved to be a specimen of the species known as Buller 's mollymawk, a rather handsome bird, named after the late Sir Walter Buller, New Zealand's greatest ornithologist. It breeds on the Snares, a cluster of seven rocky islets 60 miles south of Stewart Island. This particular bird appeared to be in good fettle. A little over, two years ago another albatross, an immature bird of the wandering species, was found on a property at Kahutara. This bird likewise found its way to Masterton and was also taken to Castlepoint, where it was liberated. On being released it settled on the water and apparently had a drink; then, taking flight, it soon disappeared from view. At about the sametime another bird of this, species was found near Greytown but as it was turned out on the Euamahanga Eiver it soon perished. One of New Zealand's notable migrants, the shining cuckoo, has arrived and is now well distributed. Its notes were heard the other day on the banks of the Waiohine Eiver near Matarawa and elsewhere its presence has been reported. Woe betide the warblers whoso nests it encounters as.it proceeds to deposit its eggs in their nurseries, leaving to them the work of incubating the eggs and roaring the youngsters. FortSnately for the warbler, one brood of youngsters had already been launched upon the world before 'the arrival of the cuckoo, and the warblers' numbers are thus well maintained in spite of the unwelcome attentions of its usurper. Certainly the warbler has more than its fair share of trouble but it appears tq have a cheery spirit notwithstanding.