THE LAND0 BIRDS OF WESTLAND

Hokitika Guardian, 9 November 1921, Page 1

THE LANDO BIRDS OF WESTLAND

i Writ icu by tin- laic Mr Charles Douglas, the well-known exploter of the mountains of Westland.) (Continued.) THE HKI) lIILL.

Tbi- is one of my iaoiuiin-, com liter ,-utents!. and queer ways. To I what cl.: vs ol bird- they belong la I I never enquired. No ilottbl the plovers or snip.-s 1-iaiiu it as a ta-.ii- ot distant I iciai ion. T' c u-il bill has a i"Ug te l > : ,t|, and long, legs of I lie -a Inc colour T v plumage ml one bir-.l .* jet b|a, k ,i. : on j-. e o;bci Itl.i' !: nut white, The, g.-»t‘■ , in huge ifs-ks 111 "in. pla '. s. s,- a. inn are i«»'iT s. litary. They i evidently like cadi -*!ci's compntiy. Tl.cii usual baunis are it:, -ca beacln-s and mud Hats, of tidal rivers and lagoons, running along the edge of t!i" water 'ready to pick iiji anything <-a.-a'-le. Tiicir legs w hen i mining go a. i I great rate, but as they lake very slant I step, their gait is what might he c,died toddling. I don't know .vlicUar they, ca# swim, hut they fly very fast, being able to gel lull steam up almost instsimlv like most of tbe duck and

snipe tribe. The red bills are amusing birds to watch, One w ill run .along the li- a, h abend of the others. 'I lien lie will -u.ldcnly stop and hang his head to one side in a meditative attitude. The oihcrs will run up to him and hold their heads down as it listening to some profound remarks. Then another hiid will stamp his fool, and mil ahead a low yards and No. ] will run up and listen to hi. side ol the argument.

11l the Okarito Hats when the tide gnus out, it leaves large mud Hats bate, or rather it is not mud but a still clay sediment. In this deposit iliete resides a crab about the size of a shilling who makes a hole miming straight down for a couple "I Millies and then bend- at right angles tor two mole. Ibe eiab feeds about till alarmed, "lie i be takes refuge in bis castle. Hho-v crabs aie a source of mental anguish to the red bill. For sins committed in some past instance, it would appear as if they wett compelled by some invisible power to stand at a crab bole and try to eitte.lt one, a tiling they never by any clinme succeed in. but there they will stand for hours on the tlais with a patience worthy of the highest, admiration. \\ Idle enduring their punishment the head of tho bird is slightly tin-nod to one side to enable it to watch the cinb with olio eye, wliilo tho other is on the lookout to sec il bis mates are stn resslul, and evoiy now and again 1 1n-v give an angry stamp w ith their feet. Tbe moment a red full is seen to bury bis beak up to Hie eyes ill tbe mud. alt tbe others crowd round him in hopes he lias caught a crab at last, while the disappointed one cleans bis Leak and tries to explain bow be ncar1-, caught tbe v il<- crnstoccan. The birds then all suddenly rush back to the boles they bad been watching so carefully, l*u while away the crabs had come out ol their holes and were complacently eyeing them. A Scientific gentleman once told me t.kal red lull stamped Ids loot to bring the crabs out to see what the row was about, but I believe that to be nonsense. The stamp is one oi anger

<;iuso<i l»v 11 id fi’nL. who knowing In* i> snlo is quietly rliaUing red henk, no doubt asking him why his hill wiimi t I, uide to g*> round n eorncr. Tliey >.i: 11111 * lheir fool the saim* way uliwn arguing iin some obsliuse >uhjecl aii'l in places whore neither eiahs nor worms uxisl.

When shot al olive 01 twice the red lull is able to tell tbe exact i.ange ol eve 1 v gun in the district, keeping just nut of range with |ierhnps a slight margin for i-oiitingem ivs. I once cleared a lot out of a lagoon by u-ing a wire carliidge. They lo«t laid, in li judgment ol distance* after that. <u 1,,-, amc doubtful vv lull my powers of di-si riicl ion might be. Often tbe onlywav to get a shot is In walk along using the gun as a walking stick, and making believe to be adorning Ha' scenery or looking for shells, "ever looking at them. The birds will allot a time tty el"-" l" you when a good living shot may In' got, but no one will dii this dodge twice with the same liilds. The best shot I ever got at red legs was mi a lagoon- There wa* a huge log on tbe bank where the buds would stand in rows sunning themselves. so I got a railin' and covered il with boughs. Then lying down with musket ready I let the dug-o«t diilt towards them. When cln*o enough I started up and Hied, going overboard at the same time with the icooil. but bad the satisfaction after gelling myself out of tbe water, ot doing the same for thirteen red bills. This 'lodge did not clear them out, but if a tree or bush was seen floating towards them they weru off'. Tin ly way I ever could snare rc| bill was by leaving Hat utilises on the ground, making them last in a peg, but this way is not very sure. They are very iricgiihir ill keeping their footpaths, and it requires a great niimUcr ot nooses to catch any.

THE SNIPES. There are a good many varieties of this bird, the largest being the greysnipe. It. frequents the sea beaches and river Hats during the winter, but in summer I have often found tlu-m in the mountains almost to the snow line, where thev lay their eggs and rear their young, but what they feed on 111 such high latitudes 1 don't know. Purbaps tliev 11 v down to the low country eve,,- day. With their extraordinaryspeed of llight they could H.v from the top of Ml Cook to the sea in a tew minutes. Besides this snipe there are a number of other, sandpipers, plovers or whatever they are vailed, with the j usual habits of their class. In stormy j weather Limy ll.v about the sand hills on j t.hc heat-lies in dense molts. At least p(, one time they did, but 1 ike^a^greaf^

many other bird# they are retreating to more favoured localities where they are not shot at. There is one little snijre vvilti 1,1 own liars across iis l.rcast which frequents the open river Hats. It is said to lie a bird of passage. It may be so to a certain extent, but sonic are always left behind, a, they are to lie seen slimmer and winter. THE BLACK SNIPE.

This binl is evidently allied to die ;ed bill and is a singular looking object. A small round body pen-bed on long slender legs. One bird is Mack, il'c oilier black and while like the ;-d bill to which lord they hear some resemblance in plumage, antics and habits. It frequents the same place; la;':-ims and mud Hats, hut ii isn’t afflicted with r.n order to catch crabs like loti hi 11. It has always been a rare bird, in Westland al least. A pair trotting about now and again in certain localities represent the black snipe both now and thirty years ago.

THE KINO MSI I El!. I will now Luis’: He aquatic birds with this pretty little fisherman. It is almost the same bird iliat exists in the Old Country, only not so gorgeous in plumage, and is about tin- same size with it beak largo enough I'm a turkey. It frequents the edges of' lakes and lagoons where small fish aie tu he found, jH'rcliing on the limb ot a tree with exemplary patience, looking as il ft was admiring its beak, but in realitykeeping an eye open lor its prey. When iis i luiiicc conics it makes a dart down to tin- wall I like a Hash of light, its t-til'>ni* -bowing in splendour. The lish fill, on- at:r.n ;.-.l Ha bird'- alp'iiliiiii 1- 111;, ,111- li. li 11,-vr 111 issl -—. Tbe king

li -In. r i- -pai.-viy -.a11.-icd all over tbe country and appears to bold its own against cats, and other enemies. So llu-v will ti-main unless like its home relation lln-y are dnugbL-r.d tot their lea the i- re ''ink hooks lor fly li —h i njr.

PARROTS. I now ionic to a coup!* ot "i'd'-. I in' kalea and the ken who appear to be peculiar tu New Zealand, or ii lutintl in other countries not so widely distributed. 1 have heard that the Port Philip parrot- is identical with the knkn. If so then the bird is not peculiar to X"vr Zealand. Tin- ken and Italia are not true parrots, bin a sort of connecting link between them and the cockatoo, and their scientific name is Nestor. Why called alter him I can't say. I never heard that the Homeric Nestor had a hooked nose, lie was celebrated for bis wisdom which those birds cannot lay much claim to unless check is a form of wisdom. Pcrliap; tlie name was given them because they are always (.-battering, and like to bear themselves talk, which was rathet a tailing of the ptosoy old Orecian whenever be got a chance. (To be continued).