RAIN BIRDS.

Marlborough Express, Volume LXXVI, Issue 240, 12 October 1942, Page 4

RAIN BIRDS.

[To The Editor.l Sir,— The bird noticed by your correspondent, "Interested," would probably be the pied tomtit, the miromiro of the Maori. This bird trills very tunefully in the early morning and the evening twilight. Kaikoura Maoris used to say that the song foretold rain. This bird has a black head and back. a bright yellow breast and a white flash on the wings. The bird is often mentioned in Maori myth and tradition. The demigod Maui assumed its fonn when searching for his mother in the underworld. In the "good old days" the miromiro was used as a love messenger. If you were enamoured of a certain lady you went tg the "tohunga,' who. would obtain one of these birds and recite a love charm to it, which it was told to convey to the loved one. The bird would then seek the lady. no matter how far distant; it would fly to her and settle on or near her, and this would turn the fair one's thoughts in the right direction.

The tohunga was so sure of nis powers that he would only claim payment on the desired result being obtained. The grey warbler, or riro-riro. has also a tuneful song, especially in the springtime. It builds a roofed hanging nest, and according to the situation of the entrance hole the Maori professed to be able to tell the weather for the ensuing season. The nest of this bird is that favoured by the shining cuckoo, "pipi whauroa," for the deposit of its eggs. The opening is small, but the cuckoo forced an entrance in and out on the other side. The first business of the hatched cuckoo chick was to toss the wren fledglings out of the nest. The wren foster-parents have their work cut out to provide sufficient food to satisfy the voracious interloper. Still, they never fail to brmg their bonny baby to maturity. I trust that the above notes may prove of interest to your correspondent.

W. J.

ELVY.