TIMID PARADISE DUCKS BECOME QUIET FAMILY FRIENDS

Taupo Times, Volume I, Issue 15, 23 April 1952, Page 2

TIMID PARADISE DUCKS BECOME QUIET FAMILY FRIENDS

Paradise ducks are beautiful birds and a^e the largest of our New zealand ducks. The adult duck and drake are easily drstinguts'ied from cnj anc^her as the fe nale has a white head while the drake -s head is black with a greenish sheen. Some people call this bird the New Zealand goose, for it ha's a goose-like appearance. The female does not quack but has a shrill call. The voice of the male is low pitched and bears a closer resemblance to a quack. When annoyed, he humps himself up and hisses some-what like a goose. With a little care and patience these birds are easily tamed, but no attempt must be made to handle the birds until their full confidence has been gained. The following story was told by a member of the Forest and Bird Protection Society who over 40 years j ago lived on Glenthorn Station at the head of Lake Coleridge in Canterbury. Her father was a great lover of ha ture, and encouraged by him my friend became an observer and student of nature almost from the cradle. Ejxcept for hares, shooting was prohibited within a radius of a mile from the homestead. Consequently, when the shooting season arrived the dticks knew where to seek sanctuary. A pair of paradise ducks took up their abode near the homestead and in time became very tame. At first food was thrown to them, but finally they would feedlfrom an open hand, care being taken to make no sudden movement to frighten the birds. The female became so tame that she would make her way up the steps at the back door to enter the kitchen if there happened to be any delay in feeding them at the accustomed time. Indeed, so tame did she become that she would perch on the knees of any members of the family. The drake was not so tame. This wac due to an attempt being made to handle him before hi^ full confidence had' been gained. When the breeding season arrived, they left the homestead for their nesting haunts. Once they were seen on a pond some distance away but their nest® were never found. As soon as the shooting season opened, • back they arrived at the homestead ready to renew their associations with their human friends and to accept their proffered bounty. While they lived, this pair remained faithful mates. There were other paradise pairs in the neighbourhood, but the tame ducks jealously guarded the territory about the homestead from all other intruders. When fights took place, drake fought drake and duck fought duck. The tame pair always were the victors, a fact that might have been partly due to the backing of their human friends. When the drake disappeared, the widowed bird took another mate a young, wild bird. Gradhally the family at the homestead gained his confidence and he, too, became very tame. Years passed and the female grew feeble and old, showing little interest in any food offered' her. Her mate then took to himself another wife. She was a young, wild bird, and

would attaek the poor, old, discarded mate who was too feeble to fight even though ishe showed signs oi great jealously. Finally, she disappeared and was presumed dead^ She had been visiting the homestead for about 12 years and was missed by her kindly friends. By this time the young drake was very tame, and so anxious was he for his wild, young mate to be friendly with the people at the homestead that he would catch her wing in his bill and try to drag her towards them. As time passed she gained confidence, but was never quite so tame as the old favourite. They too departed each year to rear their young in some unknown breeding territory, but always at the shooting season they reappeared at the homestead. This continued until these kindly people left the district^ and this interesting friendship between birds and mankind was severed. How infinitely greater must have been the pleasure these people gained through repeated years of association with the living birds than cais possibly be experienced by carrying home a few lifeless bodies at the end j of a dayrs shooting.