MAORI MEMORIES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 2 November 1938, Page 2

MAORI MEMORIES

SMALL BIRDS. (Recorded by J.H.S. for “Times-Age.”) Toifoi is the Maori name of the Brown Creeper, an active little fellow, ruddy brown on the head and back with fawn-coloured breast. The tail feathers have a yellow spot. It feeds on insects. Tiwaiwaka (fantail) is The favourite of every home, even in the smaller towns. Sometimes a pair will nest in the garden, making frequent visits to the sunny room ihrough an open door or window in search of flies. Their pretty little twittering call sounds like a friendly greeting. The most striking feature is the fanshaped tail held erect while hopping from twig to twig in search of insect food. The South Island bird is much darker than those in the North. A pair recognised by some peculiar mark, have been known as daily visi(tors in season for several years, becoming more familiar and fearless each seasonal calling. Music seemed :o make them still and silent listeners. Titipounamu (shining greenstone), the pretty little bush wren, makes its home in the high bush ranges. The Rock Wren, lives near the snowy mountains in the far south When disturbed in its search for insect food it looks like a lizard as it wriggles into a hole in the rock. The Stephens Island wren has fallen victim to the rats, and is now extinct. Matata (defended), the fern bird, peculiar to New Zealand and the Chathams, is nearly extinct. Its power of flight is defective, making it a victim to bush fires and rats. Climbing the toi stems or flax sticks for safety it looks like a mouse.