MAORI MEMORIES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 1 May 1940, Page 9

MAORI MEMORIES

FOLLOWING THE MOA. (Recorded by or Palmerston North, for rhe “Times-Age.”) Moho pereru (stupid pigeon) may be the Maori meaning applied to the several varieties of the Land Rail. They frequent the small islands and fly but short distances only when alarmed. A strange habit of swallowing sand is said to aid their digestion when over eating causes distress. The Kawau (shag) has about 15 species, more than in any other land. They are noted for their greed and dirty habits. The Maoris collect the young helpless birds and preserve them in their own oil. The Tawaki (crested penguin) and two other species frequent lonely islands in the South where they assemble in large numbers. They are unlike any other sea or land birds, and most awkward in their movements. The Wandering Albatross (Toroa) by far the largest flying bird ever known to Maoris is of great interest to ships at sea. They fly without apparent effort and glide without moving their wings for a long distance beside a sailing ship. The Royal, the Snowy, and the Sooty Albatross never mix together in their breeding grounds on the same island. One egg each year is their limit, and the young birds take a year and a half to mature in plumage and flight. We have three island sanctuaries, but year after year seme species will disappear in the land of Never Never.