THE PIED STILT

Forest and Bird, Issue 54, 1 November 1939, Page 15

THE PIED STILT

By R. A. Falla.

Himantopus leucocephalus Maori Name: Karuhiruhi

YEAR by year we learn that this or that native bird is becoming more rare in New Zealand, and it is somewhat reassuring to be able to point to a species here and there that holds its own or even shows a tendency to increase. The Pied Stilt is both generally distributed and fairly abundant. It is a striking bird, not exactly graceful, but by no means ungainly in spite of its long legs and slender build. Wherever shallow water lies, either salt or fresh, these long-legged waders may be seen and heard. Their yelping calls can be heard for miles on a clear day, and, in the distance, might be mistaken for those of a pack of puppies. When Stilts are feeding they contort themselves in an amazing fashion as they probe the mud with their flexible bills. It is difficult to see exactly how their prey is captured, but they seem to get large numbers of aquatic insects and crustaceans. In summer Stilts are distributed from one end of New Zealand to the other, but in winter nearly all of them leave the South Island, and there is a concentration of flocks on tidal estuaries in the northern part of the North Island. At that time of year they take the place on mud flats of the absent flocks of godwit and other waders which are nesting in the Arctic. Although classed as a local migrant the Stilt is regular in its seasonal movements, and at the end of July the first parties make south for their nesting grounds. They take up territory on flat, marshy ground near lakes or on the river beds with other birds frequenting such areas. Others remain for breeding in the North Island, especially in the Hot Lakes district and along the coasts of North Auckland, where they frequent sand dunes near the open sea. Courageous defence of their nests makes Stilts conspicuous at this time. A pair with a nest to defend will fly noisily at an intruder, and when aggression fails will resort to the more spectacular performance of “feigned injury” that is a common trait of behaviour in birds of their order. Against such natural and everyday enemies as the Harrier Hawk, and even imported ground vermin, Stilts are successful not only in protecting their own nests

but in making conditions safer for other birds. It may not be without significance that Grey Duck, nesting near small ponds, often manage to rear a larger brood in seasons when the Pied Stilts happen to nest nearby. For its own nest the Stilt uses a small amount of nesting material placed on the ground, and lays four eggs, dark in ground colour, heavily blotched and decidedly pear-shaped. The longlegged chicks leave the nest soon after hatching, and wander about the neighbourhood under the vigilant guard of their parents. They are perky little birds and hold themselves upright when standing or running. Within a week or two feathers replace the down and it is not long before they can fly, having then a plumage distinguished from that of the adult by faint speckling on the black of the wings, a pure white neck, and a blotch of smoky colour about the eyes. Like their parents they are noisy, but their notes for the first year or more are more like “peep-peep” than the full-toned yelp of the adults. From time to time pure Black Stilts are reported. They were once fairly common, but have not been so now for many years. It is held by some ornithologists that the black form was a mutant from pied stock, and that it has now died out or been absorbed. If this is so it may occur again at any time, and it would not be surprising if the black birds were again to appear in fair numbers.

ALBATROSS FUND £ s d Previously acknowledged . . . . 17 12 0 Class H.2.A, Tech. Coll, Ch’ch. . . 2 1 Mr. and Mrs. J. Y. Miller . . . . 5 0 Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Holt . . 5 0 Miss Joyce Mcßobie . . . . 0 9 Ex-Dunedinite . . . . . . 5 0 Miss L. W. Munro . . . . . . 15 0 Mrs. H. C. Cock . . . . . . 10 0 Miss Hodson . . . . . . 5 0 Miss Pamela Williams . . . . 2 0 Master Peter MacCallum . . . . 16 Mr. Don Matheson . . . . 2 6 £2O 5 10 his list is now closed. ——