Brighter Britain! (Volume 2 of 2): or Settler and Maori in Northern New ZealandHay, W. Delisle (William Delisle)
History
Brighter Britain! (Volume 2 of 2): or Settler and Maori in Northern New Zealand
Hay, W. Delisle (William Delisle)
Ethnology -- New Zealand; Māori (New Zealand people); New Zealand -- Description and travel
The Kokako (_Glaucopis Wilsoni_) is a crow, and is not uncommon in the
Kaipara. It has blue wattles on the beak. Its note is peculiar, being
sometimes a low, hollow boom, and at others a shrill and somewhat
bell-like tone.
The Putoto (_Ortygometra Tabuensis_) is a crake, often confounded by
settlers with the patatai. It is a smaller bird altogether, having
partridge tints on the back, and a grey breast. It chiefly inhabits
raupo swamps.
The Torea, or oyster-catcher (_Haematopus longirostris_) is one of the
sea-coast birds, and is often to be seen about our tidal rivers. It is
a black bird.
The Kotuku, or crane (_Ardea syrmatophora_), must just be mentioned,
though none of us ever saw one. But the Maori have a proverb—"as rare
as the kotuku."
There are various species of duck indigenous to the country, and
seen in great flocks on the rivers. Some of them have really fine
plumage, and others are dull in colour. We shoot and eat them all
indiscriminately, and consider them very good. The species we
have identified in the Kaipara and Hokianga are—the Putangi, or
"paradise-duck" (_Casarca variegata_); the grey duck, or Parera (_Anas
superciliosa_); the brown duck, an allied species or variety of the
last; the Papanga, or "teal," or "widgeon" (_Fuligula N.Z._), and
some other varieties that may be imported birds, or crosses, or other
native species. Besides these are numerous species of seabirds: gulls,
albatross, tern, skua, penguin, etc. We never eat them, of course,
though the Maori do, as they occasionally shoot some for the sake of
their feathers.
The Tauhau (_Zosterops lateralis_) is a beautiful little green bird,
much like a wren. It has a gold or silvery ring round the eye. It is
much seen about gardens and clearings, and settlers know it as the
"blight-bird." It frequents second-growth ti-tree, where its little
mossy nest and four or five pale blue eggs may often be found. This
bird is said to have only recently come to the country, from no one
knows where. It is quite at home now, and we see its nest oftener than
that of any other species.
The Waka-waka (_Rhipidura flabellifera_) is _the_ robin of our Brighter
Britain. It is a fantail, or flycatcher. It has dark brown tints pied
with white and black. When one is working or travelling in the bush, a
pair of these dear little birds will stay with one all day. They appear
beside you in the morning, and remain with you till night. They flutter
and flirt about you, sitting on twigs and regarding you with a bright
beady eye, whilst chirruping in a soft, unobtrusive undertone. We find
their nests sometimes, in bush-lawyer or supple-jack clumps, or in
birch-trees, They are curiously built with spiders' webs.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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