Fulton. — Disappearance of Neiu Zealand Birds. 487 



Island. The eastern Southern Alps contain many smaller and 

 larger forest areas, the Seaward Kaikouras are bush-clad, and 

 the coast ranges to the south have usually the gullies full of 

 forest. Then comes the great break of the treeless Canterbury 

 Plains, the upper river-valleys, and eastern and central Otago. 

 Finally, southern Otago still contains some large forest areas, 

 as, e.g., west and south of Catlin's and the Longwood Forest. 

 Stewart Island is all forest, and perhaps one-fifth of Chatham 

 Island, while most of the lower country of the Auckland Islands 

 is forest-covered." 



Our birds of prey, consisting of three hawks and two owls, 

 are now rarely seen. The sparrow-hawk, relentlessly gunned : 

 the bush hawk, deprived of much of his shelter, his main bird- 

 food (qua^s) gone ; lizards all but absent through cultivation, 

 ploughing, and draining ; ground-larks well out in the open 

 fields, where he dare not follow — a price upon his head ; in all 

 directions, save in the densest West Coast bush or hidden 

 mountain-bound swamps, he is not ; he is reported at Bright- 

 water, near Nelson, Hororata, Ihuraua, and Little Barrier. 



The harrier, a leisurely, wary bird, still hangs on, though 

 slowly and surely he is going. He can be occasionally seen on 

 the Taieri, and he is reported as increasing at Temuka, Ash- 

 burton, Waihemo, Waitaki, Waverley, Rongomai, and the 

 Bay of Islands ; he is extinct at Tauranga and other places ; 

 but he is mentioned from many localities as just holding his own. 



The owl, timid at all times, practically blind in the daytime, 

 is turned out of its forest haunts by the onward march of saw- 

 mills — the hollow tree brought down or fired ; his flight, heavy 

 and noiseless, is not quick enough to save him from the worrying 

 sparrow and blackbird ; at all times stupid in the daylight, 

 he is driven back to the depths of the West Coast. His some- 

 time rocky homes are trodden round and destroyed by sheep 

 and cattle, and his animal food is getting less and less as agri- 

 culture advances. He is shot on sight by every gun-bearing 

 fool, and the New Zealand morepork's cry will soon be heard 

 no more. His principal food, the native rat, is removed, ousted 

 by the introduced, more wary, rodent from Europe ; everything 

 is gone ; nothing remains but oblivion. Moreporks and owls 

 are reported as " existing " to-day at Brightwater ; as 

 " present " at Mataura, North Wairoa, Rodney County, Omata, 

 Ngatimaru, Ormond, Paradise, Patutahi, and Manganui ; as 

 " not decreasing " at Pohonui, Raglan, and Ramarama ; as 

 " disappearing " from Waimea, Rongomai, Waverley (Patea), 

 Hokianga, Waiheke Island, Wangaehu, and Helensville. Owls 

 are mentioned at Waikaka, Wainuiomata, Temuka Road, 

 Ihuraua, Kaukapakapa, near Dunedin, and Wyndham. 



