8 M'L-F.AN, Bush-Birds of New Zealand. [isfTuiy 



time of year) of the fruit of the native fuchsia (F. excorticata) 

 and pigeon-wood {Hedycarya dentata), soon to be followed by 

 that of the mahoe (or white-wood), in which species of tree the 

 nest in question was situated. Later on again, in January and 

 February, the wineberry of these scattered bushes, with its grape- 

 like clusters of small, purple-staining berries, would help them 

 on to the tawa of the distant bush. Although the Pigeon nests 

 in many of the smaller scrubby bushes in other parts of the dis- 

 trict, I do not think they ever bred again in the above locality. 

 In the Maunga-Haumia bush many birds were observed by a 

 survey party during November and December of 1906 nesting 

 in some of the higher and adjacent bush to that which I super- 

 vised in that year. 



Regarding the Pigeon in other parts of the East Coast district, 

 the bird is by no means so plentiful as it was some 15 or 20 years 

 ago, and, considering the quantity of bush which has been cleared 

 since then, it must naturally be considerably reduced numerically 

 throughout the Dominion ; but, owing to its habit of moving 

 from place to place in quest of food, it is difficult to form an 

 opinion as to its numbers at the present day. Old settlers speak 

 of shooting numbers in the early days in the makauri and 

 pipiwhaka bushes of the Poverty Bay flats, where the birds came 

 in hundreds to the white pines {Podocarpiis dacrydioides) and 

 cabbage-trees {Cordyline australis) ; but these bushes exist now 

 in name only, for the pine has long been milled, and the cabbage- 

 tree has been removed to make way for the plough. Not only 

 on the closely-settled fiats, but in many accessible patches of 

 bush in other inland parts, has the white pine been cut out, and 

 so the bird is absent from such localities. Neither does it visit 

 the scattered bushes and kowhai gullies of the open hilly country 

 in anything like the numbers it did 20 years ago. As the tawa 

 is a fairly consistent bearer each year. Pigeons can usually be 

 found in early autumn about that class of bush ; but, should the 

 white pine friiit that year in any profusion, the birds, preferring 

 the latter food, desert, to a great extent, the tawa, and assemble 

 in great numbers wherever pine is to be found. I remember a 

 small patch of about 40 acres of white pine bush in open country 

 near Te Karaka, and still in existence, where, some years ago, 

 we shot, in April, on two different days, some 70 Pigeons. The 

 birds were there in scores, but the trees, quite red with berries, 

 were very high indeed. They were the fattest I have ever 

 handled, and tasted of the pecuhar though pleasing flavour of the 

 pine. We thought Pigeons were fairly numerous that year. 

 Now, these pines did not again fruit for four years, and in the 

 intervening seasons we considered the birds were becoming less 

 numerous. However, when that patch did bear again, in March 

 and April, quite as many, if not more, birds appeared ; but the 

 season did not open till May in that year, and by then both berries 

 and birds were gone. It was about these years that the Pigeon 

 visited the kowhai gullies in the above locality in such numbers 



