WOOD AND WASTE 71 



eggs. Most of these nests, no doubt, are part- 

 nership businesses, and one at least, if not 

 more^ of the firm are constantly prowling 

 round, flicking their tails and uttering 

 warnings to all whom it may concern. The 

 more a Pukeko, especially a male is agi- 

 tated, the more violent the tail action 

 becomes, and as the excitement subsides, so 

 does the signalling cease. The height of 

 these nests, too, is some protection against 

 marauders like rats or Wekas, and the 

 prowling Harrier Hawks are repulsed and 

 baffled.* 



On one occasion I had been watching a 

 cock Pukeko keeping watch and ward, as 

 males do, and through my glasses trying 

 to discover the whereabouts of his sitting 

 mate. Just then a Harrier, flying low to 

 the ground, dropped, or rather tumbled, so 

 sudden was his action, on to the hen. 



Note. — Weasels are very rare on Tutira, and this im- 

 munity may be accounted for by the very heavy storms that 

 from time to time sweep the northern part of Hawke's Bay. 

 Many of the aliens cannot stand these long-continued torrents, 

 and during storms such as that of March- April (1910) when 

 a total of 16.83 inches fell in three sequent days, Sparrows, 

 Minahs, Quail and Hares are killed wholesale. 



