30 THE ANIMALS OF NEW ZEALAND 



Then the settlers arrived with fresh supplies of domestic 

 animals and deadly tire-arms. By shooting, the numbers of 

 the avocet, the white heron in the south, and the pigeons, ducks, 

 swamp hens, quail, and other birds were greatly reduced. In 

 some favoured spots, the slaughter was terrible. In the early 

 days of Otago, the pigeons, which congregated in the fuchsia 

 trees and scrub about Dunedin, suffered severely. A common 

 recipe for soup among the settlers there was : ' ' One kaka 

 parrot and fourteen pigeons." Burning grass, scrub, and bush 

 wrought further havoc, and very soon the quail was almost 

 destroyed, while no crows were left on the eastern side of the 

 South Island. Dogs killed the wood hens in large numbers. 

 Lands were cleared of timber, swamps were drained, the native 

 flora was largely supplanted by crops, hedgerows, and gardens, 

 and by Old World shrubs and trees. The land-birds retreated in 

 diminished numbers, mostly to the mountains, where the 

 ancient forests, still standing, offered them a place of refuge. 



Three sanctuaries have been established by the Grovermnent, 

 one on Little Barrier Island, in Hauraki Gulf, one on Kapiti 

 Island, in Cook Strait, and the third (Ui Resolution Island, in 

 the Southern Sounds. The birds there are holding their own, 

 and are increasing in numbers. Individual increases are also 

 reported in the interior of the main land, in places where the 

 forests have been untouched. 



The New Fauna. 



New animals were introduced systematically. These greedy 

 invaders soon overcame any feeble resistance that may have 

 been offered, and speedily established themselves. 



Some of the new animals were brought in by Europeans 

 for food, and some for purely sentimental reasons. There were 

 few natural food supplies in New Zealand when colonists first 

 came. The Maoris lived mostly on fish, several kinds of birds, 

 fern-root, and three vegetables which they had introduced. 

 It became obvious that if the colonv was to be the abode of a 



