360 THE ANIMALS OF NEW ZEALAND 



At night we hear the sounds of birds high up in the air. as 

 flock after flock seeks the coast or the brackish "water of the 

 shallow mere. These notes are probably, as Gilbert "White said, 

 a safegTiard against dispersion in the dark, or may convey some 

 intimation of any change in the order of flight ; they are usually 

 briefly, yet deliberately, sounded. Sea-fowl are far from silent 

 when on their course, ascending rivers or roaming above the 

 harbours and bays that indent the shore. 



Living close to the beach in a sheltered nook in Port Cooper, 

 at no great distance from the extensive area of Lake Ellesmere, 

 it may be that I have been more than usually attentive to these 

 wandering voices, since few woodland birds now frequent the 

 slopes of our picturesque hills, like many other districts once 

 clothed with stately trees and bright-leaved scrubs. Shade and 

 shelter gone, bare stems with whitened tops remain, and point 

 to the work of the ruthless bushman. 



Often at night, about the second week in January, the shrill 

 piping of the oyster-catcher (Haematopus) is heard, and, soon 

 after, the yelping cry of the stilt {Himantopus) , apparently from 

 a great height. These waders are amongst the earliest to quit 

 their inland breeding haunts and bring their pied broods towards 

 the coast. They are on their way to join or assist in forming the 

 large flocks which during the autumn and winter spread them- 

 selves along the shores and over flats and harbours, where 

 abundance of food can be procured. 



Many genera, which must in all fairness be termed gregarious, 

 utter their calls and cries with frequent repetitions, and that too 

 in broad daylight. Can we divine their meaning ? Let us observe 

 which are the noisy species. Flocks of tern may be heard 

 screaming at some distance, as in open order and at no great 

 height they stream across the country, foraging by sight. Is 

 their squealing cry uttered in rivalry', for companionship, for 

 encouragement, or satisfaction at the prospect of a well filled 

 gullet f Watch a flock of the same species hovering over a river, 

 and should anything unusual, such as a dead bird, be born down 

 b}^ the current, a clamour at once arises. How swiftly is the 

 news spread from bird to bird! In a brief space hundreds are 



