52 A NEW ZEALAND NATURALIST'S CALENDAR. 



Chapter IV. February. 



I. 



TO write a Calendar which is even approximately 

 accurate as a record of natural events is somewhat 

 difficult anywhere, and is particularly so in a country 

 stretching through such a range of latitude as New 

 Zealand does. Some districts are months rather than 

 weeks in advance of others as far as vegetation is con- 

 cerned, so these notes must be taken to apply only to 

 Dunedin and its immediate neighbourhood in reference to 

 this aspect of nature. But while this diversity in point of 

 time is true for the vegetable kindom, we find that another 

 seasonal change, marked by the migration of birds, is much 

 more uniform for the whole country. This subject, so far 

 as the New Zealand group of islands is concerned, is not 

 very much known, and it is one which might well enlist 

 the assistance of those interested in bird life. In Britain, 

 where the observers number thousands, the dates and 

 conditions of migrations of bird life are beginning to be 

 well understood, but in this colony, where there are so few 

 qualified observers, the wonder is that so much good work 

 has been accomplished as the records show to be the case. 

 Lighthouses are most favourable vantage points for 

 watching the migrations of birds, and some of those on the 

 New Zealand Coasts are particularly well suited for the 

 work. There have been several good observers among the 

 lightkeepers, and in an occupation which must often prove 

 very trying from its monotony the interest which the 

 recording of natural phenomena displays must prove a 

 valuable thing to the possessor. Frequently when birds 

 are arriving from an oversea flight they are caught or seen 

 in the neighbourhood of a lighthouse in a more or less 

 exhausted condition, so that it is usually more easy to fix 

 the date of arrival of a species than its departure, unless 

 the latter takes place in flocks, when they gather together 



