AND OTHER BIRDS 159 



for a Fern Bird's nest; the Fern Birds at any 

 rate believed so by their outcry an alarm that 

 sufficiently expressed their opinion of the 

 Weka's character, and which was probably 

 based on dismal experience. 



It is to such species as the Crows, the Robins, 

 the Tits, the Warblers, the Thrushes, the Saddle- 

 back, the Bush Creeper, the Yellow Head, the 

 White Head, the Wrens, the Tui, the Bell-bird, 

 the Pigeon, and the Parrakeets, that the 

 presence of the Weka is an unmixed boon. If 

 they still continue to survive it is to his ceaseless 

 vigilance, his policing of the woods, his eternal 

 patrol of them by day and night, that they owe 

 their lives; and these species, we may say, he 

 watches without reward. From other kinds 

 aided in the struggle of life, such as Rails, 

 Ducks, Pukeko, possibly, and from the Fern 

 Bird and Ground Lark, certainly, he does take 

 toll. It is a tribute levied, fit and fair, and the 

 merest fraction of what is robbed by rats; a 

 merely nominal fee, in fact, charged for life 

 insurance. 



The larger kind of birds, such as Penguins, 

 Kiwis, Hawk, Falcon, etc., under normal condi- 

 tions watch their eggs too carefully to give the 

 Weka a chance. If, in any way, his presence in 

 the woods affects these birds, it is to insure a 

 high degree of faithful incubation. To them he 

 is a tonic against sloth and carelessness. 



If, then, in New Zealand any serious interest 

 ever comes to be taken in our native birds, the 

 most efficient method of preserving the smaller 

 tree-breeding species lies in the propagation of 

 the Weka. Of all the birds that deserve our 

 care he comes foremost, and assistance withheld 



