370 TUTIRA 



in motion, are afforded by the advance of several of the alien avifauna, 

 by the behaviour of the blackbird, thrush, and chaffinch in particular. 

 For years the blackbird and thrush passed through Tutira without 

 perceptible increase of local birds, the two broods reared each season 

 vacating the station, young and old alike merging themselves in the 

 current of advance. 



Self-interest is a trait in human nature ever alert and watchful ; 

 men's observations are whetted, their recollections sharpened, by events 

 that harm or help. My contractor's jubilant exclamation in regard to 

 the rabbits, "the brutes are through us now and will never return," was 

 prompted by observation of certain facts in which he himself had a personal 

 interest. The spread or rather settlement of the blackbird and thrush 

 likewise became in a minor way a personal matter to every settler, 

 shepherd, and station-hand on the east coast. Few, indeed, noticed 

 their arrival or their habits and customs during the early years of their 

 appearance. It was only when after a certain lapse of time that loss of 

 ripe fruit from the wild cherry-groves, theft of raspberries and grapes 

 from the garden, became but too obvious, that their presence was fully 

 realised. Fruit which had ripened was no longer suffered to ripen. 



Details of the arrival of the first blackbird and thrush have been 

 given. They reached Tutira about the same time, in '91. Two years 

 later considerable numbers were temporarily resident in spring, breeding 

 with us. Now, had these station-born birds remained and bred, their 

 descendants again remained and bred, the numbers both of blackbird and 

 thrush would have increased so greatly that our cherry -groves and 

 gardens would have been despoiled many seasons sooner than did 

 actually happen. Had there been no forward movement, they would 

 have locally multiplied like the price paid for the successive nails in the 

 horse's shoe. As a matter of fact, no harm was done until ten or twelve 

 years later. Since that time cherries have never been allowed to colour 

 beyond a bright red ; in olden days they remained for weeks, sweet, black, 

 and wrinkled, on the laden trees. 



Another fact worth noticing in the blackbird and thrush migration is 

 its narrow width, the advance of young and old alike along a line within 

 limits confined to the coast. For years later than the spoliation of groves 

 on the route of march, the cherry plantations at Waikaremoana, inland 

 from Wairoa, and at Maungaharuru, inland from Tutira, remained intact 

 and continued to mature dead ripe fruit. 



