^°gio^ ] From Magazines, S-c. 5l 



resulted mainly from the presence of vast flocks of berry-eating 

 Starlings, Thrushes, and Blackbirds, which eat the berries even 

 before they are ripe, and leave little for the luckless native birds. 

 He makes stoats and weasels share the blame in regard to the 

 Pigeons and the Kakas, as several bushmen told him that the 

 vermin attack the nests of all birds, whether they are in trees or 

 on the ground. His observations show that the general decrease 

 in numbers does not apply to the ' Morepork ' Owl, the King- 

 fisher, and the Fantail. The Fantail, indeed, is probably more 

 plentiful now than it ever was before. The Tui is holding its own 

 fairly well. He saw no Blue Ducks during his visit. He was 

 told that this native is still seen in remote mountain streams, but 

 he cannot understand how it can combat an enemy which has 

 defeated the Weka. He admits that there may be cases in which 

 a Weka, which is a game and powerful fighter, and is accustomed 

 to dealing with rats, has successfully fought a weasel, but he points 

 out that there is no doubt that, during the past five years, the 

 Weka has disappeared from forests where it had flourished for 

 years. ' To anyone who is acquainted with the West Coast as I 

 am,' he says, in concluding this part of his letter, ' it was a painful 

 experience to spend three weeks in the bush without hearing a 

 Weka.' " 



In another issue are some excellent notes on the Huia, as follow : 

 — " Mr. Gregor M'Gregor, of Wanganui, knew the Huia in the early 

 days of settlement, when this bird was fairly plentiful in parts of 

 the Rimutaka, Tararua, and Ruahine Ranges, and was found, in 

 fact, over the whole of the country drained by the Manawatu, 

 Rangitikei, and Hautapu Rivers. He has seen dozens of Huias 

 on occasions when he made his way through the forests. He 

 states that they come readily when their whistle is imitated by a 

 human being. They have a very acute sense of hearing, and will 

 come from a distance of over loo yards. They do not usually 

 fly down, but run or hop along the ground, usually coming down 

 the open slope of a hill. He has never seen Huias singly ; they 

 have always been in pairs. They are snared, but always on the 

 ground, and never on a tree. They are more in evidence on foggy 

 or wet days. In the summer time they go high up the ranges ; in 

 the winter the snow on the mountain-tops drives them down to 

 lower altitudes. There is usually a great deal of rimu, maitai, and 

 birch timber in their forest haunts. Many large rimu trees fall 

 to the ground and decay, and offer homes to huhu grubs, for which 

 the Huias have a marked weakness. At one time, Mr. M'Gregor 

 adds, Huias were very plentiful near Taihaj)e. He feels strongly 

 that determined eft'orts should be made to catch some for liberation 

 on the bird sanctuaries. The female lays up to three, four, or five 

 eggs in a season, four being quite common, and he is convinced 

 that the birds would thrive well on the sanctuaries, where they 

 would be protected from all natural enemies, including man — the 

 most relentless of all." 



A note on the White-eye [Zosterops carulcsce}is): — " The White- 



