﻿514 
  Mr. 
  W. 
  W. 
  Smith 
  on 
  New-Zealand 
  Birds. 
  

  

  themselves 
  on 
  the 
  sweet 
  flowers 
  of 
  the 
  kowhai, 
  ngaio, 
  papa- 
  

   uma^ 
  tawhiwhi; 
  and 
  manuka 
  trees 
  is 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  naturalist's 
  

   charms 
  of 
  the 
  year. 
  But, 
  alas 
  ! 
  from 
  several 
  districts, 
  where 
  

   only 
  a 
  few 
  years 
  ago 
  these 
  sylvan 
  scenes 
  were 
  present, 
  the 
  

   forest 
  flowers 
  and 
  the 
  sweet 
  song 
  of 
  the 
  Korimako 
  have 
  

   vanished, 
  and 
  the 
  flocks 
  of 
  the 
  farmer 
  now 
  occupy 
  their 
  

   sites. 
  

  

  While 
  studying 
  the 
  changes 
  in 
  the 
  New-Zealand 
  avifauna 
  

   it 
  is 
  imperative 
  to 
  first 
  consider 
  the 
  primitive 
  state 
  of 
  the 
  

   islands. 
  The 
  remote 
  and 
  long 
  separation 
  of 
  New 
  Zealand 
  

   from 
  any 
  continental 
  area, 
  and 
  the 
  development 
  of 
  the 
  re- 
  

   markable 
  extinct 
  and 
  existing 
  avifaunas 
  within 
  its 
  limits, 
  

   would 
  require 
  long 
  and 
  steadily 
  evolving 
  epochs 
  to 
  develop 
  

   the 
  numerous 
  bygone 
  and 
  the 
  living 
  anomalous 
  species 
  

   peculiar 
  to 
  the 
  New-Zealand 
  region. 
  Let 
  us 
  take 
  a 
  glimpse 
  

   at 
  the 
  natural 
  features 
  and 
  climatic 
  conditions 
  of 
  New 
  

   Zealand 
  twenty-five 
  to 
  forty 
  years 
  ago, 
  and 
  the 
  methods 
  of 
  

   colonization 
  practised 
  by 
  the 
  settlers, 
  and 
  we 
  shall 
  readily 
  

   understand 
  how 
  the 
  results 
  were 
  so 
  disastrous 
  to 
  the 
  native 
  

   birds. 
  The 
  plains 
  of 
  Canterbury 
  were 
  " 
  billowy 
  bays 
  of 
  

   grass 
  ^^ 
  inhabited 
  by 
  the 
  native 
  Quail 
  [Coturnix 
  nova-zea- 
  

   landice). 
  The 
  rich 
  forests 
  then 
  clothing 
  the 
  flats 
  and 
  spurs 
  

   of 
  the 
  lower 
  ranges 
  existed 
  in 
  their 
  natural 
  freshness, 
  and 
  were 
  

   replete 
  with 
  many 
  forms 
  of 
  endemic 
  birds. 
  In 
  a 
  few 
  years 
  

   the 
  whole 
  of 
  the 
  plains 
  had 
  been 
  repeatedly 
  swept 
  by 
  grass- 
  

   fires, 
  and 
  as 
  a 
  result 
  the 
  Quails 
  vanished 
  rapidly. 
  The 
  fires 
  

   would 
  occasionally 
  sweep 
  through 
  extensive 
  flax-flats, 
  and 
  

   destroy 
  the 
  prospects 
  of 
  a 
  good 
  flowering 
  season. 
  The 
  

   stately 
  and 
  melliferous 
  flowers 
  of 
  the 
  flax 
  yield 
  a 
  rich 
  supply 
  

   of 
  food 
  to 
  the 
  Korimako 
  and 
  Tui 
  {Prosthemade^'a 
  nov(£-zea- 
  

   landice) 
  and 
  to 
  the 
  Kaka 
  Parrot 
  {Nestor 
  meridionalis) 
  in 
  the 
  

   early 
  summer 
  months. 
  It 
  is 
  very 
  interesting 
  to 
  watch 
  these 
  

   birds 
  flying 
  from 
  flower 
  to 
  flower 
  and 
  licking 
  up 
  the 
  nectar 
  

   with 
  their 
  brush-like 
  tongues. 
  Many 
  of 
  the 
  rich 
  flax-flats, 
  

   like 
  the 
  smaller 
  forests, 
  have 
  been 
  cleared 
  and 
  now 
  form 
  

   excellent 
  pasture-land. 
  The 
  colonizing 
  operations 
  have 
  pro- 
  

   duced 
  a 
  serious 
  eflect 
  on 
  the 
  climate, 
  and 
  have 
  been, 
  I 
  believe, 
  

   the 
  direct 
  cause 
  of 
  the 
  unequal 
  seasons 
  experienced 
  in 
  New 
  

  

  