C. Barnby Smith—Notes on Neio Zealand Birds 81


however, noticed quite a lot of little Plover, which I was told were

Sand Plover, though judging from illustrations they looked to me like

“ Banded Dotterel Anyhow, they quite lacked the grace of form of

our own little Ringed Plover.


I got some excellent views of Pied Stilts feeding in a shallow lagoon

olT the edge of Lake Rotorua. I had previously seen one flying over }

but on inquiry was told there were no Stilts there. I should have

much liked a photo of the feeding birds, which were close at hand, and

in their movements reminded me of the Avocets at the London Zoo

when nesting there some years ago. Incidentally, I should like to ask

whether it would not be possible to get over to England some of these

Pied Stilts. They swarm on the coast in some places and at some

seasons. The Black Stilts are much rarer, and only once did I see (or

think I saw) a pair flying over. The Avocet seems non-existent in

New Zealand.


Weka Rails are by no means uncommon, and a friend of mine

travelling through the South Island describes them as being most

amusingly bold.


My inquiries as to Ducks were specially disappointing. One may

say of the average New Zealander—-


A duck beside the river brim,


A Grey or Mallard is to him,


And it is nothing more.


Both Grey and Mallard are looked at from the culinary point of view

only. Anything outside these seems regarded as a harmless eccentricity

of nature of little account. It is plain, however, that constant shooting

with large duck guns has pretty well cleared many places which formerly

swarmed with duck of various kinds. In Government reserves, however,

there are still many varieties of interest to be found, as for instance at

Hamurana on Lake Rotorua, where Black Teal are very plentiful and

are quite tame. I never saw any Grebe of any kind, although I was

often in places where I expected to find them. On the other hand,

Black Swans are quite plentiful.


Kingfishers are common. The first I saw was on a croquet hoop

in a garden in the village of Russell. My surprise was naturally great,

but later I grew accustomed to expect them almost anywhere. The



