152 BIRDS 



itself on its back, striking out with beak and claws and shrieking 

 most wildly. Mr J. Grant of Wanganui informs me (1918) that the 

 Magpie has been seen to kill a fantail by a direct blow on the body, 

 then it stuck its bill into the little victim and carried it away. This 

 bird has a wonderfully fine flute-like song; both the male and the 

 female sing, and they begin their concert even before sunrise. They 

 are readily tamed and are very sociable in confinement ; but they are 

 apt to drop their beautiful song, and take to imitate all sorts of 

 domestic sounds. I knew of one in Dunedin which could bark like 

 the dog, and mew like the cat; but its favourite amusement was to 

 sit on the fence and call the fowls together. 



During the mouse-plague in Victoria in 1905, in some districts, 

 crowds of magpies were seen to follow the plough, and catch and 

 swallow every mouse that was unearthed. In one case 150 to 200 

 magpies were seen following one plough and no mice got away. 



Family Parid^ 



Titmouse ; Blue Tit ; Tom-Tit (Parus coeruleus) 



The Canterbury Society in their report for 1874 state that "these 

 have been imported in considerable numbers." There is no previous 

 record of these birds unless they are included in the unspecified 

 birds introduced in 1871 in the 'Charlotte Gladstone.' They must 

 have died out, for there is no further record. 



Family CoRViD^ 

 * Rook {Corvus frugilegus) 



In 1862 three rooks were introduced into Nelson, and stayed 

 about there for a few years, when they disappeared. The popular 

 belief was that they left for Canterbury, when others were introduced 

 there. 



It would appear that rooks were introduced about the same time 

 into Canterbury, for in a press cutting dated April, 1870, recording 

 the presentation of a single specimen to the Acclimatisation Society, 

 it is added : " The rooks first imported into the province by Mr Watts 

 Russell, some years ago, were all killed by cats." 



The Auckland Society introduced two in 1869, and 64 in 1870. 

 At first it seemed as if these birds would not succeed in establishing 

 themselves, for the Society's report for 1872 states that: 



eight nests were built in the Gardens, but unhappily a night review of 

 the volunteers took place just as incubation commenced, when the firing 

 caused the majority of the rooks to forsake their nests, so that only three 

 small broods were hatched. In January a severe epidemic broke out 



