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Mr. D. G. Poison, writing to me from Mangawhero, near Wangami, about the birds in that 

 district, said : "Now as to the Pukeko. About fifteen years ago I drained a small swamp which 

 was at that time inhabited by some of these birds. I never doubted at the time that when the 

 swamp was dried they would migrate to some other swamp, none being nearer than five or 

 six miles distant. But, contrary to my expectations, they only shifted to the banks of the 

 Wangaehu river, about ten or twelve chains away, and there they have remained ever since. 

 The river-banks are perfectly dry, and there is no sign of swampiness in that neighbourhood. 

 They seem to do well and rear young in a situation unusually dry, except for the waters of the 

 river. Is it another case of adaptation to changed circumstances ? " 



I have been delighted to hear the sharp cry of the Pukeko — ' keo-keo-keo ' — in the swamp 

 on the eastern side of my lake at Papaitonga. It has long been a denizen of the swamp at the 

 western end, and now it is spreading its range to the other side. It is pleasing to see this very 

 ornamental bird stalking about the grass fields in the vicinity of its natural haunts. 



These beautiful birds are easily domesticated and, when tame, they are greatly prized by the 

 natives as ' mokai,' or pets. The Maoris do not, however, esteem them very highly as an article 

 of food, pronouncing the flesh to be dry and coarse. As a matter of fact, if hung sufficiently long, 

 and then either roasted and served up with bread-sauce, or skinned and made into a stew, they 

 furnish a really excellent dish for the table. 



And they are not altogether without their merits as game-birds. Colonel Cradock, C.B., in his 

 charming little book lately published, ' Sport in New Zealand,' * devotes a chapter to the Pukeko, 

 from which I extract the following : — 



One rather curious feature of Pukeko-life is the way they take their meals in a corn-field, especially in a 

 wheat-field. The straw is too long for them to reach the ears of corn from the ground, so they carefully 

 break down the straws half-way up, and bend the upper half over, forming a sort of platform. When the 

 Pukeko has bent over a certain amount, he jumps on to this platform, and discusses all the ears within 

 reach at his leisure, finishing off with the ears he has previously bent over to form his platform ! All 

 corn-fields in the vicinity of any place where Pukeko abound are liable to their inroads, and when the corn 

 is cut, regular pathways of platforms are often found. 



When driving Pukeko, always carry a long manuka with you, with branches at the top. When a Pukeko 

 is coming towards you, stand still and hold up the manuka in front of you, and the Pukeko will come straight 

 on without any fear. This may seem an improbable yarn, but it is absolutely true. 



He is not what you might call a very sporting bird, as he is a beggar to run, and very easy to hit when he 

 does get up ; in fact, he is very little different from a Water-hen. The only way to get any sport out of him at 

 all is to collect a large party of guns (ten or a dozen) and walk up wind in line along the edge of any lake, or 

 across a swamp where they are pretty numerous. They will run in front of you till they get to the end of 

 their cover, and then get up, and rocket back over the guns down wind. 



They must then be killed very dead, for without a good dog it is as certain as fate that they will never be 

 retrieved. They are most extraordinary hiders, and most tenacious of life. 



It is also not bad fun picking them off with a rook rifle. 



I have already indicated the wide geographic range of this species (vol. ii., p. 81), but it has 

 since been recorded from Lord Howe Island, from Booby Island in Torres Strait, and from New 

 Guinea. 



A closely allied species (Porphyrio samoensis) — a first cousin as it were — inhabits Samoa, 

 and another (P. smaragdinus) the Fiji and Tonga Islands, New Caledonia, New Britain, New 

 Hebrides, New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. Some ornithologists consider them all one and 

 the same species. 



* Anthony Treherne & Co.. Ltd., 3, Agar Street, Strand, W.C. 





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