Sydney Porter—Notes on New Zealand Birds 143


in the forests of both islands in the early days of colonization, but,

like most of New Zealand’s endemic birds, its numbers were soon

reduced until it finally became almost extinct on the mainland. It

is now only found on the Hen Island and one or two very small

islets off Stewart Island. Some years ago a few birds were released

on Kapiti Island. These are still there, but they do not seem to have

increased to any extent.


Our first glimpse of this bird was very fleeting. On leaving the

Little Barrier, intending to go to the Poor Rights Islands, we

stopped for a short time at the Hen Island to see if we could see any¬

thing of the birds. A short time after we landed and made our way

up the precipitous hill-side, we heard the loud and extraordinary

calls of the birds, and in a few minutes had a view of a very fine

male bird only a few yards away; he soon vanished from our sight.

The Hen Island is much smaller than the Little Barrier, and is far

more precipitous, rising in a short distance from the shore to a

height of 1,300 feet. The whole island is covered from the edge

of the sea to the top of the ridges with the most beautiful virgin

forest, the great pleasure of which is the undergrowth of magnificent

Nikau-palms, a very near affinity to the well-known decorative

palm so much used in Europe.


On our second visit we were fortunate in seeing quite a few of

these very rare birds. In the area of forest where we stopped the

birds seemed fairly numerous, but for the main part they were

extremely wary and difficult to observe, which is very unusual, for

most of the birds in the sanctuaries are very confiding. I believe

this was due to a certain expedition calling and shooting many of

these birds. This expedition finally arrived in Auckland to ask

for permission to collect native birds, which was, quite rightly,

refused, but not before great slaughter had been done to the native

avifauna in the island sanctuaries and in the Chatham Islands

and elsewhere.


We heard the loud and very distinct calls of the birds all the

time we were on the island, and noticed the Saddlebacks feeding

upon the berries of a tall shrub, Nothopanax arboreum. These

berries are relished by most forest birds.



