Sydney Porter—Notes on New Zealand Birds



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just as he was in the act, the cock bird rushed up, seized the eggs

one by one out of his hand, and took them to a place of safety.


Young Wekas are peculiar looking creatures and rather resemble

young Cranes covered with black down.


I shall never forget my first view of one of these birds, it was

in the forest on Kapiti Island. The bird was at the foot of a wall

of rock over which water trickled in just sufficient quantity to keep

in a state of perpetual dampness the wonderful collection of ferns

and mosses which covered the huge face. The bird seemed far more

like a mammal in its demeanour than a bird. It was full of

curiosity yet it seemed to half-control its feeling, pretending not

to see us and yet getting closer and closer as we stood and watched it.

It rather reminded me of the women in the working-class street who,

when a motor car stops outside one of the houses, find that the front

window or doorstep need cleaning, going about their business in a

■seemingly casual way yet all the time being consumed with curiosity.

These birds are inhabitants of the thickest forest, usually where it

is damp and marshy, and in their diet they are omnivorous, nothing

seems to come amiss to them.


One would naturally think that such a bird as this would make

a delightful pet. I did until I was disillusioned; a more cruel or

dirtier bird it is impossible to imagine. It is impossible to keep any

-other kind of bird with them, short of Ostriches. They will kill

anything : some I know burrowed into the next aviary and in a

few minutes had killed and devoured a Pigeon and a Rail. Even

amongst themselves they are extremely vicious. One minute the birds

will be caressing and feeding each other; the next, one will be

holding the other down trying to brain it by raining hard blows with

its dagger-like beak on the victim’s skull. During the time the

birds referred to were kept together, before separate aviaries were

built for them, they nearly tore each other to pieces, the cock losing

an eye. After this the other bird always attacked its mate from the

blind side.


In a few days they will ruin the largest of pens, tearing up plants

and shrubs, digging up the turf, and altogether making the place

into an absolute quagmire. Their water pot they will immediately



