90 Sydney Porter—Notes on Birds of Fiji


NOTES ON BIRDS OF FIJI


By Sydney Porter


“ Green Islands in Glittering Seas ” is a fitting name for those

wondrous paradises of the Southern Pacific. It is among these enchanted

islands that one finds the South Sea Islands of the story books, islands

of emerald green, of swaying palms by surf-ringed shores, of the scarlet

hibiscus, of wonderful multi-coloured coral reefs, of breezes laden with

the heavy exotic perfume of a thousand tropical blossoms, of gleaming

white coral beaches lapped by crystal waters whose touch to the body

feels like liquid velvet.


We perhaps see pictures of the South Sea Islands at the cinema,

or in a story book, or often a pen-picture is drawn of a tropical island

paradise in a cheap novel, where two lovers, after chasing each other

round the world, at last find their haven of refuge ! Beautiful as these

representations may be, they cannot adequately portray the original,

for how can they capture the radiant sunlight which drenches these

happy islands or bring to the nostrils the exquisite scent of the gorgeous

tropical flowers or above all convey to the mind that languid restful

peace which makes one feel that at last one has found the land of one’s

dreams ?


There, the Englishman never speaks of the wretched climate as he

does in most colonies, or bemoans his fate as an exile from his native

land. He speaks of these emerald islands as one speaks of a lover,

tenderly, respectfully, and always in the hopes that there will never

be a parting.


It was to Fiji that I went in search of the wonderful Parrakeets for

which those islands are so famed. These birds are amongst the largest

and most brilliant of their kind. I had specimens of the gorgeous

“ Splendens ” at home and, fired by their great beauty, I resolved that

at the first opportunity I would try to visit their native habitat.

The chance came when I was in New Zealand, for the Fiji group

of islands is only 1,200 miles from that country. I hoped to

see something of all these splendid birds in a state of freedom, but

alas, I was doomed to disappointment. My stay was too short and the

Parrakeets were all too rare. When I was in New Zealand, I was



