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Sydney Porter—Notes on New Zealand Birds



On the other hand this does not account for the diminution of certain

endemic species such as the North Island Thrush, the Stitch-bird,

the North Island Robin, and the strange aberrant Wattled-Crows

which commenced to disappear from the untouched forest regions

soon after the advent of the white men into the country.


These birds (and several others) commenced to disappear for no

apparent reason whatsoever and by the beginning of the twentieth

century had practically ceased to exist. The only plausible explanation

is that the New Zealand birds were very susceptible to the germ-

carrying parasites which were brought to the country by the various

introduced species, to which they themselves had become immune.


The Robin and the Thrush, both birds which were untouched by

the colonists, commenced to disappear in the very early days of settle¬

ment from the very remote parts of the country where the conditions

were the same since the beginning of time and into which no white man

had yet penetrated. Some of the birds, such as the Bell-bird, the Wattled

Crows, etc., were reckoned by the leading local authorities to be extinct

at the end of the nineteenth century but have since re-established

themselves, especially the former bird which is now almost common

in the scattered forest patches, and the Crows are reappearing in certain

localities.


The indigenous forest of New Zealand is magnificent, at least,

what there is left of it, for the hand of Man has dealt very hardly with

the vegetation of these Antipodean islands. Destruction is the watch¬

word of the New Zealand farmer. To him the tree-fern, totara, the

mati, the kahikatea are blots on the landscape to be got rid of at any

cost. It is of no account if the blackberries, the thistle, ragwort, gorse,

etc., overrun his land. These are tolerated for they are exotics and

remind him of home but not the native bush, that must be got rid of

without delay. In fact it is possible to travel many miles and not see

a sign of any native vegetation. Everything is imported, the grass,

the trees, and even the weeds. Very soon the New Zealand forest will

exist no more except in a few Government reserves. In fact, one has

to travel miles and miles off the beaten track to see even a small remnant

of native forest.


It is beyond my power of words to describe the beauties of the native



