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Sydney Porter—Notes on New Zealand Birds



and heard by several people whilst I was at the Chateau. But though

I wandered miles up and down the stream, a no easy matter when the

banks were steep and covered with the densest alpine forest to the

water’s edge, I was never lucky enough to see the birds.


This duck possesses remarkable swimming powers. It can strike

upstream against a current which would sweep a man off his feet.


If the bird could keep at the high altitudes where it nests, all the

year round, it would be safe, but in these districts the cold in the

winter is intense ; snow covers the ground, the rivers often freeze over.

The birds are then forced to lower altitudes and come within range of

the duck-shooters who, although the bird is protected, neither know

nor care at what species they aim. To them a duck is a duck, whether

it is blue, black, or yellow.


I was told by some gold prospectors that the bird was occasionally

seen in the Sounds district in the south-west corner of the South

Island, but that it was far from plentiful and was being exterminated

by the various introduced mammals, such as cats, rats and weasels,

which now abound in the district.


According to all accounts this bird will eventually become extinct,

its extreme tameness has been its undoing, neither can it cope with

the altered conditions. It is not found on any of the island sanctuaries

or it might have been saved for posterity. I doubt whether it would

be possible to keep this species in captivity.' I don’t think that it

has even been exported from New Zealand.


The bird is distinguished from all other ducks by its blue-grey

plumage and its extraordinary bill. The end of the upper mandible

is semi-circular and has a flap of loose skin which hangs over the lower

part. This is no doubt of great use to the bird in obtaining its food

from the bottoms of the fast-flowing streams.


The Tui (Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae)


After the Kiwi, the Tui is perhaps the most famous of all New

Zealand birds. The first question one is asked when it is known that

one is interested in birds is, “Ah, have you heard the Tui ?


A certain bird book recently published states that the Tui is common

throughout New Zealand. From my own observations and from



