Sydney Porter—Notes on New Zealand Birds



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insect life off the surface of the water itself. They literally dance their

way silently through the forests like some giant snow-flake, never for

a second still ; even when they perch, the body is swayed from side

to side displaying the beautiful fan-like tail.


The nest is one of the most beautiful structures ever designed by

a feathered architect. It is very small, compact, and shaped like a

spinning top. It is composed of thistledown, fine moss, skeleton leaves,

and other such fine material, the whole being bound firmly together

with spiders’ webs and then stuck all over with tiny bits of lichen.

A friend assured me that he had Watched the birds gathering the

webs by getting one side of the head covered with them and then

laying them on the nest. It is hard to believe that such a compact

structure is the work of a bird. It is woven around the stems of several

leaves, where they join the branch of the tree. So small is it that the

birds sit on top and not in it. Very often the two owners can be seen

sitting on it together, the female first and the male on her back as

though to protect her.


All efforts to keep this tiny species in captivity seem to have failed

until recently, when I saw in New Zealand four perfect specimens

which had been in captivity for over six months ; but these were living

in a huge aviary and feeding solely on their natural food, tiny flies,

and other insects attracted by the food of the other birds and also,

no doubt, by the goldfish pools in the aviaries. I doubt whether they

would ever live upon artificial food or in a cage and for that reason

I did not attempt to bring any back with me to Europe.


It is little to be wondered at that the Fantail finds its way into

many of the Maori legends.


Buffer, in his monumental work, The Birds of New Zealand , says :

“ Long may the Pied Fantail thrive and prosper, in the face of cats,

owls, naturalists, and the whole race of depredators ; for without it

our woods would lack one of their prettiest attractions, and our fauna

its gentlest representative.”


The New Zealand Fruit Pigeon (Hemiphaga novceseelandice)


Of all the known Fruit Pigeons, the New Zealand species is probably

one of the finest, equaling a small domestic hen in size, having the



