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Sydney Porter—Notes on New Zealand Birds



shown one which had a few days previously almost killed a male

Ring-necked Pheasant which had been placed in the same aviary.

The birds would be about the same size but the Pigeon would have

the greatest weight behind it. They can also give some nasty hits

with the wings.


In spite of the usually laboured flight and the heavy body, the

Pigeon can upon occasion perform wonderful aerial feats. I believe

it is only the cock bird that does this and it no doubt forms some

kind of display. The bird rises up vertically out of its favourite tree,

rising to a great height, when it suddenly turns, opening its wings and

tail, and glides down to the same spot which it left. This is done over

and over again, especially in the evenings. It is a very strange spectacle

to watch from a distance several birds doing this at the same time.

When lying some distance off a forested island it appeared as

though giant balls were being thrown up and down from out of

the trees.


On Kapati Island I was shown a sitting bird which was so tame that

we could pick her off the nest and look at the egg. It was here that

I discovered that this Pigeon has a curious parasitic fly similar to one

I noticed on Vinage delalandei in East Africa. This peculiar fly is the

size of a common “ blue-bottle ”, but very flat in shape and a pale

grey colour. At times it runs about quickly over plumage but on the

slightest alarm it dives into the feathers. (The accompanying photo¬

graph, taken of the bird after I left Kapati, shows this fly on the breast

of the bird. The young one had just hatched, hence the broken egg

shell.) Only one egg is laid, but I believe the bird nests twice in the

year. The nest is not the frail structure that most Pigeons make, and

great care is shown in choosing the site.


This bird cannot exist without large areas of forest for it feeds

almost entirely on the berries and fruits of the large forest trees such

as the karaka, miro, puriri, etc. The bearing seasons of the trees

vary according to the altitude so the Pigeon has to follow its

food supply.


I have been told that, owing to the scarcity of berries at certain

seasons, the birds are forced to feed to a large extent on various leaves

and during this period they are exceedingly thin. When there is a



