Sydney Porter—Notes on New Zealand Birds



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suddenly we heard the loud ringing calls of what we knew must be

the Stitch-bird. How our hearts beat as we watched a fully-plumaged

male come into view ; we watched him for a time as he searched for

his food amid the topmost branches of a forest tree, uttering all the

time his very loud ringing metallic notes. Later on we came across

a family party of five, these were in the undergrowth, and upon our

approach the female came out to investigate. Taking but little notice

of us she returned to her offspring who was busy searching the clumps

of leaves for tiny insects. We watched their activities for a considerable

time until they passed on to another part of the forest.


During our stay on the island when wandering in the deep gullies

-we often came across these birds and caught glimpses of the beautiful

fully-plumaged males, but usually the female is much more in evidence

than the males. They are by no means common though we sometimes

saw as many as seven in the course of a day, usually odd ones or pairs.

Unlike most of the other birds on the island the Stitch-bird is very

timid and no doubt it has good reason to be.


How much better to think of this bird safe for ever on its wonderful

island home than represented by a few perishable skins in museum

cabinets, for to the true naturalist there is no morbid joy in handling

a skin and thinking it the last of the race. Truly to own such a skin

■should be a brand of shame to its owner.


It has been stated that the sole food of the Stitch-bird is nectar,

but whilst on the Barrier we found the bird feeding mainly on insects,

and we once saw a male feeding greedily on the berries of a tall forest

plant called Nothopanax arboreum.


The Stitch-bird is about the size of a lark, the head, neck, and

upper back deep black. From the ear-coverts spring two tufts of

pure white feathers, which can be erected like small horns on each

side of the head, though the bird usually keeps these concealed ; below

the black of the upper breast is a band of yellow feathers ; the shoulders,

lesser-wing-coverts, and under-wing-coverts are bright golden yellow,

though when seen in the forest these bright colours are hidden, the

upper parts are dark brownish olive, the feathers having darker

centres ; below is pale yellowish brown, the flank feathers being

mottled with dark brown. As mentioned before, little of the bright



