120 WILKINSON, Birds of Tararuas, N.Z. [^t oT 
Birds of the Tararuas 
By A. S. WILKINSON, R.A.O.U., Masterton, N.Z. 
The Tararuas are an imposing range of mountains which add 
much to the beauty of the Wellington province. These moun¬ 
tains, which can be reached in a few hours by train from Wel¬ 
lington City, have a considerable attraction for trampers and 
nature-lovers. They run almost due north and south for a 
distance of about sixty miles from where they join the Rimutakas 
in the south to the Manawatu Gorge in the north. They are 
covered, except above the snow line, with virgin forest consisting 
mainly of Beech ( Nothofagus ) on the eastern slopes, while on 
the other side, which has a greater rainfall, these trees are few 
and far between. 
Although not considered high, some of the peaks reach an 
altitude of 5000 feet, the principal ones being Mitre Peak, Mounts 
Hector, Holdsworth, Dundas, and Crawford. 
Mount Hector, at the head of the Hutt Valley, can be seen 
from Wellington, and is the highest mountain in view. It is 
over 1 his peak that the only good track across the Tararuas leads, 
and it takes a fairly fit person, carrying a swag, about three days 
to traverse the distance between Greytown, on the Wairarapa 
Plains, and Otaki, on the West Coast. There are five huts along 
this track, kept in order and maintained by the Tararua Tramp¬ 
ing Club—a very active association, especially in the summer 
months. One of their rules is the protection of the native birds, 
forest, and natural'features. 
Mount Hector is especially interesting from an ornithological 
point of view, as it was on this mountain that Mr. Morgan Car- 
keek procured a Kiwi, said to be Apteryx occidentalis, the only 
place in the North Island where it has been found (see Supple¬ 
ment to the “Birds of New Zealand,” Vol. I., page 23). The 
1 araruas, having the largest forest in the southern part of the 
North Island, and being a forest reserve, will be a sanctuary 
for our native birds for all time. 
Unfortunately possums which were liberated a few years ago 
on the western side have spread through the ranges, and are 
doing a considerable amount of damage to the bush trees; those 
principally affected are the Mahoe ( Melicytus ramiflorus ), 
Kotukutuku ( Fuchsia excorticata), and the Wawapaku ( Notho - 
panax), or five finger, as it is generally called by bushmen. 
I have travelled down gullies for hours where these trees 
grow without seeing a healthy specimen, most of them with all 
the leaves and young shoots eaten off and hundreds dead. As 
Fuchsia excorticata and Melicytus ramiflorus are much fre¬ 
quented by our native birds, the former by the Honeyeaters and 
the latter by the Native Pigeon, it can easily be seen how much 
harm the possums are doing. 
