IMPORTANCE OF NEW ZEALAND BIRDS fe! 
at the extreme tip of the beak, an absolutely unique 
position. 
The sense of taste and touch is not highly 
developed in birds. As regards touch, the feeling 
appears to be confined to the beak, 7.e. in the case 
of the Snipe family, which probe for food in soft 
mud. 
Birds’ flight is, of course, wonderful. It is not, 
however, always realised the huge distances birds 
at times cover. Our New Zealand Godwit (or Snipe, 
as it is often called) comes from the Tundras of 
Asia, whither it returns to breed. Swallows reach 
New Zealand occasionally from Asia and Australia. 
The Shining Cuckoo (Lamprococcysx lucidus), whose 
destination is as yet not definitely ascertained, 
probably hails from New Guinea, whilst the Long- 
tailed Cuckoo (Urodynamis taitensis) ig very well 
known throughout Polynesia. 
Birds are said to reach the height of five miles in 
the air, though this is of course unusual. A Carrier 
Pigeon has been known to maintain a speed of 
_ fifty-five miles an hour for four hours in succession. 
The problem of migration is most interesting, and 
much has been written on the subject. Perhaps the 
most feasible explanation of their annual pilgrimage 
is, that the birds are following the land route taken 
by their direct forebears before the ocean covered 
many now submerged lands. When the sea began to 
encroach, these early migrants crossed narrow strips 
of water knowing what lay beyond, until their 
present descendants cross huge stretches of sea by 
instinct. 
The sociable habits of birds are usually dictated 
by either curiosity, desire for food or protection. 
Everybody knows the fantail who will follow a 
stranger, flitting from branch to branch in the bush, 
out of curiosity, or come into the house in autumn 
in search of flies. The inter-relation between birds 
