. Mutton birds and other birds . pigeonfeathers, only where the four eggs lay was therea just sufficient addition of skeleton leaves, tobind them into form and frame. These eggswere large for the size of the bird, somewhatblunt at the thinner end, and of a very dull whiteowing perhaps to long incubation. Of the Stewart Island nests, built not morethan a few score feet above sea-level, twow^ere in crannies inaccessible; the thirdwas easier of approach. A totara of thesmooth bark species, had been, eightyyears ago perhaps, uprooted, and had fallenacross one of those suffocated creeks socommon in
. Mutton birds and other birds . pigeonfeathers, only where the four eggs lay was therea just sufficient addition of skeleton leaves, tobind them into form and frame. These eggswere large for the size of the bird, somewhatblunt at the thinner end, and of a very dull whiteowing perhaps to long incubation. Of the Stewart Island nests, built not morethan a few score feet above sea-level, twow^ere in crannies inaccessible; the thirdwas easier of approach. A totara of thesmooth bark species, had been, eightyyears ago perhaps, uprooted, and had fallenacross one of those suffocated creeks socommon in this type of forest land, creeksalternately wasting themselves in ooze andpeat, or spreading abroad among dark planta-tions of ferns, and blocked at every tuiuby Iotted timber, wind-shaken from of this fallen tree had shot forth tall,upright growths, and was green and feet, however, of the projecting butt had forlong been dead, and had become sufficientlydecaved above to nourish ferns, orchid AND OTHER BIRDS 125 and even small epiph}i:ic shrubs. Beneath,however, it was still sound, and, where themoulder had fallen off in dust, yet contained asufficiency of dry wood for the modest wants ofthe Rifleman. In this hard wood there was anarrow fissure in one part roughly circular, andwhere probably a small knot had fallen little draughty clefts on either side of ithad been blocked with building material, andthe rough edges of the knot hole itself, enwrappedwith cobwebs and moss. This fuimel-likeentrance indeed was so bound up with silkymesh and so minute as not a little to resemblefhe round hole built by spiders, from whichthey issue stealing upon their prey. It was onlyby stooping and looking upwards in a cruelbreakneck attitude that the webby keyhole couldbe noticed, and the breast and head of the fore-most chick seen within. Whilst feeding theyoung, the parent bird must have clung to therough surface of the wood, as a fly clings to the
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookidmuttonbirdso, bookyear1914
