Page 26 - 2008 NZ Subantarctic Islands

his mate who wears a lighter grey costume with a smaller light

patch on her breast. Both sexes are amazingly tame and curious.
Their typical foraging method is picking and kicking among the

leaf litter on the forest floor. Evolutionary biologists believe that
they evolved to follow much larger birds like the moas, catching

the insects and invertebrates stirred up by the big-footed birds.
That behavior may explain their fearless behavior around us giant
two legs. They almost swirled between our legs and we had to be

watchful to avoid stepping on them.

The island also revealed the colorful and beautiful-voiced
bellbirds—hitherto we had only heard their bell-like song but had

not actually seen their colors—olive greens, yellow, and some red.
We saw baby fairy penguin chicks (now called blue penguins)

nestled in boxes provided by DOC personnel. There were brown
creepers who behave rather like sapsuckers here and the colorful
New Zealand parakeets, olive green with red decorations on their

heads.

After our rainy day in the Sounds, we were so delighted with the
bright blue skies over our heads on Motuara Island! The weather

was cool and dry, except for the mud under our boots. We had to
keep reminding ourselves that we were the only 18 people on the

island at a time and that we were being allowed to be here for an
hour and a half’s concert of bird song and art show of beautifully
feathered and patterned birds. This island paradise must be a real

gem among DOC’s many fine “jewelry” items.

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