The Language of birds- Kapiti island/ Rangatira

Considering the language of birds

I have formed no voice to mar the wind

for the kiwi calls through night's traverse

and the tui chants boon to day's end

Prior to the arrival of man, New Zealand was God's own aviary. From the forest floor, where tiny, flightless songbirds trolled the soil to the skies above the canopy, where massive eagles hunted stout-legged moa the size of three men-- every ecological niche was dominated by birds. Although Maori hunters and the Pacific rat had exacted a great toll on this diversity by 1773, Captain James Cook describes crescendos of birdsong that could be easily heard from anchorage offshore. The plow--as well as the Norway rat, possum and stoat--have largely finished the job that started a nearly millennium ago, and so Aotearoa is now a land of sheep and men. So many things are lost that will never return to this world.

Offshore islands such as Kapiti proved the last refuge for the few survivors, while those who could not fly rely upon the kind-hearted among men to bring them here. And here they thrive. So no pictures this time, but rather sounds. Nowhere else on earth will you hear this concert. Starting with the ballistic "stitch" of the hihi and the squawk of the kaka, then to the urgent trill of the saddleback and cry of the weka. Finally, the chattering of kakariki and the polyphony of the tui. Click the link below to play "kapiti songs". Enjoy.

VISIT

splakespolt