Starlings of Fiji

Defence of the Native Starlings of Fiji

By Elizabeth Hennings, of Naitamba, Fiji.

INOTE that the strange starlings which appeared on Ono-i-Lau have been getting some atten tion, and a high authority from Australia wants them eradicated because, he says, they could do a great deal of damage if they reached the main islands of Fiji.

But no word has been said, so far, of a close relative of the Ono-i- Lau starling, which is indigenous to Fiji. I have known and observed them ever since I came to live on this island.

There are two kinds. The larger is called MITI, and the smaller one,

Kaisi Vau.

The starling is a cherished bird in Germany. We used to run out, at home in our garden, with our arms under our aprons on account af the cold, to listen to the first me back from Italy, as he whistled joyfully from the gaunt old chest aut tree close to the house.

My father put up nesting-boxes an all tall trees, with the holes jxactly the right size, to encourage is many as possible to come and

rear their families with us. They tested these holes with their beaks, to find out whether they were of the right width, and those unsuit able found no tenants. There was great joy when bits of pale blue eggshell indicated that the young had hatched. Then they took over from my father, among his fruit trees; and a starling makes a thorough job of grubbing, not only the visible but also the hidden in sects under bark and rubbish.

If they enjoyed some ripe cherries, they were noi worse than the sparrows; and, all being insectivor ous my father considered them entitled to their share. By the time his apples and pears were ripe, the starlings had collected in big swarms on the stubble fields, doing big exercises in preparation for the winter exodus.

To explain this departure into Nature’s history, I would say that the native starling here has exactly the same habits. Once, our children found a nestling in the high grass, which the parents were feeding. To protect him against cats, they had him in a wee basket during the night, putting him out again for the day. The parents brought enormous quantities of food, insects as well as small sweet berries.

The Fiji starlings nest in hollow branches, and their song is exactly like the European starling, the only

difference being in size and plum age.

Certainly, the Miti is a nuisance among pawpaws, mangoes and bananas, but quite a minor one compared with the devastation wrought by the loathsome flying foxes. And nobody has yet pro posed to exterminate them.