BOOK REVIEWS

The Birds of Pukeiti

David G Medway
Zenith
$NZ19.95*

Pukeiti, nestled near Egmont National Park, is one of our great botanical treasures and the rhododendrons in its garden will need no introduction to garden-lovers.

It's held that Pukeiti, thanks to diligent planting and animal pest control over the past 50 years, hosts more birds in greater variety, than any other forest in the area. Well-known bird authority David Medway has come up with a small, but intriguing book documenting this bird life. As well as the many rimu and other native species that grace Pukeiti's regenerating rainforest, the exotics in the 20ha garden have become a rich food source for birds.

On a good day in the garden, Medway notes, the song of bellbirds and tuis creates an atmosphere that is "hard to replicate but easy to enjoy".

*From Pukeiti Rhododendron Trust, 2290 Carrington Rd, New Plymouth ($19.95 + $2 pp).

Reproduced with permission from the former Weekend Gardener magazine. The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the RNZIH