NOTES FROM NEW ZEALAND by Edward...

NOTES FROM NEW ZEALAND by Edward Kanze (Henry Holt: $12.95; 236 pp.). A native of New York State, Kanze made three extended trips to New Zealand to observe tuataras, kiwis, keas and other exotic fauna in their native habitat. For millions of years, the isolated environment of New Zealand provided a haven for primitive animals and flightless birds that were unable to survive elsewhere. (The introduction of pigs, goats, rats, dogs and cats in recent centuries have reduced many of these animals to endangered species.) Smitten with the beauty of the islands and the warmth of their people, Kanze offers an upbeat account of an amateur naturalist’s misadventures in the field.