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diff --git a/40000-0.txt b/40000-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ad7964c --- /dev/null +++ b/40000-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10178 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40000 *** + +Transcriber's note: A few typographical errors have been corrected: they +are listed at the end of the text. + + * * * * * + + + EXTINCT BIRDS. + + An attempt to unite in one volume a short account of + those Birds which have become extinct in historical + times--that is, within the last six or seven + hundred years. To which are + added a few which still + exist, but are on + the verge of + extinction. + + BY + + The Hon. WALTER ROTHSCHILD, + Ph. D., F.Z.S. + + With 45 Coloured Plates, embracing 63 subjects, and + other illustrations. + + LONDON. + Hutchinson & Co., Paternoster Row, E.C. + 1907 + + LONDON: + A. CHRIS. FOWLER, PRINTER, + TENTER STREET, + MOORFIELDS, + E.C. + + * * * * * + + + PREFACE. + +When I decided to read a paper before the Ornithological Congress of 1905 +on Extinct and Vanishing Birds, I found it necessary to illustrate my paper +by a number of drawings. These drawings roused special interest among those +who listened to my lecture, and I was asked by many if I could not see my +way to publish the lecture and drawings, in book form, as these plates were +far too numerous for the proceedings of the Congress. After some hesitation +I determined to do this, greatly owing to the persuasion of the late Dr. +Paul Leverkühn. The preparation of a book required considerably more +research than the lecture, and therefore my readers will find, in the +following pages, a totally different account to that in the lecture, as +well as corrections and numerous additions. The lecture itself has been +published in the "Proceedings of the IVth International Ornithological +Congress." + +I wish to thank very heartily all those of my ornithological friends, who +have kindly helped me with the loan of specimens or otherwise, and +especially Dr. H. O. Forbes, Dr. Scharff, Professor Dr. K. Lampert, Dr. O. +Finsch, Professor Dr. A. Koenig, Dr. Kerbert, Mr. Fleming, Dr. von Lorenz, +and others. + + WALTER ROTHSCHILD. + + * * * * * + + +{vii} + + INTRODUCTION. + +The study of the forms of life no longer existing on the earth, from the +scanty remains preserved to us, has provoked a very great interest almost +from the commencement of historical times. The very small portion of this +vast field I am treating of in the following pages has a special +attraction, as it deals to a great extent with forms familiar in a living +state to our immediate forefathers and even to some of ourselves. Although +I have here arranged the species systematically, they fall into two +distinct categories, namely those known externally as well as internally, +and those of which we know bones and egg-shells only. Under the former +category might be included those merely known from descriptions or figures +in ancient books, as well as those of which specimens exist. In the present +work several plates have been reconstructed from such descriptions in order +to give some idea of their probable appearance. There is considerable +difference of opinion as to the approximate date of the disappearance of +many of the species known from bones dug from deposits which have been +variously determined as pleistocene and post-pleistocene. It seems to me +that this problem can never be entirely solved, but the significant fact +remains, that while many bones of these species in one locality have been +collected in the kitchen-middens of the former inhabitants, in other +localities the same bones occur in what seem to be much older formations. + +In view of this and kindred facts, I have mentioned many species which some +ornithologists will probably consider outside the range of the present +treatise, viz., birds which have become extinct in the last seven- or +eight-hundred years. Taking my first category, viz., those species whose +exterior is more or less known, our knowledge is very variable in scope; +about some we have a very full and even redundant literature, such as the +Great Auk, the Labrador Duck, and Notornis, while of others, such as most +of the extinct Parrots from the West Indies, the "Giant" of Mauritius, the +"Blue Bird" of Bourbon, and so forth, we have the very scantiest knowledge. +Even in the times of Leguat and Labat there must have been many species, +now extinct, of which no mention has ever been made, for {viii} these old +writers only mentioned such species which impressed themselves on their +memories either from their size, peculiar shape, beauty of plumage, or +excellence and usefulness for food--in fact the culinary property of the +various birds seems to have been their principal interest. One of the most +interesting phenomena connected with recently extinct birds is the +resemblance of the fauna of the Mascarene Islands and that of the Chatham +Islands in the possession of a number of large flightless Rails, though the +significance of this fact has been much exaggerated. + +On the whole, this book is confined to species actually known to be +extinct, but a few are included of which a small number is still known to +exist, because firstly there seems no doubt that they will vanish soon, and +secondly, as in the case of _Notornis_, it was necessary to clear up +certain misconceptions and contradictory statements. In the case of a few +species believed to be quite extinct, it is possible that some individuals +may still exist in little known parts of their range, while on the other +hand it is more than likely that several of the species referred to in my +lecture (Proc. Orn. Congress pp. 191-207, 1907) as threatened with +destruction, have already ceased to live. This may also be the case with +some birds not alluded to at all. + +In several instances I have treated of extinct flightless species under +genera including existing species capable of flight. This may appear to be +inconsistent, seeing that I maintain _Notornis_ separate from _Porphyrio_, +but, while not considering flightlessness in itself a generic character, +the great development of the wing-coverts and the modification of the toes +appear of sufficient generic value in this case. I know that several of the +most eminent ornithologists of the day, among them Dr. Sharpe, differ from +me, and are convinced that the loss of the power of flight is so profound a +modification, that it is imperative that we should treat it as sufficient +for generic distinction. + +While agreeing that many genera are founded on much less striking +modifications, I cannot concur in this opinion, for, unless the loss of the +power of flight is also accompanied by other changes, in some cases it is +difficult to find at first sight even specific differences other than the +aborted wings. + +The cause of recent extinction among birds is in most cases due directly or +indirectly to man, but we also have instances of birds becoming extinct for +no apparent reason whatever. + +Man has destroyed, and is continually destroying species directly, either +for {ix} food or for sport, but also in many other ways he contributes to +their destruction. Some species have been exterminated by the introduction +of animals of prey, such as rats, cats, mongoose, etc., and we know that +also the acclimatisation of other birds, such as the mynah, etc., has +proved to be harmful to the native birds. Again we find that the +introduction of domestic creatures or others kept as pets has brought +diseases which may prove fatal to the indigenous fauna. Another means by +which man causes immense destruction, is by destroying the natural habitat +of various species. By cutting down or burning the forests, prairies, or +scrub, and by bringing the land under cultivation, man indirectly kills off +a species through starvation, from extermination of certain insects or +plants on which it depends for food. Many species, such as the Moas, were +evidently greatly reduced in numbers by cataclysms of Nature, such as +volcanic outbreaks, earthquakes, floods, bush fires, etc., and then died +out from what appears only explicable by the natural exhaustion of their +vitality. The chief cause of the extermination of the Moas was undoubtedly +their slaughter by the Maoris for food, but in several inaccessible parts +of the interior large numbers of Moa remains have been found which +undoubtedly had died for no apparent reason. + +This cause also seems to be the only explanation of the dying out of such +birds as _Aechmorhynchus_, _Chaetoptila_, _Camptolaimus_ and others. + +The melancholy fact however remains that man and his satellites, cats, +rats, dogs, and pigs are the worst and in fact the only important agents of +destruction of the native avifaunas wherever they go. + +I have not included in the body of this work the fossil species from the +pleistocene of Europe, Asia, Australia and America, as I believe that these +belonged to an avifauna of an epoch considerably anterior to those +attributed to the pleistocene of New Zealand and the adjacent islands, as +well as that of the Mascarenes and Madagascar. I, however, give here the +list of the species described from the above mentioned regions which I have +been able to find in our literature, to serve as a guide to those who may +think I ought to have included them in the work itself. + + _Strix melitensis_ Lydekker Malta. + _Vultur melitensis_ Lydekker Malta. + _Pelecanus proavus_ De Vis Queensland. + _Phalacrocorax sp._ Lydekker New Zealand. + _Aythya robusta_ De Vis Queensland. + _Anas elapsa_ De Vis Queensland. + _Anas benedeni_ Sharpe Belgium. + _Alopochen pugil_ Winge Brazil. + {x} + _Dendrocygna validipennis_ (De Vis) Queensland. + _Branta hypsibata_ Cope Oregon. + _Branta propinqua_ Schufeldt Oregon. + _Anser scaldii_ Van Beneden Belgium. + _Anser sp._ Lydekker England. + _Anser coudoni_ Schufeldt Oregon. + _Cygnus sp._ Lydekker Malta. + _Cygnus falconeri_ Parker Malta. + _Palaeopelargus nobilis_ De Vis Queensland. + _Prociconia lydekkeri_ Ameghino Brazil. + _Platibis subtenuis_ De Vis Queensland. + _Grus proavus_ Marsh New Jersey. + _Grus melitensis_ Lydekker Malta. + _Grus turfa_ Portis Italy. + _Grus primigenia_ Milne Edwards France. + _Fulica prior_ De Vis Queensland. + _Fulica pisana_ Portis Italy. + _Porphyrio mackintoshi_ De Vis Queensland. + _Gallinula strenuipes_ De Vis Queensland. + _Gallinula peralata_ De Vis Queensland. + _Microtribonyx effluxus_ De Vis Queensland. + _Progura gallinacea_ De Vis Queensland. + _Columba melitensis_ Lydekker Malta. + _Lithophaps ulnaris_ De Vis Queensland. + _Gallus sp._ Lydekker New Zealand. + _Gallus sp._ Lydekker Central Germany. + _Phasianus sp._ Lydekker Germany. + _Perdix sp._ Issel Italy. + _Tetrao sp._ Issel Italy. + _Metapteryx bifrons_ De Vis Queensland. + _Dromaius queenslandiae_ (De Vis) Queensland. + _Dromaius gracilipes_ (De Vis) Queensland. + _Dromaius patricius_ (De Vis) East Australia. + _Genyornis newtoni_ Sterling & Zeitz South Australia. + _Casuarius lydekkeri_ nom. nov. + +"The distal extremity of the tibio-tarsus is narrow, without a semilunar +pit on the lateral surface of the ectocondyle, and with a very deep +extensor groove" (Lydekker, Cat. Fossil B. Brit. Mus., p. 353). {xi} + +Type, a caste of the distal portion of the right tibio-tarsus, in the +British Museum. The original is preserved in the Museum at Sydney and was +obtained from the pleistocene cavern-deposits in the Wellington Valley in +New South Wales. + +A bird usually stated to be extinct is _Monarcha dimidiata_, from +Rara-Tonga, but in March, 1901, two specimens, male and female, were +procured by the Earl of Ranfurly. Doubtless this is a species which will +one day vanish entirely, but at present it hardly comes within the scope of +this work. + +The birds known to be more or less on the verge of extinction which I have +not thought advisable to give in the main part of this book might, for +convenience of reference and to avoid possible controversy as to my having +omitted any species, be given here, but it must be understood that of these +species I only know the fact that their numbers have been greatly reduced +and mostly almost to vanishing point. I have already mentioned before that +some of them may already have disappeared, but in many cases recent +investigations are wanting, and all, therefore, that can be said of them is +that they are threatened and may soon become extinct, if they still exist. + + _Myadestes sibilans_ St. Vincent. + _Myadestes genibarbis_ Martinique. + _Cinclocerthia gutturalis_ Martinique. + _Rhamphocinclus brachyurus_ Martinique. + _Ixocincla olivacea_ Mauritius. + _Phedina borbonica_ Mascarene Islands. + _Trochocercus borbonicus_ Mascarene Islands. + _Oxynotus typicus_ Mauritius. + _Foudia newtoni_ Bourbon. + _Drymoeca rodericana_ Rodriguez. + _Cyanorhamphus cooki_ Norfolk Island. + _Cyanorhamphus erythrotis_ Antipodes Island. + _Cyanorhamphus unicolor_ Antipodes Island. + _Turnagra tanagra_ North Island, New Zealand. + _Sceloglaux albifacies_ Middle Island, New Zealand. + _Miro albifrons_ North Island, New Zealand. + _Miro australis_ Middle Island, New Zealand. + _Clitonyx albicilla_ North Island, New Zealand. + _Pogonornis cincta_ North Island, New Zealand. + _Hypotaenidia mülleri_ Auckland Island. + _Mergus australis_ Auckland Island. + {xii} + _Nesonetta aucklandica_ Auckland Island. + _Ocydromus? sylvestris_ Lord Howe's Island. + _Puffinus newelli_ Hawaiian Islands. + _Telespiza flaviceps_ Hawaii. + _Nesochen sandvicensis_ Hawaii. + _Pareudiastes pacificus_ Samoa. + _Nesomimus trifasciatus_ Charles? and Gardener + Island, Galápagos Islands. + _Phalacrocorax harrisi_ Galápagos Islands. + _Meleagris americana_ United States. + _Conurus carolinensis_ Southern United States. + _Pseudgryphus californianus_ California. + _Amazona guildingi_ St. Vincent. + _Campephilus principalis_ Southern United States. + _Pyrrhula pyrrhula murina_ Azores. + _Stringops habroptilus_ New Zealand. + _Anthornis melanocephala_ Chatham Islands. + _Gallinago pusilla_ Chatham Islands. + _Thinornis novaezealandiae_ Chatham Islands. + _Amazona augusta_ Dominica. + _Amazona bouqueti_ St. Lucia. + _Amazona versicolor_ Dominica. + _Hemignathus lanaiensis_ Lanai, Sandwich Islands. + +Many of my readers will, I fear, find fault with me for having bestowed +names on a number of forms, known only from fragments of bones, single +bones, or two or three bones. Especially will they, I fear, blame me for +doing this when these forms have been described by other authors who have +refrained from giving names. My reasons for doing so are very simple: in +such cases as Dr. Parker's species which are fully described, but quoted +under the formula _Pachyornis species A_ or _Anomalopteryx species B_, the +danger lies in different authors using the same formula for quite other +species. In the case of others, where an author fears to name a form, but +gives the distinctive characters and quotes only _Casuarius species_ or +_Emeus sp._, unless the author and page are quoted, confusion must arise, +and so in both cases I have thought it easier for reference and also more +concise to name all these forms which have been described or differentiated +without a binomial or trinomial appellation. I have, however, refrained +from doing so in the foregoing list of Pleistocene species in the {xiii} +following eight cases as I was not able to decide anything about them with +the material or literature at my disposal, viz.:-- + + _Phalacrocorax sp._ Lydekker New Zealand. + _Anser sp._ Lydekker England. + _Cygnus sp._ Lydekker Malta. + _Gallus sp._ Lydekker New Zealand. + _Gallus sp._ Lydekker Central Germany. + _Phasianus sp._ Lydekker Germany. + _Perdix sp._ Issel Italy. + _Tetrao sp._ Issel Italy. + + * * * * * + + +{xv} + + LITERATURE REFERRING TO EXTINCT BIRDS. + +No attempt has been made to quote all books in which extinct birds have +been mentioned; not only would that mean a tedious, long work, and a book +in itself, but, the repetitions being so numerous, it would have been of +very little use. On the other hand, I have tried to quote the most +important literature referring to Extinct Birds, and I have specially been +anxious to cite and verify the principal ancient literature. Well known +general works on birds in which extinct species have, of course, also been +mentioned, are, as a rule, not quoted; such as: The 27 volumes of the +Catalogue of Birds; Brisson's Ornithology; Daubenton's, Buffon's and +Montbeillard's works; Latham's Ornithological Writings; Linnaeus' Systema +Naturae in all its editions; Vieillot's writings; popular natural histories +and school books; Brehm's Thierleben in its various editions; Finsch's +Papageien; Gray's and Sharpe's Hand-lists; Dubois' Synopsis Avium, lists of +specimens in Museums, and many others, in which extinct birds are as a +matter of course mentioned. + +Three most complete detailed bibliographies must be named: The +"Bibliography of the Didinae," forming Appendix B. of Strickland's "Dodo +and its Kindred" (1848), the Bibliography of _Alca impennis_ by Wilhelm +Blasius in the new Edition of Naumann, vol. XII, pp. 169-176 (1903), and +the Bibliography referring to the Moas by Hamilton, in the Trans. New +Zealand Institute XXVI and XXVII (1894, 1895). + +Most of the books and pamphlets quoted hereafter are in my library at the +Zoological Museum at Tring, in the ornithological part of which Dr. Hartert +and I have been specially interested for many years. Those books that are +not in my library are marked with an asterisk, but several of these I have +been able to consult in other libraries. + +The chronological order appeared to be best suited to the particular +subject treated of. {xvi} + + 1580 or 90. COLLAERT, ADRIAN. Avium vivae icones, in aes incisae & + editae ab Adriano Collardo. + + (On one of the plates is figured the "Avis Indica." This figure + seems to have been the original of the representations in Dubois' + and Leguat's works.) + + 1601. JACOB CORNELISZ NECK. Het tweede Boek, Journael oft + Dagh-register, inhoudende een warachtig verhael, etc., etc. + Middelburch, Anno 1601. + + (On picture No. 2, page 7, the Dodo is figured and described as + follows: "Desen Voghel de is soo groot als een Swaen, gaven hem de + naem Walchvoghel, want doen wy de leckere Duyfkens ende ande cleyn + ghevoghelte ghenoech vinghen, doen taelden wy niet meer naer desen + Voghel." This appears to be the first mention of the Dodo in + literature.) + + 1605. CLUSIUS. Caroli Clusii Atrebatis ... Exoticorum libri decem: + Quibus Animalium, Plantarum, Aromatum historiae describuntur. Ex + Officina Plantiniana Raphelengii, 1605. + + (On p. 100 van Neck's Dodo is reproduced, on p. 103 the Great Auk, + sub nomine "Mergus Americanus.") + + 1606. DE BRY. Achter Theil der Orientalischen Indien, begreiffend + erstlich ein Histor. Beschr. d. Schiffahrt, so der Adm. Jacob von Neck + ausz Hollandt, etc., etc. Frankf. 1606. + + (Figure and mention of the Dodo.) + + 1619. JACOB CORNELISZ NECK. Historiale Beschryvinghe, Inhoudende een + waerachtich verhael vande veyse ghedaen met acht Schepen van Amsterdam, + etc., etc. Amsterdam, 1619. + + (Evidently another edition of Neck's voyage of 1601. On page 5 and + on Picture No. 2 (page 7), which is the same as in the other + editions of Neck's voyage, the Dodo is described. There is also a + French edition of 1601.) + + 1625. CASTLETON. Purchas his Pilgrimes. In five books. + + (On p. 331, in chapter XV., first mention of the Réunion Dodo.) + + 1626. SIR THOMAS HERBERT. A relation of some years' Travaile. + + (First mention of _Aphanapteryx bonasia_.) + + 1635. NIEREMBERG. Joannis Evsebii Nierembergii ... Historia Naturae, + maxime peregrinae, libris XVI distincta. In quibus rarissima Naturae + arcana, etc., etc., etc. Antverpiae MDCXXXV. + + (Clusius' account and figure of the Dodo reproduced on pp. 231, + 232. On p. 237 the Great Auk ("Goifugel") mentioned). + + *1638 and 1651. CAUCHE. Rélations véritables et curieuses de l'isle de + Madagascar. (Two editions.) + + (See _Aphanapteryx bonasia_.) + + 1640. PÈRE BOUTON. Relation de l'établ. des Français dep. 1635, en + l'ile Martinique, l'vne des antilles de l'Amérique. + + (Describes, among other birds, the Aras and Parrots of the island + of Martinique.) + + 1646. BONTEKOE. Journ. of te gedenckw. beschr. van de Ost. Ind. Reyse. + Haarlem 1646. + + (On p. 6 mention of the Réunion Dodo.) + + 1655. WORM. Museum Wormianum. + + (On pp. 300, 301, lib. III, description and figure of a Great Auk + from the Faroe Islands.) + + 1658. HISTOIRE NATURELLE ET MORALE DES ILES ANTILLES DE L'AMÉRIQUE. + Enrichie de pleusieurs belles figures des Raretez les plus + considerables qui y sont d'écrites. Avec un vocabulaire caraïbe. + Rotterdam 1658. + + (The title-page has no author's name, but according to Père du + Tertre the author is "Le Sieur de Rochefort, Ministre de + Rotterdam." Contains important notes on former bird-life on the + Antilles.) + + 1665. The same. Second Edition. Rotterdam 1665. {xvii} + + 1658. BONTIUS. Gulielmi Pisonis Medici Amstelaedamensis de Indiae + Utriusque re naturali et medica libri quatuordecim. Third Part: Jacobi + Bontii, medici civitatis Bataviae Novae in Java Ordinarii, Historiae + Natur. et Medici Indiae Orientalis libri sex. + + (On p. 70 an excellent figure of the Dodo. Caput XVII. Appendix: De + Dronte, aliis Dod-aers.) + + 1667. DU TERTRE. Histoire générale des Antilles habitées par les + François. Tome II, contenant l'Histoire Naturelle. Paris 1667. + + (On p. 246. Traite V. Des animaux de l'air. § I, Les Arras. § II, + Des Perroquets. § III, Des Perriques.) + + 1668. HISTORISCHE BESCHREIBUNG DER ANTILLEN INSELN IN AMERICA GELEGEN. + In sich begreiffend deroselben Gelegenheit, darinnen befindl. natürl. + Sachen, sampt deren Einwohner Sitten und Gebraüchen. Von dem Herrn de + Rochefort, zum zweiten mahl in Französischer sprach an den Tag gegeben, + nunmehr aber in die Teutsche übersetzet. Frankfurt 1668. + + (Translation of the second edition of Rochefort's book.) + + *1668. CARRÉ, Voyage des Indes Orientales. + + (Page 12 the "Solitaire." Cf. _Didus solitarius_.) + + 1668. J. MARSHALL. Memorandums concerning India. + + (In the article on Mauritius occurs a mention of Geese.) + + 1674. PÈRE DUBOIS. Les Voyages faits par le Sieur D.B. aux Isles + Dauphine ou Madagascar, et Bourbon, ou Mascarenne, és années + 1669-70-71-72. + + (Of this extremely rare work I possess a beautiful copy, together + with the map of Sanson belonging to it.) + + (On p. 168 we find "Description de quelques Oyseaux de l'Isle de + Bourbon," with figures of the "Géant" and "Solitaire.") + + 1696. THEVENOT, M. MELCHISEDEC. Rélations de divers voyages curieux qui + nont point este' publié'es. Nouvelle Edition. Vol. I, II, 1696. + + (A very interesting collection of ancient voyages, translated into + French. In Vol. II is a translation of Bontekoe's travels to the + "East Indies," with figures of the Dodo and other interesting + notes.) + + 1707. LEGUAT, FRANÇOIS. Voyages et Avantures de François Leguat, et de + ses Compagnons, en deux Isles desertes des Indes Orientales. Londres + 1707. + + 1708. LEGUAT, FRANCIS. A New Voyage to the East Indies by Francis + Leguat and his companions. Containing their adventures in two desert + islands. London 1708. + + (Valuable notes on the birds of Rodriguez and Mauritius.) + + 1707. SLOANE, HANS. A Voyage to the islands Madera, Barbados, Nieves, + S. Christofers and Jamaica, with the Natural History of the Herbs and + Trees, four-footed Beasts, Fishes, Insects, Birds, Reptiles, etc. Vol. + I, 1707; vol. II, 1725. + + (Gives most valuable notes on the birds, including the Goatsucker, + _Aestrelata_ and Parrots.) + + 1722. LABAT, JEAN BAPTISTE. Nouveau Voyage aux Iles de l'Amérique + contenant l'histoire naturelle de ces pays. Paris 1722. 6 vols. + + (In Vol. II, chapter VIII, the different species of Parrots are + described, and it is stated that each island had three kinds, viz., + an "Aras," a "Perroquet" and a "Perrique," evidently meaning a + Macaw, an Amazona and a Conurus.) + + 1742. Nouvelle Edition. 8 vols. + + {xviii} 1752. MOEHRING. Avium Genera. + + (In this ominous work, which, through an article by Poche in Zool. + Anz. 1904, has recently caused so much quite unnecessary + disturbance among nomenclatorists--cf. Hartert, Zool. Anz. 1904, p. + 154, and Proc. IV. Int. Orn. Congress, pp. 276-283. The Dodo is + mentioned under the name "Raphus.") + + 1763. L'ABBÉ DE LA CAILLE. Journal Historique du Voyage fait au Cap de + Bonne-espérance. + + (Some birds from Mauritius mentioned, but no descriptions.) + + 1773. VOYAGE A L'ISLE DE FRANCE, à l'isle de Bourbon, au Cap de Bonne + Espérance, etc. Avec des observations nouvelles sur la nature et sur + les hommes. Par un officier du roi. Neuchatel 1773. + + 1775. A voyage to the island of Mauritius, etc. By a French Officer. + (Translation of the above). + + (Lettre IX, page 67, treats of the "Animals natural to the isle of + France.") + + 1782. SONNERAT. Voyage aux iles orientales et à la Chine. Two volumes, + 1782. + + (In Volume II, on plate 101, opposite page 176, the extinct + _Alectroenas nitidissima_ is figured, under the name of "Pigeon + hollandais.") + + *1783 (?) CALLAM. Voyage Botany Bay. + + (According to Gray _Notornis alba_ is mentioned under the name of + "White Gallinule.") + + 1786. SPARRMANN. Museum Carlsonianum I. + + (On pl. 23 _Pomarea nigra_ Sparrm.) + + 1789. G. DIXON. Voyage round the World. + + (On p. 357 is note and figure of the extinct _Moho apicalis_, under + the name of the "Yellow-tufted Bee-eater.") + + 1789. BROWNE, PATRICK. The Civil and Natural History of Jamaica. + + 1789. THE VOYAGE OF GOVERNOR PHILLIP to Botany Bay, etc. London 1789. + + (Among other interesting birds _Notornis stanleyi_ is figured on + the plate opposite p. 273.) + + 1790. J. WHITE. Journal of a Voyage to New South Wales with sixty-five + Plates of Nondescript Animals, Birds, Lizards, Serpents, etc. London + MDCCXC. + + (I have a copy with black and white, and another with coloured + plates. _Notornis alba_.) + + 1804. HERMANN. Observationes Zoolog. + + (On page 125 the extinct Bourbon _Palaeornis_ is described as + _Psittacus semirostris_.) + + 1807. M. F. PÉRON. Voyage de découvertes aux terres australes, exécuté + par ordre de Sa Majesté l'Empereur et Roi, etc., etc. 2 vols. 1807 and + 1816 and Atlas. + + (On p. 467 is described the Little Emu from Kangaroo Island, which + I have named _Dromaius peronii_, in honour of its discoverer, + François Péron. A memoir of this extraordinary and admirable man's + short and brilliant life will be found in Vol. VI of the + "Naturalist's Library," Edinburgh, 1843.) + + 1810. ANDRÉ PIERRE LEDRU. Voyage aux iles de Ténériffe, la Trinité, + Saint-Thomas, Sainte-Croix et Porto-Ricco, exécuté par ordre du + Gouvern. français, etc., etc. Two volumes, 1810. + + (In Vol. II, page 39, are mentioned various birds as occurring on + the Danish West-Indian Islands, which are not found there at + present. "Un todier, nommé vulgairement perroquet de terre" and + seven species of Humming-Birds!) + + *1826. BLOXAM. Voyage of the Blonde. + + (See _Phaeornis oahensis_, _Loxops coccinea rufa_. Also interesting + notes on other Sandwich-Islands Birds.) + + 1827. PALLAS. Zoogr. Rosso-Asiat. II p. 305: _Phalacrocorax + perspicillatus_, the now extinct Cormorant from Bering Island. + + {xix} 1830. QUOY ET GAIMARD. Voy. Astrolabe, Zool. I p. 242 pl. 24. + + (_Coturnix novaezealandiae_ described.) + + 1830. KITTLITZ. Mémoires Acad. Sc. Pétersburg I. + + (Kittlitz describes _Turdus terrestris_ and _Fringilla papa_.) + + *1838. POLACK. New Zealand. + + (First mention of Moas.) + + *1838. DON DE NAVARETTE. Rel. Quat. voy. Christ. + + 1838. LICHTENSTEIN. Abhandl. K. Akademie d. Wissenschaften p. 448, + plate V. + + (_Hemignathus ellisianus_--sub nomine _obscurus_--and _Hemignathus + lucidus_ described.) + + 1843. DIEFFENBACH'S Travels in New Zealand, 1843. Appendix, Birds, by + J. E. Gray. On page 197 _Rallus dieffenbachii_ described. + + 1843. OWEN. P.Z.S. 1843, p. 1., letter read from Rev. W. C. Cotton, + mentioning remains of gigantic birds in New Zealand, p. 8 the name + _Dinornis novaezealandiae_ given to the first Moa-bones exhibited. + + 1846. In the "VOYAGE OF EREBUS AND TERROR," Birds, Gray describes and + figures _Nesolimnas dieffenbachii_. + + 1847. GOSSE. Birds of Jamaica. + + (Cf. _Ara erythrocephala_, _Siphonorhis americanus_ and other + Jamaican birds.) + + 1848. EDM. DE SÉLYS-LONGCHAMPS. Résumé concern, les Oiseaux brévipennes + mentionnés dans l'ouvrage de M. Strickland sur le Dodo. + + In Rev. Zool. 1848, pp. 292-295. + + 1848. STRICKLAND AND MELVILLE. The Dodo and its kindred; or the + history, affinities, and Osteology of the Dodo, Solitaire, and other + extinct birds of the islands Mauritius, Rodriguez and Bourbon. London + 1848. + + (141 pages and 15 plates.) + + *1848. PEALE. U.S. Expl. Exp. Birds. + + (On p. 147, pl. XL, is described and figured the extinct + _Chaetoptila augustipluma_, under the name of _Entomiza + augustipluma_. This work is not available, as only 3 or 4 copies + exist of it, but see: + + CASSIN. U.S. Expl. Exp. Mamm. and Orn. p. p. 148 pl. XI (1858). + + 1851. IS. GEOFFROY-SAINT-HILAIRE. Notice sur des ossements et des oeufs + trouvés a Madagascar dans les alluvions modernes, et provenant d'un + oiseau gigantesque. + + In Annales des Scienc. Naturelles, 13 série. Zoologie, tome 40. + + (This volume is dated "1850," but the above article is said to have + been read before the Academy on January 27, 1851, therefore the + date of publication must be rather 1851 than 1850.) + + 1854. H. SCHLEGEL. Ook een woordje over den Dodo en zijne verwanten. + + In: Verslagen en Mededeelingen der Koninglijke Akademie der + Wetenschappen, Afdeel. Naturkunde, Deel II, p. 254. + + 1857. JAPETUS STEENSTRUP. Bidrag til Geirfuglens Naturhistorie, etc. + + In: Naturh. Forening. Vidensk. Meddel. for 1855, Nos. 3-7. + + (The first history and bibliography of the Great Auk.) + + 1858. H. SCHLEGEL. Over eenige uitgestorvene reusachtige Vogels van de + Mascarenhas-eilanden. (Een tegenhanger tot zijne geschiedenis der + Dodo's.) + + In: Verslagen en Mededeelingen der Koninglijke Akademie van + Wetenschappen, Afdeel. Naturkunde, Deel VII, pp. 116-128. + + (_Leguatia gigantea_, _Porphyrio (Notornis?) caerulescens_.) + + {xx} 1860. A. V. PELZELN. Zur Ornithologie der Insel Norfolk. + + In: Sitzungsberichte der Mathemat. Naturwiss. Cl. Akademie Wien Bd. + XLI, No. 15, pp. 319-332. (Mit 1 Tafel.) + + (Lengthy account of _Nestor norfolcensis_, from Bauer's Manuscript, + _Notornis alba_, etc.) + + 1861. ALFRED NEWTON. Abstract of Mr. Wolley's Researches in Iceland + respecting the Gare-fowl. + + In Ibis, 1861, pp. 374-399. + + 1862. W. J. BRODERIP. Notice of an Original Painting, including a + figure of the Dodo. + + In Trans. Zool. Soc. London IV, p. 197. + + 1862. WILLIAM PREYER. Ueber _Plautus impennis_. + + In Journ. f. Orn. 1862, pp. 110-124, 337-356. + + 1865. ALFRED NEWTON. The Gare-fowl and its Historians. + + In Natural Hist. Review XII (1865), pp. 467-488; id. in Encylcl. + Britannica Ed. IX, Vol. III; id. Dict. Birds, p. 220-221. + + 1866. OWEN. _Psittacus mauritianus_ named, in Ibis p. 168; also + mentioned in Trans. Zool. Soc. VI, p. 53, 1866. + + (See _Lophopsittacus_.) + + 1866-1873. ALPH. MILNE-EDWARDS. Recherches sur la Faune Ornithologique + Eteinte des iles Mascareignes et de Madagascar. Paris 1866-1873. + + (With 37 plates. This volume consists of reprints of the author's + articles on the subject in French periodicals, though not a word of + this is mentioned. To the plates originally issued with the + articles, several new ones are added.) + + 1867. ALFRED NEWTON. On a Picture supposed to represent the Didine Bird + of the Island of Bourbon (Réunion). + + In Trans. Zool. Soc. London VI, pp. 373-376. Plate 62. + + 1867. GEORGE DAWSON ROWLEY. On the Egg of _Aepyornis_, the Colossal + Bird of Madagascar. + + In Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1867, pp. 892-895. + + 1868. FRAUENFELD, GEORGE RITTER VON. Neu aufgefundene Abbildung des + _Dronte_ und eines zweiten kurzflügligen Vogels, wahrscheinlich des + poule rouge au bec de bécasse der Maskarenen, in der Privatbibliothek + S.M. des verstorbenen Kaisers Franz. Wien 1868. Mit 4 Tafeln. + + 1868. SCHLEGEL & POLLEN. Mammifères et Oiseaux, in: Pollen et von Dam, + Recherches sur la faune de Madagascar et de ses dépendances. Leyde + 1868. + + 1868. OWEN, on Moas in Trans. Zool. Soc. London, VI. + + (_Dinornis maximus_ established.) + + *1868. H. C. MILLIES. Over eene nieuw ontdekte afbeelding van den Dodo. + + In: Verhandelingen der Koningl. Akad. d. Wetenschappen, Deel XI, + Amsterdam 1868. + + 1869. OWEN. On the osteology of the Dodo. + + In: Trans. Zool. Soc. London VI, 1869, p. 70. + + 1869. ELLIOT. New and heretofore unfig. sp. N. American Birds. + + (In Vol. II, part 14, No. 3, the now extinct _Carbo perspicillatus_ + from Bering Island figured.) + + {xxi} 1872. F. W. HUTTON. On the Microscopical structure of the + Egg-shell of the Moa. + + In Trans. & Proceed. New Zealand Inst. IV, pp. 166-167, with + illustrations. + + 1872. F. W. HUTTON. Notes on some Birds from the Chatham Islands, + collected by H. H. Travers, Esq. + + In Ibis 1872, pp. 243-250. + + (_Miro traversi_ and _Sphenoeacus rufescens_ (_Bowdleria rufescens_ + of this book) only found on Mangare. First description of "_Rallus + modestus_" (_Cabalus modestus_), "_Rallus dieffenbachi_" already + extinct.) + + 1872. J. HECTOR. On Recent Moa Remains in New Zealand. + + In Trans. and Proc. N. Zealand Inst. IV, p. 110. + + 1872. JULIUS HAAST. Notes on Harpagornis Moorei. + + In Trans. and Proc. N. Zealand Inst. IV, p. 192. + + 1873. A. V. PELZELN. On the Birds in the Imperial Collection at Vienna + obtained from the Leverian Museum. + + In Ibis 1873, pp. 14-54, 103-124. + + (Most important notes on some of Latham's types. Cf. _Drepanis + pacifica_, _Platycercus ulietanus_, _Notornis alba_.) + + 1873. CHRISTMANN UND OBERLÄNDER. Ozeanien. + + (On pages 138-144 a popular account and wood cuts--from Brehm's + Thierleben--of Moas and other Gigantic Birds.) + + 1873. BULLER. The Birds of New Zealand. + + 1874. A. MILNE-EDWARDS. Recherches sur la faune ancienne des iles + Mascareignes. + + In Ann. Sciences naturelles sér. V, Tome XIX, article 3 + (_Erythromachus_, _Strix murivora_, _Columba rodericana_, etc.) + + 1875. ROWLEY. _Porphyrio Stanleyi_. + + In Ornith. Miscell. I, pp. 37-48, plate. + + 1875. HUTTON. Description of the Moa Swamp at Hamilton. + + In Trans. & Proc. N. Zealand Inst. VII, p. 123, pl. V. + + 1875. HUTTON & COUGHTREY. Description of some Moa Remains from the + Knobby Ranges. + + In Trans. & Proc. N. Zealand Inst. VII, p. 266, pl. XIX. + + 1875. ALFRED NEWTON. P.Z.S. 1875, p. 350: the name _Lophopsittacus_ + established. + + 1875. HUTTON. On the Dimensions of Dinornis bones. + + In Trans. & Proc. N. Zealand Inst. VII, p. 274. + + 1875. JULIUS VON HAAST. Researches and Excavations on, in and near the + Moa-bone Point Cave, Sumner Road, in the year 1872. + + In Trans. and Proceed. New Zealand Institute VII, pp. 54-85, pls. + I, II. + + *1875. VAN BENEDEN. Journ. Zool. IV, p. 267. + + (Description of _Anas finschi_.) + + 1876. A. & E. NEWTON. On the Psittaci of the Mascarene Islands. + + In Ibis 1876, pp. 281-288, plate VI. + + 1876. TOMMASO SALVADORI. Nota intorno al _Fregilupus varius_. + + In: Atti della Reale Accademia delle Scienze di Torino, Vol. XI, + pp. 482-488. + + 1877. G. D. ROWLEY. On the Extinct Birds of the Mascarene Islands. + + In Orn. Miscell. II, pp. 124-133, plates LII, LIII. + + {xxii} 1878. G. D. ROWLEY. Remarks on the Extinct Gigantic Birds of + Madagascar and New Zealand. + + In Ornith. Miscell. III, pp. 237-247, pls. CXII-CXV. + + 1879. DOLE. List of Birds of the Hawaiian Islands. Corrected from the + Hawaiian Almanack. + Reprint: Ibis 1881, p. 241. + + (_Pennula millsi_, _Ciridops anna_.) + + 1879. OWEN, RICHARD. Memoirs on the Extinct Wingless Birds of New + Zealand; with an Appendix on those of England, Australia, Newfoundland, + Mauritius and Rodriguez. + + (Memoirs on the _Dinornithidae_, their bones, eggs, integument and + plumage, _Notornis_, _Aptornis_, _Cnemiornis_, _Alca impennis_, + _Didus_ and _Pezophaps_. With many wood-cuts and plates.) + + (See also Owen's articles in Trans. Zool. Soc. London III, IV, VI, + X, XI.) + + 1879. GÜNTHER AND E. NEWTON, on _Aphanapteryx leguati_ in Philosophical + Transactions. Vol. 168, pp. 431-432, pl. XLIII. + + 1879. W. A. FORBES. On the systemat. position and scientific name of + "Le Perroquet mascarin" of Brisson. + + In Ibis 1879, p. 303. + + 1884. WILHELM BLASIUS. Zur Geschichte von _Alca impennis_. + + In Journ. f. Orn. 1884, pp. 58-176. + + (The most accurate and complete list--till 1884--of specimens of + _Alca impennis_.) + + 1885. A. B. MEYER. _Notornis hochstetteri_. + + In: Zeitschr. ges. Orn. II, p. 45, pl. I. + + 1885. SYMINGTON GRIEVE. The Great Auk or Garefowl. Its History, + Archaeology, and Remains. London 1885. + + 1897. Id.: Supplementary note on the Great Auk; in Trans. Edinburgh + Field Nat. Soc. 1897, pp. 238-273. + + 1886. December. JULIUS VON HAAST. On _Megalapteryx hectori_, a new + Gigantic Species of Apterygian Bird. + + In Trans. Zool. Soc. London XII, p. 161, pl. XXX. + + 1887. HENRY SEEBOHM. The Geographical Distribution of the family + _Charidriidae_. + + (Plates of _Prosobonia leucoptera_ and _Aechmorhynchus + cancellata_.) + + 1888. BULLER. A History of the Birds of New Zealand. + + In two volumes. Second Edition. (See 1873.) + + 1889. SIR EDWARD NEWTON. Presidential address. + + In Trans. Norfolk and Norwich Natural. Society IV, pp. 540-547. + + 1889. A. DE QUATREFAGES. Nouvelle Preuve de l'Extinction récente des + Moas. + + In: Le Naturaliste 1889, p. 117. + + 1889. F. C. NOLL. Die Veränderung in der Vogelwelt im Laufe der Zeit. + + In: Bericht über die Senckenberg. Naturf. Gesellsch. in + Frankf.-a.-M. 1887-1888, pp. 77-142. + + 1890. STEJNEGER AND LUCAS. Contributions to the History of Pallas' + Cormorant. With plates II-IV. + + In Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. XII, pp. 83-94. + + 1890-99. SCOTT B. WILSON & EVANS. Aves Hawaiienses: The Birds of the + Sandwich Islands. With numerous plates. + + 1891. RICHARD LYDEKKER. Catalogue of the Fossil Birds in the British + Museum. London 1891. + + (Pages I-XXVII, 1-368. With 75 figures in the text.) + + {xxiii} + + 1891. FREDERIC A. LUCAS. Animals recently extinct or threatened with + extermination, as represented in the collection of the U.S. National + Museum. + + In Report of the Smithson Inst. (U.S. Nat. Mus.) 1889 (1891!), pp. + 609-649, pls. XCV-CV. + + (An account of some of the larger animals which have become extinct + within historic times, or are threatened with extinction, with + reasons suggested for their disappearance.) + + 1891. HARTERT. Katalog der Vogelsammlung im Museum der Senchenberg. + Naturf. Ges. Frankfurt-a-M. + + (_Alca impennis_, _Turdus terrestris_, _Chaunoproctus + ferreorostris_, _Hemiphaga spadicea_ mentioned.) + + 1891. WILL. DUTCHER. The Labrador Duck. A revised list of the extant + specimens in North America, with some historical notes. + + In Auk 1891, pp. 301-316, pl. 2. + + 1894. WILL. DUTCHER. The Labrador Duck. With additional data respecting + extant specimens. + + In Auk 1894, pp. 4-12. + + 1892. FORBES, H. O. Preliminary Notice of Additions to the Extinct + Avifauna of New Zealand (Abstract). + + In Trans. and Proceed. New Zealand Inst. Vol. XXIV, pp. 185-189. + + (The editors say that the paper is published in abstract, as it had + been impossible to prepare the drawings for its illustrations in + time.--It is a most pitiful and unscientific proceeding to publish + such preliminary abstracts containing insufficiently founded names + and complete "nomina nuda" without publishing a fuller account; + such, as far as I know, has never appeared.) + + 1892. H. O. FORBES. _Aphanapteryx_ and other remains in the Chatham + Islands. + + In Nature, Vol. XLVI, p. 252. + + (Short notes on avian remains which, unfortunately, were never + properly studied afterwards.) + + 1892. HUTTON. The Moas of New Zealand. + + In Trans. and Proceed. New Zealand Institute Vol. XXIV, pp. 93-172, + pls. XV-XVII. + + 1892. HAMILTON. Notes on Moa Gizzard-stones, t.c. p. 172. + + 1892. HAMILTON. On the genus _Aptornis_, t.c. pp. 175-184. + + 1892. HARTLAUB. Vier seltene Rallen. + + In: Abhandl. d. Naturwiss. Vereins zu Bremen XII. + + 1893. H. O. FORBES. A List of the Birds inhabiting the Chatham Islands. + + In Ibis 1893, pp. 521-546. + + (Notes on the living and extinct forms. The genus _Palaeolimnas_ + established. Egg of _Cabalus modestus_ figured, etc.) + + 1893. W. W. SMITH. Notes on certain species of New Zealand Birds. + + In Ibis 1893, pp. 509-520. + + (Methods of colonization and their disastrous results to the birds + described.) + + 1893. MILNE-EDWARDS & OUSTALET. Notice sur quelques espèces d'oiseaux + actuellement éteintes qui se trouvent représentées dans les collections + du muséum d'histoire naturelle. In: Centenaire de la fondation du + muséum d'histoire naturelle. Volume commémoratif publié par les + professeurs du Muséum. Pp. 189-252, pls. I-V. + + (Only 6 species: _Mascarinus mascarinus_, _Alectroenas + nitidissima_, _Alca impennis_, _Fregilupus varius_, _Camptolaemus + labradorius_, _Dromaius_ "_ater_," but these beautifully figured + and masterly described and discussed.) + + 1893. SIR E. NEWTON AND GADOW. On additional Bones of the Dodo and + other Extinct Birds of Mauritius obtained by Mr. Théodore Sauzier. + + In Trans. Zool. Soc. London XIII, pp. 281-302. Pls. XXXIII-XXXVII. + + (_Strix sauzieri_, _Astur alphonsi_, _Butorides mauritianus_, + _Plotus nanus_, _Sarcidiornis mauritianus_, _Anas theodori_, etc.) + + {xxiv} 1893. A. DE QUATREFAGES. The Moas and Moa-hunters. + + In Trans. and Proceed. New Zealand Inst. XXV, pp. 17-49. + + (Translation of the French article which appeared in the Nos. for + June and July of the "Journal des Savants" by Laura Buller.) + + 1893. PARKER. On the classification and mutual relations of the + _Dinornithidae_. By T. J. Parker. + + In Trans. and Proc. New Zealand Inst. XXV, pp. 1-6, pls. I-III. + + 1893. F. W. HUTTON. New Species of Moas. + + In Trans. and Proc. New Zealand Inst. Vol. XXV, pp. 6-13. + + (_Dinornis strenuus_, _Anomalopteryx fortis_, _Euryapteryx + compacta_, _Pachyornis inhabilis_, _P. valgus_.) + + 1893. F. W. HUTTON. On _Anomalopteryx antiqua_. T.c. p. 14, pl. IV. + + *1893. R. BURCKHARDT, in Paläontolog. Abhandl. VI, Heft 2, pp. 127-145, + Taf. 1-4. + + (_Aepyornis_.) + + 1893. H. O. FORBES. The Moas of New Zealand. + + In Natural Science II, pp. 374-380. + + 1893. A. HAMILTON. On the Fissures and Caves at the Castle Rocks, + Southland; with a description of the remains of the Existing and + Extinct Birds found in them. + + (In Trans. and Proceed. New Zealand Inst. XXV, pp. 88-106; with + figures.) + + 1893. A. NEWTON. "Extermination." In A Dictionary of Birds. + + (See also in Encyclopaedia Britannica.) + + 1893-1900. WALTER ROTHSCHILD. The Avifauna of Laysan and the + Neighbouring Islands: with a complete history to date of the Birds of + the Hawaiian Possessions. London 1893-1900. With numerous plates. + + (Account and coloured plates of the extinct birds of Oahu and + Hawaii.) + + 1894. MILNE-EDWARDS ET GRANDIDIER. Observations sur les _Aepyornis_ de + Madagascar. + + In: Comptes Rendus hebd. des Séances de l'Acad. d. Sciences, Paris, + Vol. CXVIII, Part I, pp. 122-127. + + 1894. J. PARKER. Notes on Three Moa-Skulls. + + In Trans. and Proc. N. Zealand Inst. XXVI, p. 223. + + 1894. HAMILTON. On Avian Remains in Southland. + + In Trans. and Proc. N. Zealand Inst. XXVI, p. 226. + + 1894. HAMILTON. Materials for a Bibliography of the _Dinornithidae_. + + In Trans. and Proc. N. Zealand Inst. XXVI, pp. 229-257. + + (A careful list to which I refer my readers.) + + 1895. C. W. ANDREWS. On some remains of Aepyornis in the Hon. Walter + Rothschild's Museum at Tring. + + In: Novitates Zoologicae II, pp. 23-25. + + 1895. HAMILTON. Further contributions towards a Bibliography of the + Moas. + + In Trans. and Proc. N. Zealand Inst. XXVII, p. 228-232. + + 1895. JEFFERY PARKER. On the Cranial Osteology, Classification, and + Phylogeny of the Dinornithidae. + + In Trans. Zool. Soc. London Vol. XIII, pp. 373-431, pls. LVI-LXII. + + {xxv} 1895. HAMILTON. On the Feathers of a small Moa. + + In Trans. and Proc. N. Zealand Inst. XXVII, pp. 232-238. + + *1895. C. W. ANDREWS. On Aepyornis bones, etc., in Geological Magazine + 1895. + + 1896. HUTTON. On a deposit of Moa-bones at Kapua. + + In Trans. and Proc. N. Zealand Inst. XXVIII, p. 627. Id. On the + Moa-bones from Enfield, t.c. p. 645. + + 1896. C. W. ANDREWS. On the Extinct Birds of the Chatham Islands. + + In Novit Zoolog. III, p. 73-84 and 260-271. + + (_Diaphorapteryx hawkinsi_, _Palaeolimnas chathamensis_, + _Nesolimnas dieffenbachii_.) + + 1896. G. HARTLAUB. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der ausgestorbenen Vögel + der Neuzeit, sowie derjenigen, deren Fortbestehen bedroht erscheint. + + In: Abhandl. d. Naturwiss. Vereins gn. Bremen XIV Band, 1 Heft. + + (Also: Second edition of the same, printed as manuscript, with a + few alterations and additions.) + + (The most useful, comprehensive pamphlet on recently extinct + birds.) + + 1897. ANDREWS. On some fossil remains of Carinate Birds from Central + Madagascar. + + In Ibis 1897, pp. 343-359, pls. VIII and IX. + + 1897. H. O. FORBES. On an apparently new, and supposed to be now + extinct, species of Bird from the Mascarene Islands, provisionally + referred to the genus _Necropsar_. With plate. + + In Bull. Liverpool Museums, I, p. 34, pl. Sturn. I (_Necropsar + leguati_). + + 1897. FORBES AND ROBINSON. Note on Two Species of Pigeon, t.c. p. 35. + + (_Hemiphaga spadicea_.) + + (On pl. I of the same vol. is figured _Nestor norfolcensis_. See p. + 5.) + + 1900. W. WOLTERSTORFF. Ausgestorbene Riesenvögel. Vortrag, gehalten im + Naturwissenschaftlichen Verein zu Magdeburg. Mit zwei Abbildungen. + Stuttgart. Verlag von E. Nägele. + + 1900. A. MERTENS. Die Moas im Naturwissenschaftl. Museum zu Magdeburg. + Mit 2 Abbildungen. + + In: Jahresbericht Naturwiss. Vereins zu Magdeburg für 1898-1900. + (Pp. 1-24 in separate copy.) + + 1901. W. A. BRYAN. Key to the Birds of the Hawaiian group. + + 1902. WALTER ROTHSCHILD AND ERNST HARTERT. Further notes on the fauna + of the Galápagos Islands. + + In Nov. Zool. 1902, pp. 381-418; cf. also Nov. Zool. 1899, pp. 154, + 163. + + (_Geospiza magnirostris_ and _dentirostris_.) + + 1902. H. W. HENSHAW. Birds of the Hawaiian Islands, being a complete + list of the Birds of the Hawaiian Possessions, with notes on their + habits. Honolulu 1902. + + 1903. GRAHAM RENSHAW. The Black Emu. + + In: Zoologist 1903, pp. 81-88. + + 1903. WILHELM BLASIUS. Der Riesenalk, _Alca impennis_ L. In the New + Edition of Naumann called "Naumann, Naturgeschichte der Vögel + Mitteleuropas" (sic), vol. XII, pp. 169-208, pls. 17, 17A-17D, 1903. + + (Among others the most complete bibliography and very detailed + descriptions.) + + 1903. FLEMING, J. H. On the Passenger Pigeon. + + In Auk 1903, p. 66. + + {xxvi} + + 1903. M. GUILLAUME GRANDIDIER. Contribution à l'étude de l'Epiornis de + Madagascar. + + In: Comptes Rendus des Séances de l'Acad. Sc., Paris 1903 (pp. 1-3 + in separate copy.) + + 1903. G. GRANDIDIER. Note au sujet du squelette de l'_Aepyornis + ingens_. + + In Bull. Mus. Paris 1903, pp. 318-323, with figures. + + 1903. PAUL CARIÉ. Observations sur quelques oiseaux de l'ile Maurice. + + In Ornis XII, p. 121-128. + + (We are informed that neither _Palaeornis echo_--sub nomine + _eques_--nor _Nesoenas mayeri_ are extinct.) + + 1905. A. H. CLARK. Extirpated West Indian Birds. + + In Auk 1905, pp. 259-266. + + 1905. A. H. CLARK. The Lesser Antillean Macaws. + + In Auk 1905, pp. 266-273. + + 1905. A. H. CLARK. The West Indian Parrots. + + In Auk 1905, pp. 337-344. + + 1905. A. H. CLARK. The Greater Antillean Macaws. + + In Auk 1905, pp. 345-348. + + 1905-1906. SIR WALTER BULLER. Supplement to the "Birds of New Zealand." + Two volumes. + + (Though containing very interesting notes on extinct and threatened + birds, these two volumes are rather disappointing. They contain + very little that is new, and are mainly composed of quotations from + other people's writings or letters. Buller's former great book on + the Birds of New Zealand was a most important and creditable work, + though not without shortcomings. Our knowledge of New Zealand Birds + might have been brought up to date in his supplement, but we cannot + say that this has been done properly, and errors are frequent.) + + 1906. BALDWIN SPENCER. The King Island Emu. + + In The Victorian Naturalist XXIII (1906), pp. 139, 140. + + (_Dromaius minor_ described.) + + 1907. WALTER ROTHSCHILD. On Extinct and Vanishing Birds. A short Essay + on the Birds which have presumably become extinct within the last 500 + years, and also of those birds which are on the verge of extinction, + including a few which, though not yet so far gone, are threatened with + extinction in the near future. + + In Proceed, of the IV Intern. Ornith. Congress, London 1905, pp. + 191-217. + + * * * * * + + +{xxvii} + + LIST OF PLATES. + + 1. _Fregilupus varius_. From the plate in the "Volume Centenaire," + Mus. Hist. Naturelle, Paris. + + 2. 1. _Foudia bruante_. From the figure in Daubenton's work. + + 2. _Necropsar rodericanus_. Made up from description. + + 3. _Necropsar leguati_. From the type specimen in Liverpool. + + 3. 1. _Geospiza magnirostris_. From the type specimen in London. + + 2. _Geospiza strenua_. Head. From specimen at Tring. + + 3. _Nesoenas mayeri_. From specimen in the British Museum. + + 4. _Chaunoproctus ferreorostris_ [male] [female]. From the pair in + the British Museum. + + 4. 1. _Hemignathus ellisianus_. After a drawing from the type in the + Berlin Museum. + + 2. _Heterorhynchus lucidus_. From a specimen in the Paris Museum. + + 3. _Psittirostra psittacea deppei_. From the type in the Tring + Museum. + + 4. _Ciridops anna_. From a specimen in the Tring Museum. + + 4A. 1. _Moho apicalis_. From specimen in the Tring Museum. + + 2. _Chaetoptila angustipluma_. From specimen in the Tring Museum. + + 5. 1. _Miro traversi_. From skin in the Tring Museum. + + 2. _Traversia lyalli_ [male] and [female]. From the type specimens + in the Tring Museum. + + 3. _Bowdleria rufescens_. From a skin in the Tring Museum. + + 5A. _Siphonorhis americanus_. From skin in the British Museum. + + 6. 1. _Nestor norfolcensis_. From the plate in the Bulletin of the + Liverpool Museum. + + 2. Head of _Nestor productus_. From a specimen in the Tring Museum. + + 7. _Lophopsittacus mauritianus_. From ancient drawing and description. + + 8. _Necropsittacus borbonicus_. From a description. + + 9. _Mascarinus mascarinus_. From the drawing in the Volume + commémoratif, Centenaire Mus. Paris. + + 10. _Ara tricolor_. From specimen in the Liverpool Museum. {xxviii} + + 11. _Ara gossei_. From Gosse's description. + + 12. _Ara erythrocephala_. From Gosse's description. + + 13. _Anadorhynchus purpurascens_. From description. + + 14. _Ara martinicus_. From description. + + 15. _Ara erythrura_. From description. + + 16. _Conurus labati_. From description. + + 17. _Amazona violaceus_. From description. + + 18. _Amazona martinicana_. From description. + + 19. _Palaeornis exsul_. From the plate in the "Ibis." + + 20. _Palaeornis wardi_. From the plate in the "Ibis." + + 21. _Hemiphaga spadicea_. From the specimen in the Tring Museum. + + 22. _Alectroenas nitidissima_. From the plate in the Volume + commémoratif du Centenaire, Mus. Paris. + + 23. _Pezophaps solitaria_. Made up from descriptions and ancient + drawings. + + 24. _Didus cucullatus_. From drawings. + + 24A. _Didus cucullatus_. See explanation, page 172. + + 24B. _Didus cucullatus_. See explanation, page 172. + + 24C. _Didus cucullatus_. See explanation, page 172. + + 25. _Didus solitarius_. From a picture supposed to be taken from a + living specimen in Amsterdam, but beak and wing restored. + + 25A. _Didus solitarius_. After Dubois' description. + + 25B. 1, 2, 3. _Pezophaps solitarius_. Reproduction of ancient figures, + see page 177. + + 4, 5, 7, 8. _Didus solitarius_. Reproduction of ancient figures, + see page 177. + + {xxix} 26. 1. _Hypotaenidia pacifica_. From Forster's unpublished + drawing in the British Museum. + + 2. _Pennula sandwichensis_. From the unique specimen in the Leyden + Museum. + + 3. _Pennula millsi_. From skin in the Tring Museum. + + 27. _Nesolimnas dieffenbachi_. From the unique specimen in the British + Museum. + + 28. 1. _Cabalus modestus_. From skin in the Tring Museum. + + 2. _Coturnix novaezealandiae_. From skin in the Tring Museum. + + 29. _Aphanapteryx bonasia_. From ancient drawing. + + 30. _Erythromachus leguati_. Made up from ancient outline figure and + description. + + 31. _Leguatia gigantea_. Made up from ancient figures and descriptions. + + 32. _Apterornis coerulescens_. From description. + + 33. _Notornis alba_. From the plate in "Ibis," 1873. + + 34. _Notornis hochstetteri_. From the plate in the Zeitschr. f.d. ges. + Ornithologie. + + 35. 1. _Aechmorhynchus cancellatus_. From the plate in Seebohm's + "Charadriidae." + + 2. _Prosobonia leucoptera_. After the unpublished drawings in the + British Museum, but the artist has not shown the white patch on the + shoulder. + + 36. _Camptolaimus labradorius_. From the two specimens in the Tring + Museum. + + 37. _Aestrelata caribbaea_. From the type specimen in the Dublin + Museum. + + 38. _Alca impennis_. From the stuffed specimen in the Tring Museum. + + 39. _Carbo perspicillatus_. From a specimen in the British Museum. + + 40. _Dromaius peroni_. From the type of the species in the Paris + Museum. + + 41. _Megalapteryx huttoni_. Restored from osteological remains and + feathers. + + 42. _Dinornis ingens_. Restoration from skeleton and some feathers. + + * * * * * + +{1} + + + + PALAEOCORAX FORBES. + +This genus is founded on cranial characters: Basipterygoid processes of +parasphenoid present but rudimentary. The vomer broad, flat, and +three-pointed in front. Maxillaries anchylosed to the premaxillaries, the +latter anchylosed to the expanded ossified base of the nasal septum. The +ossified mesethmoid stretches backward and is lodged in the concavity of +the upper surface of the vomer, so that it presents a form intermediate +between the complete aegithognathous forms, such as _Corvus_, and the +compound aegithognathous forms, such as _Gymnorhina_, in which +desmognathism was superadded by "anchylosis of the inner edge of the +maxillaries with a highly ossified alinasal wall and nasal septum" +(Parker). + + + + PALAEOCORAX MORIORUM (FORBES). + + _Corvus moriorum_ Forbes, Nature XLVI p. 252 (1892). + + _Palaeocorax moriorum_ Forbes, Bull. B.O.C. I p. XXI (1892). + +Dr. Forbes says this bird is of about half the size again of a _Corvus +cornix_. The principal characters are cranial, and the same as those of the +genus. + +Habitat: Chatham Islands, and possibly the Middle Island, New Zealand. + +Many skulls and bones in the Tring Museum. + + + + PALAEOCORAX ANTIPODUM FORBES. + + _Palaeocorax antipodum_ Forbes, Ibis 1893, p. 544. + +This is said to be distinguished from _P. moriorum_ by its considerably +smaller size. Habitat: North Island, New Zealand. + +{3} + + + + FREGILUPUS LESSON. + +Huge crest, bill long and curved. One species, extinct. + + + + FREGILUPUS VARIA (BODD.) + + (PLATE 1.) + + _Huppes ou Callendres_, Voyages du Sieur D.B. (Dubois) aux Iles + Dauphine ou Madagascar, et Bourbon ou Mascarenne, etc., p. 172 + (1674--Bourbon). + + _Huppe du Cap de Bonne Espérance_ Daubenton, Pl. Enl. 697. + + _Huppe noire et blanche du Cap de Bonne Espérance_ Montbeillard, Hist. + Nat. Ois. VI, p. 463 (1779). + + _Madagascar Hoopoe_ Latham, Gen. Syn. B. II pt. I, p. 690 (1783). + + _Upupa varia_ Boddaert, Tabl. Pl. Enl. p. 43 (1783--ex Daubenton). + + _Upupa capensis_ Gmelin, Syst. Nat. I, p. 466 (1788--ex Montbeillard). + + _La Huppe grise_ Audebert et Vieillot, Ois. Dor., "Promerops" p. 15 pl. + III (1802). + + _Le Mérops huppé_ Levaillant, Hist. Nat. Promérops, etc., p. 43, pl. 18 + (1806). + + _Upupa madagascariensis_ Shaw, Gen. Zool. VIII, pt. I, p. 140 (1812). + + _Coracia cristata_ Vieillot, Nouv. Dict. d'Hist. Nat. VIII, p. 3 + (1817). + + _Pastor upupa_ Wagler, Syst. Avium, Pastor, sp. 13 (1827). + + _Fregilupus borbonicus_ Vinson, Bull. Soc. d'Acclimat 1868, p. 627. + + _Fregilupus varius_ Hartlaub, Vög. Madagasc. p. 203 (1877); Sharpe, + Cat. B. Brit. Mus. XIII p. 194 (1890); Milne-Edwards & Oustalet, + Centenaire Mus. Hist. Nat., p. 205, pl. II (1893). + +As long ago as 1674 a note about the "Huppe" exists, by "Le Sieur D.B.," +_i.e._, Dubois. He says, when describing the birds of Réunion (translated): +"Hoopoes or 'Callendres,' having a white tuft on the head, the rest of the +plumage white and grey, the bill and the feet like a bird of prey; they are +a little larger than the young pigeons; this is another good game (_i.e._, +to eat) when it is fat." + +This description has generally been accepted as referring to the +_Fregilupus_, though that of the bill and feet is then due to an error of +the author, for _Fregilupus_ has the bill and feet of a member of the +_Sturnidae_ or family of Starlings. + +Good descriptions and representations of the "Huppe" have been given in +many places (see literature), but whether they were taken from males or +females is generally not known. The sexes seem to be alike in colour, but +the female is smaller, and has a shorter and straighter bill than the male. +At least, this is the conclusion of Dr. Hartert, who saw the four examples +in the museum at Troyes. As far as he could see through the glass all four +{4} seemed to be adult birds, but two were larger with longer and more +curved bills, two smaller and with shorter and straighter beaks, so that +they are evidently two pairs. + +This bird seems to have become extirpated about the middle of the last +century. The late Monsieur Pollen wrote in 1868 (translated): "This species +has become so rare that one did not hear them mentioned for a dozen years. +It has been destroyed in all the littoral districts, and even in the +mountains near the coast. Trustworthy persons, however, have assured us +that they must still exist in the forests of the interior, near St. Joseph. +The old creoles told me that, in their youth, these birds were still +common, and that they were so stupid that one could kill them with sticks. +They call this bird the "Hoopoe." It is, therefore, not wrong what a +distinguished inhabitant of Réunion, Mr. A. Legras, wrote about this bird +with the following words: "The Hoopoe has become so rare that we have +hardly seen a dozen in our wanderings to discover birds; we were even +grieved to search for it in vain in our museum." + +We are certain that _Fregilupus_ existed still on Réunion in 1835, as +Monsieur Desjardins, living on Mauritius, wrote in a manuscript formerly +belonging to the late Professor Milne-Edwards: "My friend, Marcelin +Sauzier, has sent me four alive from Bourbon in May, 1835. They eat +everything. Two have escaped some months afterwards, and it might well +happen that they will stock our forests." + +It seems, indeed, that specimens were killed in 1837 on Mauritius, where +they did not originally exist. Verreaux shot an example in Réunion in 1832. + +The names "La Huppe du Cap" and "_Upupa madagascariensis_" arose out of the +mistaken notions that this bird lived in South Africa or Madagascar, but we +know now that its real home was Réunion or Bourbon. + + WE ARE AWARE OF THE FOLLOWING SPECIMENS PRESERVED IN COLLECTIONS. + + 2 stuffed ones, one in good, one in bad condition, and two in spirits, + in the Paris Museum. + + 4 stuffed in Troyes. + + 1 stuffed, from the Riocour collection, in the British Museum. + + 1 in the Florence Museum. + + 1 in Turin. + + 1 in Pisa. + + 1, rather poor and old, in Leyden. + + 1 in Stockholm. + + 1 in the Museum at Port Louis, on the island of Mauritius. + + 1 in the collection of the late Baron de Selys Longchamps. + + 1 in Genoa. + +{5} + + + + NECROPSAR GÜNTHER & NEWTON. + +The authors state that this genus was very closely allied to _Fregilupus_, +and, besides some minor differences, give as the principal difference the +shorter and less curved bill. + + + + NECROPSAR RODERICANUS GÜNTH. & NEWT. + + (PLATE 2, FIG. 2.) + + _Necropsar rodericanus_ Günther & Newton, Phil. Trans. vol. 168, p. + 427, pl. XLII, figs. A-G (1879). + +The original description given by the anonymous author of the "Relation de +l'Ile Rodrigue" is as follows:--"These birds are a little larger than a +blackbird, and have white plumage, part of the wings and the tail black, +the beak and the legs yellow, and make a wonderful warbling." Our author +also says they inhabited the Islet au Mât, and fed on seabirds' eggs and +dead turtle. + +The bird evidently became extinct on Rodriguez before 1730, and lingered a +little longer on the outlying islets. Only known from bones, mostly +collected by the Rev. H. H. Slater, and the above description. + +Habitat: Rodriguez and neighbouring islets. + +There is one tibia in the Tring Museum. + +The figure is coloured according to the description, while the shape of the +bird is evident from its bones and relation. {6} + + + + NECROPSAR LEGUATI FORBES. + + (PLATE 2, FIG. 3.) + + _Necropsar leguati_ Forbes, Bull. Liverp. Mus. I, p. 34, pl. + _Sturnidae_ I (1897-1898). + +Dr. Forbes' description is as follows:--"General colour white everywhere, +except on the outer webs of distal half of the primaries and secondaries +and the outer webs of the newly moulted and both webs of the unmoulted +rectrices, which are marked with lighter or darker ferruginous." + +Dr. Forbes then gives an exhaustive description of the structure, to which +I refer my readers, and the following measurements:-- + + Culmen 32 mm. + Wing 109 " + Tail 98 " + Tarsus 31.5 " + +I should have been inclined to consider this bird an albinistic specimen of +the bird described in "Relation de l'Ile Rodrigue," but for the fact that +the tibia of _Necropsar rodericanus_ is 52-59 mm. in length, while this is +only 46 mm. in length, while the metatarsus measures 31.5 mm. as opposed to +36-41 mm. in _N. rodericanus_. I cannot accept the theory that this is the +Islet au Mât bird, and therefore different from _N. rodericanus_, as the +islet is too close to Rodriguez to have had a different starling. I +therefore believe this bird to have been an albinistic specimen of the +Mauritius species of _Necropsar_, for there can be little doubt that it is +albinistic, as the ferruginous colour is much stronger on one wing than on +the other; and I conclude that the colour in the wings and tail in normal +specimens was black like the Rodriguez bird, and that _N. leguati_ was a +close ally of _N. rodericanus_, from which it differed principally in its +much smaller size. + +Habitat doubtful.--The type specimen bears Lord Derby's Museum number, +1792, and a label of Verreaux giving Madagascar as the habitat, which is +certainly erroneous. + +{7} + + + + FOUDIA BRUANTE (P.L.S. MÜLL.) + + (PLATE 2, FIG. 1.) + + _Bruant de l'isle de Bourbon_ Daubenton, Pl. Enl. 321. + + _Le Mordoré_, Montbeillard, Hist. Nat. Ois., Quarto Edition IV., p. 366 + (1778--Bourbon). + + _Fringilla bruante_ P.L.S. Müll., Natursyst., Suppl. p. 164, No. 51 + (1776--ex Daubenton Pl. enl). + + _Emberiza fuscofulva_ Boddaert, Table Pl. Enl. p. 20 (1783--based on + Pl. Enl. 321 and Montbeillard's "Morderé"). + + _Emberiza borbonica_ Gmelin, Syst. Nat. I p. 886 (1788--ex Daubenton + and Montbeillard). + + _Foudia bruante_ Newton, Trans. Norf. and Norw. Nat. Soc. IV., pp. 543 + and 548 (1889). + + _Nesacanthis fusco-fulvus_ Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. XIII p. 484 + (1890). + +We know absolutely nothing about this bird, except Daubenton's figure and +the description by Montbeillard. In the plate the whole body, including the +back, is uniform red, about the same red as in other species of _Foudia_, +while the wings and tail are dark brown with yellowish-brown borders. In +the description the body plumage is described as rufous ("morderé") and the +wings, wing-coverts and tail as more or less bright rufous ("d'un mordoré +plus ou moins clair"). The size is said to be about that of a Bunting, but +the tail shorter and the wings longer. + +According to Dr. Sharpe (Cat. B. XIII, p. 484) "it has generally been +considered identical with _Foudia madagascariensis_," but the latter has +the back marked with longitudinal black spots, while both the figure and +description of _F. bruante_ represent a uniform red upperside; moreover the +locality of the latter is expressly stated, and as we know other forms of +_Foudia_ from the Seychelles, Mauritius, Comoros, Aldabra and Madagascar, +we have no reason to doubt the statement. We are not aware of any specimen +existing of this doubtless extinct bird, though it would be worth while to +search the Paris Museum for this treasure. + +Habitat: Réunion or Bourbon. + +{9} + + + + CHAUNOPROCTUS BP. + + _Chaunoproctus Bonaparte_, Consp. Av. I p. 526 (1850). + +The genus _Chaunoproctus_ contains only one species, which is characterized +by its enormous bill, the depth of the mandible being greater than the +distance between the nasal apertures. The cutting-edge of the maxilla is +nearly straight, and there is no tooth in the posterior half of the +maxilla. The total length is about seven to eight inches. The adult male +has red in the plumage, the female is brown, above and below. + +Dr. Hartert (Vögel pal. Fauna I, p. 115) is of opinion that this bird is +connected with _Carpodacus_ and allies, and not with the Greenfinches and +Hawfinches, among which it is placed in the Catalogue of Birds in the +British Museum. + + + + CHAUNOPROCTUS FERREOROSTRIS (VIG.) + + (PLATE 3, FIG. 4.) + + _Coccothraustes ferreorostris_ (_sic_) Vigors, Zool. Journ. IV p. 354 + (1828); id. in Beechey's Voy. Blossom, p. 22, pl. 8 (1839). + + _Fringilla papa_ Kittlitz, Mém. Acad. Imp. Sc. Petersbourg I p. 239, + pl. 15 (1830); id. Kupfertaf. Vög. p. 24, pl. 32, 2 (1832). + + _Chaunoproctus papa_ Bonaparte, Consp. I p. 526 (1850); Bp. and + Schlegel, Monogr. Loxiens p. 32 pls. 37, 38 (1850). + + _Chaunoproctus ferreirostris_ Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. XII p. 31 + (1888). + +Vigors' original description, translated from the Latin, is as follows: +"Dark brown; head, breast and upper part of abdomen scarlet. Bill very +strong, feet plumbeous. Length of body 8½, bill 7/8, at gape 1-3/16, height +7/8; wings from the carpus to the third quill 4½; tail 3, tarsus 7/8 +inches." + +In the "Catalogue of Birds," XII, p. 31, both sexes are carefully +described. + +It appears that only one pair, now in the British Museum, was obtained +during Captain Beechey's voyage. Curiously enough, Vigors suggested that +the brilliantly coloured adult male might be the young, the female the +adult bird, "as is the case in the Pine-Grosbeak" (_Sic!_). + +Kittlitz, who visited the largest of the Bonin Islands in May, 1828, +obtained a number of specimens, of which some are in St. Petersburg, two in +Frankfurt-a.-M., one or two in Leyden, and, I believe, in Paris. {10} These +seem to be all the specimens known in European museums. Mr. Seebohm's +collector, the late Holst, failed to obtain it, and Mr. Alan Owston's men, +who several times went to the Bonin group to obtain it, and who were +promised good prices for specimens, did not get one. I am therefore +convinced that for some unknown reason this bird became extinct, though +there is still the possibility that the recent collectors did not collect +on the main island of the group, which alone was visited by Kittlitz. + +Kittlitz tells us that he found it in the woods along the coast, but not +numerous. That it keeps concealed, is very phlegmatic, and is so little shy +that one is obliged to go back for some distance, before shooting, if one +wishes to preserve the specimen. Kittlitz saw it but seldom on high trees, +mostly on the ground. Its frequently heard note is a very fine piping +sound. In the crop and stomach small fruit and buds of one kind of tree +were found. + +Habitat: The largest of the Bonin Islands, south of Japan. + +{11} + + + + GEOSPIZA MAGNIROSTRIS GOULD. + + (PLATE 3, FIG. 1.) + + _Geospiza magnirostris_ Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1837, p. 5 + (Galapagos Islands); Rothschild & Hartert, Nov. Zool. 1899 p. 154, 1902 + p. 388; Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. XII, pp. 6, 7 (Fig.); Ridgway, B. + North and Middle America I, p. 495 (1901). + +As explained in Nov. Zool. 1899, p. 154, it is uncertain where Darwin +obtained the type specimens of Gould's _G. magnirostris_, as +"Unfortunately, most of the specimens of the finch-tribe were mingled +together," as Darwin tells us in his "Journal of Researches" (New Edition +1890, p. 420), and he had only "strong reasons to suspect that some of the +species of the sub-group _Geospiza_ are confined to separate islands." We +are, however, convinced that the types of _G. magnirostris_ can only have +come from Charles Island, where it is, probably, the representative of _G. +strenua strenua_. It seems, however, that _G. magnirostris_ exists no +longer, for all subsequent collectors have failed to obtain specimens, +unless an immature specimen in the U. S. Nat. Mus., from Charles Island +(No. 115,905), is a young _magnirostris_ (cf. Nov. Zool. 1902, p. 388). + +The dimensions of the three black specimens in the British Museum are as +follows: Culmen 26.5, 27, 27; height of bill at base 23.5-24; wing 91, 91, +95; tarsus 25 mm. These measurements--a culmen of over 26.5 and a wing of +91 mm. combined--do not occur among our large series of _strenua_, and +therefore it is hardly possible that _G. magnirostris_ is composed of huge +examples of _strenua_ only. + +As Charles Island has been inhabited for many years it is not at all +unlikely that a bird became extinct on that place. On plate 3 is figured +_G. magnirostris_ and a head of _G. strenua_ for comparison. {12} + + + + GEOSPIZA DENTIROSTRIS GOULD. + + _Geospiza dentirostris_ Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1837, p. 6; + Rothschild & Hartert, Nov. Zool. 1899 p. 163, 1902 p. 396. + +This curious form differs from _G. fortis fortis_ (Charles Island!) in its +bill, which is bowed in towards the end of the upper mandible, and slightly +"toothed" on its cutting edge. The one specimen in the British Museum +certainly came from Charles Island, and we may, therefore, conclude that +the other also came from there, and there is certainly no reason to think +that it came from Chatham Island. As the skins in the British Museum +slightly differ from each other, there is some reason to suspect that they +are both aberrations of _G. fortis fortis_. Otherwise it must have become +extinct, as, in spite of special attention being paid to it, none of the +recent collectors met with _G. dentirostris_. + +{13} + + + + POMAREA NIGRA (SPARRM.) + + _Muscicapa nigra Sparrmann_, Mus. Carlson. I, pl. 23 and text + (1786--Society Islands). + + _Pomarea nigra_ Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. IV, p. 434 (1879--Full + synonymy, description, etc., Society Islands, Marquesas group). + +In the list of birds now fully extinct, in the Proceedings of the Fourth +Intern. Orn. Congress, I enumerated _Pomarea nigra_, on the strength of E. +L. Layard's statement, P.Z.S. 1876, p. 501, who says: "This bird has +undoubtedly become extinct. Large sums have been offered by Messrs. +Godeffroy's collectors for the acquisition of a single specimen, but in +vain! The very old natives say they remember the bird and call it "Moho." + +I, however, overlooked the fact that this note of Layard's referred to the +Friendly Islands only, and that this bird has afterwards been obtained in +numbers on the Marquesas group. It would, nevertheless, be very interesting +to compare specimens from the various islands, viz.: the Society group, +Marquesas and Tongatabu, to see if they are perfectly similar. + +{15} + + + + MIRO TRAVERSI BULLER. + + (PLATE 5, FIG. 1.) + + _Miro traversi_ Buller, B. New Zealand, Ed. I p. 123 (1873--Chatham + Islands). + + _Petroeca traversi_ Hutton, Ibis 1872, p. 245. + + _Myiomoira traversi_ Finsch, Journ.-f.-Orn. 1874, p. 189. + + _Miro traversi_ Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. IV p. 236 (1879). + + _Miro traversi_ (partim) Buller, Suppl. B. N. Zealand II p. 125? pl. + XII (October, 1906). + +The late Sir Walter Buller described, in 1873, _Miro traversi_ as follows: +"Adult male. The whole of the plumage black, the base of the feathers dark +plumbeous; wing-feathers and their coverts tinged with brown, the former +greyish on their inner surface; tail-feathers black, very slightly tinged +with brown. Irides dark brown; bill black; tarsi and toes blackish brown, +the soles of the feet dull yellow. Total length 6 inches; wing, from +flexure, 3.4; tail 2.6; bill 0.5, tarsus 1.1; middle toe and claw 0.1, hind +toe and claw 0.8 inch." + +"Female. Slightly smaller than the male, and without the brown tinge on the +wings and tail." + +It may be added that _Miro traversi_ is not pure black, but of a somewhat +brownish slaty black. + +_Miro traversi_ is only known from the Chatham Islands, where it was +formerly very common, but, according to a letter from the late W. Hawkins, +the cats, which have been introduced to destroy rats and rabbits, have +exterminated it. It seems to have disappeared from Warekauri, the main +island of the Chatham group, long ago, for H. O. Forbes (Ibis 1893, p. 524) +and Henry Palmer found it, in 1890 and 1892, only on the outlying islets of +Mangare and Little Mangare. + +The bird from the Snares is quite different, being deep glossy black and +having a shorter and narrower first primary. I named it _M. dannefaerdi_. +It is to be feared that a similar fate will one day befall it as has, +apparently, already befallen its congener from the Chatham Islands. + +Sir Walter Buller (Suppl. B.N.Z. II, p. 125) has confounded _M. traversi_ +and _dannefaerdi_, and the figure he gave on his plate looks so black, that +I do not doubt it represents rather the latter than the former. Of course +_M. dannefaerdi_ alone occurs on the Snares, and Buller's _traversi_ from +the Snares were all dannefaerdi. Dr. Finsch's statement (Ibis 1888, p. 308) +that Reischek's specimen from the Snares "agreed in every respect with +specimens from the Chatham Islands" is entirely wrong, for, even if {16} +one prefers unscientifically to lump allied forms, one cannot say that a +_Miro_ from the Chathams agrees in every respect with one from the Snares. +Buller's doubts about the distinctness of the latter might easily have been +removed, if he had taken the trouble to compare them, for it does not +require any genius to see the differences. I admit that with my present +views on geographical forms I would regard the two _Miro_ as sub-species, +and call them _M. traversi traversi_ and _M. traversi dannefaerdi_, but +most ornithologists would still consider them to be "good species." + +I may add that Buller, l.c., p. 125, has not quoted my description +correctly, for in his rendering are several disturbing misprints, and in +the fourth line from the bottom occurs a "not" which ought not to be there, +and which makes the sentence incomprehensible. Also the name itself is +spelt incorrectly. + +I have a series from Mangare and Little Mangare, taken by Henry Palmer in +1890. The egg seems to be unknown. + +Habitat: Chatham Islands. + +{17} + + + + TURDUS TERRESTRIS KITTL. + + _Turdus terrestris_ Kittlitz, Mém. Acad. Sc. Pétersburg I p. 245, pl. + 17 (1830--Boninsima). + + _Geocichla terrestris_ Bonaparte, Consp. Av. I, p. 268 (1850); Seebohm, + Cat. B. Brit. Mus. V, p. 183 (1881); Hartert, Kat. Vogels. Senckenb, p. + 6 (1891); Sharpe, Monograph Turdidae, I p. 107, pl. 33 (1902). + + _Cichlopasser terrestris_ Bonaparte, C.R. XXXVIII, p. 6 (1854). + +The following is Dr. Sharpe's description from a specimen in the Leyden +Museum: "General colour of the upper parts olive-brown, shading into +chestnut-brown on the rump, upper tail-coverts, and tail; the inside web of +each feather much darker, approaching black on the back; lores dark brown; +eye-stripe very obscure; lesser wing-coverts brown, darkest on the inside +web; median coverts dark brown, with large olive-brown tips; greater +coverts nearly black, broadly tipped, and narrowly margined towards the +base with olive-brown; primary coverts black, with a broad olive-brown +patch on the outer webs; tertials dark brown on the inner web, and +olive-brown on the outer web; secondaries brown, margined with olive-brown +on the outer webs; primaries brown, with the basal half of the outer webs, +and a spot where the emargination begins, olive-brown; tail-feathers +chestnut-brown; ear-coverts brown; underparts olive-brown, shading into +white on the chin, throat, and centre of belly; under tail-coverts dark +brown, with irregular diamond-shaped white tips; axillaries brown; under +wing-coverts brown. Geocichline markings on inner webs of quills dirty +white. Wing 3.8 inches, tail 2.6, culmen 0.85, tarsus 1.07, bastard primary +0.8." + +The only person who ever collected this short-tailed Ground-Thrush was +Kittlitz, who obtained four specimens, one of which is in St. Petersburg, +one in Frankfurt, one in Vienna, and one in Leyden. Neither Holst, nor Alan +Owston's Japanese collectors obtained specimens, though their special +attention was called to it. Therefore, unless these recent collectors left +unvisited the most important island of the group, we must suppose that it +became extinct. + +Habitat: Bonin Islands, south-east of Japan. + +{19} + + + + PHAEORNIS OAHENSIS WILSON & EVANS. + + _Phaeornis oahensis_ Wilson & Evans, Aves Hawaiienses, Introd. p. XIII + (1899--Based on _Turdus sandwichensis_ var. Bloxam, Voy. "Blonde" App. + p. 250 (1826--Oahu) and _Turdus woahensis_ Bloxam M.S.) + +Nothing is known about this evidently extinct bird, which formerly existed +on the island of Oahu, except Bloxam's short description, which is as +follows:--"Length 7½ inches; upper parts olive-brown, extremities of the +feathers much lighter colour; tail and wings brown; bill bristled at the +base." + +The corresponding description of _Phaeornis obscura_ in Bloxam's M.S. notes +is:--"Length 8 inches; belly light ash; back, tail and wings an ash-brown; +bill slender, ¾-in. long, bristled at the base. A beautiful songster." + +It is thus evident that Bloxam considered both forms to be distinct, and +Messrs. Wilson and Evans were perfectly justified in naming the extinct +Oahu form. + +We are not aware of any specimens being preserved in any Museum, though +Bloxam obtained a skin. Messrs. Wilson and Evans (l.c.) write:--"All the +specimens obtained by Mr. Andrew Bloxam, properly prepared and labelled, +were placed at the disposal of the Lords of the Admiralty, as shewn by a +copy of the letter he wrote to their Secretary, and probably all were sent, +as some certainly were, to the British Museum; but no other trace of this +unique specimen of a vanished species, which may be properly called +_Phaeornis oahensis_, is now forthcoming." + +{21} + + + + BOWDLERIA RUFESCENS (BULLER). + + (PLATE 5, FIG. 3.) + + _Sphenoeacus rufescens_ Buller, Ibis 1869, p. 38. + + _Megalurus rufescens_ Gray Hand-l. B. I, p. 206. No. 2913. (1869.) + +Buller's original description is as follows: "Upper parts, sides, and tail +dark rufous brown, brightest on the crown and hind-neck; the feathers of +the shoulders and sides centred with black. Quills dusky black, margined +with rufous brown. Streak over the eye, throat, breast and abdomen pale +fawn colour; sides of the head and ear-coverts marked with black. Bill +light brown with the ridge black, feet dark brown." Buller's type probably +had been preserved in spirit, as the colouration of fresh specimens is very +different to his description. The general colour above and on the flanks +chestnut rufous, most feathers with darker or black centres; chin, throat, +breast and abdomen pure white; crissum and under tail-coverts whity buff or +buffy brown. Wing 2.6 inches, tail 3.9 inches, culmen 0.65 inch. + +Habitat: Chatham Islands. + +Cats, rats and weasels have exterminated this fine species, which is now +quite extinct. Messrs. Travers and Dannefaerd have supplied the specimens +in most colonial museums, while Henry Palmer collected the 14 at Tring. A +few in Liverpool and two in the British Museum are all known to me in +Europe, in addition to those at Tring. + +{23} + + + + TRAVERSIA ROTHSCH. + +See description below. Only one species known. + + + + TRAVERSIA LYALLI ROTHSCH. + + (PLATE 5, FIG. 3.) + + _Traversia lyalli_ Rothschild, Bull. B.O.C. IV p. X (December 29th, + 1894); Nov. Zool. 1895, p. 81. + + _Xenicus insularis_ Buller, Ibis 1895, p. 236, pl. + + _Traversia insularis_ Buller, Suppl. B.N.Z. II p. 109, pl. X (1906). + +In 1894 I described this remarkable little bird as follows: "_Traversia_, +gen. nov. _Xenicidarum_. Differs in several important points both from +_Xenicus_ and _Acanthidositta_. Bill much larger and stouter, very little +shorter, if at all, than the tarsus; the latter about as long as middle toe +without claw, or the hind toe and claw, while in _Xenicus_ and +_Acanthidositta_ it is about twice as long as the hind toe. The principal +difference, however, is the weakness of the wing, which suggests +flightlessness, as does also the very soft and loose character of the +entire plumage, and the very Ralline aspect of the bird. There are only ten +tail-feathers, and the scutellation of the tarsus is like that of +_Xenicus_. These two points determine its position in the _Xenicidae_ at +once (cf. Sclater, Cat. B. XIV, p. 450). + +"The type is: _Traversia lyalli_, sp. nov. + +"Male. Above dark brownish olive-yellow, each feather with a brownish-black +border. A narrow distinct yellow superciliary line. Wings and tail +umber-brown, the inner webs darker; wing-coverts like back. Chin, throat, +and breast chrome-yellow, each feather slightly edged with greyish brown. +Flanks, abdomen, and vent pale brown, centre of feathers paler. + +"Female. Upper surface umber-brown, each feather bordered with very dark +brown; wings and tail similar. Under surface buffy grey, the feathers edged +with pale brown. Total length about 4 inches, culmen 0.6, wing 1.8 to 1.9, +tail 0.8, but much concealed, tarens 0.75, middle toe 0.65, hind toe +without claw 0.5. {24} + +"Habitat: Stephens Island, New Zealand. Discovered by Mr. Dr. Lyall, +lighthouse-keeper, and sent to me by Mr. Henry H. Travers." + +I received nine specimens of this new bird, and was not aware that any +others had been taken at that time. As I was unable to attend the December +meeting, 1894, of the British Ornithologists Club, I asked Dr. Hartert to +exhibit the birds in my name. When he had done so and had read the +description, the Chairman, Dr. P. L. Sclater, said that the bird had also +been received for illustration and description in the Ibis, from Sir Walter +Buller, and he asked Dr. Hartert if I would not withdraw my description. +Dr. Hartert said that this was unfortunate, but he had no authority to +withdraw my description, and he and Dr. Sharpe thought that the proceedings +of the meeting should be printed without consideration of any manuscripts +which might refer to the same bird. No doubt this was hard luck on Sir +Walter Buller, but it would have been equally hard luck for me if he had +forestalled me with the new bird. He had only one specimen, I had nine, of +both sexes, and I had paid a high price for them, as types of a new bird. +My type is in Tring, and, as everybody knows, available for study by any +competent ornithologist, while Buller's type was not in any museum, and it +was uncertain to whom he would sell it afterwards. I suppose it is now in +the Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, to which Buller's third collection, 625 +specimens, was sold for a thousand pounds, as Buller himself tells us in +his Supplement II, p. 167, under the heading of _Glaucopis wilsoni_! On the +same page Sir Walter Buller also tells us that his "second collection" was +sold to me, but he makes a mistake about the price, as I certainly did not +pay a thousand pounds for it. + +I mentioned these unimportant details, because Buller rather bitterly and +severely complained about my describing the Stephens' Island Wren, on p. +111 of his supplement. I may only add that of course my name, being +published in December, 1894, has the priority over his, which was not +published before April, 1895. + +The history of _Traversia lyalli_ is perhaps the most extraordinary of any +bird known. All the specimens I am aware of, viz., the eight now in my +collection, the type of "_Xenicus insularis_" in Buller's former +collection, one in the late Canon Tristram's collection, one in the British +Museum (ex Tring), and two or more offered some years ago by Mr. Travers, +were brought in by the lighthouse-keeper's cat. Evidently this feline +discoverer has at the same time been the exterminator of _Traversia +lyalli_, and many may have been digested by that unique cat, as in letters +received from Mr. Travers I {25} have been told that no more specimens +could be obtained, and Buller (l.c.) says: "Very diligent search has been +made on Stephen Island for further specimens of the Island Wren, but +without success, and there is too much reason to fear that this species has +almost immediately after its discovery become extinct." + +Habitat: Stephen Island, a small, partly wooded islet, about a square mile +in extent, in Cook Strait. It is almost impossible that this bird has only +existed on Stephen Island. It must have been overlooked on d'Urville Island +or the "mainland," where it probably became extinct--through rats and cats, +and similar pests--long ago. + +{27} + + + + MOHO APICALIS GOULD. + + (PLATE 4A, 1.) + + _Yellow-tufted Bee-eater_ (non Latham!), Dixon, Voyage round the World, + p. 357, plate (1789). + + _Moho apicalis_ Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1860, p. 381 (? Hawaii). + + _Acrulocercus apicalis_ Wilson & Evans, Av. Hawaii, pt. V text and + plate (1894). + + _Moho apicalis_ Rothschild, Avif. Laysan, etc., p. 223 and plate + (1900). + +This rarest species of the Mohos formerly inhabited the island of Oahu, +where specimens were obtained in 1837, near Enero, by Herr Deppe. The +localities of the specimens figured by Dixon and that of the type of Gould +are uncertain, but they must have been obtained on Oahu. Since 1837 we have +no further traces of _Moho apicalis_. + +The only specimens known are those in Berlin, collected by Deppe, two in +the British Museum, and one in my Museum at Tring. The latter, which I +obtained in exchange from the British Museum, is the one brought home from +the Sandwich Islands by Capt. Lord Byron. There is no specimen of _Moho +apicalis_ in the Vienna Museum. + +Habitat: Oahu. + +{29} + + + + CHAETOPTILA SCL. + + _Chaetoptila_ Sclater, Ibis 1871 p. 358. + +Dr. Sclater justly proposed a new generic term for the "_Entomyza_" or +"_Moho_" _angustipluma_ of former authors. This bird belongs doubtless to +the family of _Meliphagidae_ or Honey-eaters, and the genus is sufficiently +distinct from all others. There are no fleshy wattles anywhere. The tail is +long and strongly graduated; all the rectrices are obliquely pointed at +their tips. The plumage of the body is very soft, that of the head, throat +and chest almost fluffy; the feathers of the chin, throat and forehead end +in hair-like bristles. + +We know only one species. + + + + CHAETOPTILA ANGUSTIPLUMA (PEALE). + + (PLATE 4A, FIG. 2.) + + _Entomiza angustipluma_ Peale, U.S. Expl. Exp., Birds p. 147 pl. XL + fig. 2 (1848--Hawaii). + + _Mohoa angustipluma_ Cassin, Proc. Acad. Philad. 1855 p. 440. + + _Moho angustipluma_ Cassin, U.S. Expl. Exp., Mamm. & Orn. p. 148 pl. XI + fig. 1 (1858--Hawaii). + + Wilson & Evans, Aves. Hawai. pt. II and plate (1891--Hawaii). + + Rothschild, Avif. Laysan, etc., p. 215 and plate (1900). + +This remarkable bird, belonging to the family _Meliphagidae_, used to +inhabit the island of Hawaii in the Sandwich Archipelago. It has been said +by Mr. Dole to inhabit Molokai, but this is evidently an error. At present +nobody on the island of Hawaii has any recollection of its presence, and +its former native name is unknown--the name "Kiowea" erroneously quoted by +Mr. Dole being that of _Numenius tahitiensis_. The bird is extinct, though +we do not know the reason why it disappeared. + + THE ONLY SPECIMENS WE KNOW OF ARE THE FOLLOWING:-- + + 1. The type in the Museum at Washington, U.S.A. + + 2. One in the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum in Honolulu. + + 3. One in the Museum of the University at Cambridge, obtained in + exchange from Honolulu by Mr. Scott Wilson. + + 4. One in my Museum at Tring, obtained in exchange from the Honolulu + Museum. + +The type was obtained by Peale, the three others by the late Mr. Mills on +the island of Hawaii. + +{30} + + + + STRIGICEPS LEUCOPOGON LESS. + + _Strigiceps leucopogon_ Lesson, Echo du Monde Savant 1840 (?); Rev. + Zool. 1840, p. 266; Suppl. aux oeuvres compl. de Buffon, Descr. de + Mammif. & Ois, récemm. découverts, p. 277 (1847--Nouvelle Hollande); + Hartlaub, Beitrag Gesch ausgest Vögel, in Abhandl. Naturw. Ver. Bremen, + 2te Ausgabe, als M.S. gedr., p. 40 (1896). + +Nobody has hitherto identified the curious bird described by Lesson, l.c., +under the above name. From the generic characters he gives it is evident +that it was a bird with a long, curved bill, lanceolate feathers on the +head and throat, and long, strongly graduated tail, doubtless belonging to +the _Meliphagidae_. The description of the colouration is as follows:-- + +"Back, wings and tail bright greenish-olive; quills brown inside; shafts of +the rectrices canary-yellow from below, glossy brown-red from above; top of +head and neck chestnut, each feather being narrow and streaked with white, +then with fawn-colour on the top; the feathers of the throat are elongated +and fringed out on their edges, very narrow and lanceolate, grey at base, +white at the tips; cheeks, sides of neck and chest ferruginous, some white +streaks on the feathers of the chest and in the middle of the throat; +flanks and belly clear rufous, passing into canary-yellow on the under +tail-coverts. Tail from below greenish-yellow; tarsi horn-colour, bill +above brownish, below yellowish with brown tip. Length about eight french +inches and a half (0.23 centimètres)." (_Translated._) + +This bird was said to have come from Australia. I have made enquiries, but +the type seems to have disappeared. There is something in the description +reminding us of _Chaetoptila angustipluma_. Unless the description is +faulty, this bird came probably not from Australia, but from one of the +Pacific Islands. It has not been observed since, and is possibly extinct. + +{31} + + + + DREPANIS TEMM. + + _Drepanis_ Temminck, Man. d'Orn. Ed. II, I p. LXXXVI (1820--"Espèces: + _Certhia pacifica--obscura--vestiaria_ et probablement _falcata_, que + je n'ai pas vu.") Type by elimination: _Drepanis pacifica_. + +The name _Drepanis_ is now restricted to the practically extinct "Mamo" of +the natives of the Sandwich Islands. _Drepanis pacifica_ has a very +striking black and yellow colouration; the somewhat loose-webbed under +tail-coverts cover about three-quarters of the tail. The bill is long, +curved, non-serrated, the upper mandible a few millimetres longer than the +lower jaw. Nostrils large, covered by an operculum. First primary +rudimentary, hidden by its covert. There is a silky, soft and fluffy +axillary patch of feathers. The tail is slightly rounded. The metatarsus is +covered with large, partly fused scutes. + +Only one species known. + + + + DREPANIS PACIFICA (GM.) + + _Great Hook-billed Creeper_ Latham, Gen. Synops. I p. 703 (1782). + + _Certhia pacifica_ Gmelin, Syst. Nat. I p. 470 (1788--ex Latham). + +Both Mr. Scott Wilson and myself have at length discussed this beautiful +bird in our books on the Hawaiian Avifauna. Of the actual status of this +bird in former times we know nothing. Latham described it first (Gmelin +named this species after Latham's description) from a pair in the Leverian +collection, which is now preserved in the Vienna Museum. About half a +century ago several specimens were collected by the late W. Mills near +Hilo, on the island of Hawaii, the only island where it existed. Nothing +certain was heard of the "Mamo" until, in 1892, my collector Henry Palmer +obtained a fine male, which was caught before his eyes by a native +birdcatcher. In July, 1898, Mr. H. W. Henshaw saw "at least a pair, +possibly a whole family," in the woods of Kaumana, and in 1899 a native +heard the, to him, well-known call near the same place. This brings the +existence of the Mamo down to the year 1898 or 1899. In view of the futile +efforts of Messrs. Henry Palmer, {32} Perkins, Henshaw and others to +observe this rare bird again, we may well suppose that this species is +either extinct, or will very soon vanish if any are left. + +In former times the Mamo was probably more or less common. Its golden +yellow feathers were of great value, and, though the majority of the famous +war-cloaks are composed of the feathers of _Moho nobilis_, a few such +cloaks are known to consist of Mamo feathers. It is supposed that it took +generations to complete such a cape. + +I only know of specimens of this bird in Vienna, Leyden, Paris, Honolulu, +Cambridge and Tring. + +The two examples in the Vienna Museum were obtained by Fichtel at the sale +of the Leverian collection. One is perfect, the other has the upper portion +of the bill wanting. + +{33} + + + + HEMIGNATHUS OBSCURUS ELLISIANUS GRAY. + + (PLATE 4, FIG. 1.) + + _Hemignathus obscurus_ Lichtenstein (non Gmelin!), Abh. Akad. Wiss. + Berlin, 1838, p. 440 pl. 5 fig. 1 (Oahu). + + _Drepanis_ (_Hemignathus_) _ellisiana_ Gray, Cat. B. Trop. Is. Pac. Oc. + p. 9 (1859--based on Lichtenstein's _H. obscurus_ from Oahu). + + _Hemignathus lichtensteini_ Scott Wilson, Ann. & Mag. N. H. ser. 6, + vol. IV, p. 401 (1889--Oahu, based on the Berlin specimen). + + _Hemignathus ellisianus_ Rothschild, Avif. of Laysan, etc., p. 87 + (1893) p. 310 (1900). + +We know only of one single specimen, the type of the names _ellisianus_ and +_lichtensteini_, figured and described by Lichtenstein, in 1838, under the +name of _Hemignathus obscurus_. It is true that Lichtenstein says, that +Herr Deppe procured several specimens, but there is only one in the Berlin +Museum, and we have no knowledge where the others may be, if they are still +in existence. + +There can hardly be any doubt that _H. obscurus ellisianus_ is extinct on +Oahu, where it was discovered by Deppe. All recent collectors, from Wilson +and Palmer to this day, have failed to find a trace of it. Although +collecting in the dense forests and rugged mountains of Oahu is most +difficult, we may suppose that at least one of these collectors would have +come across it, if it still existed. + +The following is the description made by Dr. Hartert of the type in +Berlin:-- + +"Above greenish olive-brown, more greenish on the back and rump, and +somewhat more greyish on the head and hind-neck; the dark bases of the +feathers on the head showing through, lores deep brown. A distinct yellow +superciliary stripe. Chin, throat, and middle of abdomen dull brownish +white (apparently somewhat faded). Upper breast olive-greenish, sides of +breast and flanks dull olive-greenish, more olive-brown on the flanks. +Wings and tail deep brown, bordered with yellowish green. Under-wing +coverts dull white. Bill brown, somewhat horn-brown, but not blackish, as +in the other forms of _Hemignathus_. + +It is not probable that the bill and feet are faded, as in specimens of +_Heterorhynchus lucidus_ collected and stuffed at the same time and kept +side by side with _H. o. ellisianus_, the bill and feet are still blackish +and not brown. + +Wing 83.5, tail 53, culmen 56, bill from gape to tip in a straight line +47.5, lower mandible from mental apex to tip 40 mm." + +{35} + + + + HETERORHYNCHUS LUCIDUS (LICHT.) + + (PLATE 4, FIG. 2.) + + _Hemignathus lucidus_ Lichtenstein, Abh. d. Kön. Akad. Wissensch. + Berlin 1838 p. 451, pl. V figs. 2 [male] 3 [female] (1839--Oahu). + + _Heterorhynchus olivaceus_ Lafresnaye, Mag. de Zool. 1839 pl. X. and + text (Oct. 1839). + +The Oahu form of _Heterorhynchus_ is now extinct, and specimens are only, +as far as we know, preserved in the Museums of Berlin (types of _H. +lucidus_), Boston (type of _H. olivaceus_), Francfort, Paris, Leyden, +London, Cambridge, Liverpool. + +In 1838 Deppe saw this bird in great numbers flying round the flowers of +the banana plantations. As the bird was apparently common, it is quite +possible that specimens are preserved in several other collections, and it +would be most welcome if the officials of continental Museums would give +information in case they should find specimens of this interesting extinct +bird. + +Habitat: Oahu. + +{37} + + + + PSITTIROSTRA PSITTACEA DEPPEI ROTHSCH. + + (PLATE 4, FIG. 3.) + + _Psittirostra olivacea_ Rothschild, Avifauna of Laysan p. 193 + (1900--Oahu, ex Lichtenstein nomen nudum & M.S.) + + _Psittirostra psittacea deppei_ Rothschild, Bull. B.O.C. XV. p. 45 + (1905--new name for the above, the name _olivacea_ being preoccupied by + Ranzani). + +_Psittirostra psittacea psittacea_ is still one of the commoner birds on +most of the Hawaiian Islands, except Oahu, where it was formerly replaced +by a closely allied form, _P. p. deppei_, distinguishable by slightly +smaller dimensions, more whitish abdomen in the male, and somewhat more +olivaceous upperside. Specimens have been collected on Oahu by Prof. Behn +and Herr Deppe, and besides a pair in my collection, I only know of +examples in the museums of Berlin and Vienna. There is no trace left of +this species in Oahu, and in spite of great efforts Mr. Palmer and all +other recent collectors did not come across it. This form has thus shared +the fate of _Hemignathus ellisianus_, _Heterorhynchus lucidus_, _Moho +apicalis_ and _Phaeornis oahensis_, which have all disappeared from Oahu, +while _Loxops rufa_ may still exist in a few pairs, or has possibly +followed suit already. + +{39} + + + + LOXOPS COCCINEA RUFA BLOXAM. + + _Fringilla rufa_ Bloxam, Voy. "Blonde" p. 250 (1826). + + _Loxops wolstenholmei_ Rothschild, Bull. Brit. Orn. Club I, p. LVI + (1893--Oahu). + + _Loxops rufa_ Wilson, Aves Hawaiienses part VI, plate and text (1896); + Rothschild, Avif. of Laysan, etc., p. 177 (1900). + +This form of _Loxops_ is only found on Oahu, where it is doubtless very +rare now, if not already extinct. The last known specimen was shot on April +20th, 1893, in the mountains of the Wailua district, on Oahu, and is in my +collection. This is the only specimen obtained by the efforts of recent +collectors, and, if any should still exist, we may suppose that their fate +is sealed. + +_L. c. rufa_ differs from _L. coccinea coccinea_ of Hawaii by its smaller +size and more brownish, somberer coloration. + +We know of specimens in the British Museum, including the type of Bloxam's +_Fringilla rufa_, in Liverpool, Philadelphia, Berlin, Berlepsch Castle, +Vienna and Tring. + +{41} + + + + CIRIDOPS WILSON. + + _Ciridops_ Wilson, Nature 1892, p. 469. + +Though formerly supposed to belong to the _Fringillidae_, it is now +generally acknowledged to belong to the family _Drepanidae_, a peculiar +family of different forms restricted in its distribution to the Hawaiian +Islands. The genus _Ciridops_ seems to stand nearest to _Loxops_, from +which, however, it is easily distinguished by the form of the bill, the +pattern of colouration, stronger feet, and the structure of its plumage, +which is somewhat stiff and scanty, while it is soft and rich in _Loxops_. +The feathers of the crown and throat are pointed. + +We only know one species belonging to this genus. + + + + CIRIDOPS ANNA (DOLE). + + (PLATE 4, FIG. 4.) + + _Fringilla anna_ Dole, Hawaiian Almanac 1879, p. 49 (Hawaii); reprint + in Ibis 1880. + + _Ciridops anna_ Wilson & Evans, Aves Hawaienses, Part IV, text and + plate; Rothschild, Avifauna of Laysan, p. 183. + +The "Ulaaihawane" of the natives of Hawaii is one of the rarest birds +known, only three specimens being on record--one, the type, in the Bernice +Pauahi Bishop Museum in Honolulu, and two in my collection. One of these +was brought home by Mr. Scott Wilson, who obtained it from Mr. Bishop in +Honolulu, the other was shot by a native for my former collector, Mr. +Palmer. No other examples have been obtained. As there are still a good +many hawane palms in elevated districts of Hawaii, there is, of course, a +possibility that a few examples still exist there; but to all intents and +purposes _Ciridops anna_ may be looked upon as extinct. + +{43} + + + + SIPHONORHIS SCL. + + _Siphonorhis_ Sclater, P.Z.S. 1861, p. 77. Type: _Caprimulgus + americanus_ L. + +"The bill is extremely broad at base, the tip strong and heavily decurved; +nostrils tubular and very prominent; rictal bristles strongly developed. +Wing pointed, third primary longest; tail rounded, almost graduated. Tarsi +long and naked. The sexes differ slightly in coloration. (Hartert.)" + + + + SIPHONORHIS AMERICANUS (L.) + + (PLATE 5A.) + + _Small Wood-Owle_ Sloane, Voy. Jamaica II, p. 296, pl. 255, fig. 1 + (1725). + + _Caprimulgus americanus_ Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., Ed. X, p. 193 (1758--Ex + Sloane. "Habitat in America calidiore"). + + _Chordeiles americanus_ Bonaparte, Consp. Av. I, p. 63 (1850). + + _Siphonorhis americanus_ Sclater, P.Z.S. 1861, p. 77; id. P.Z.S. 1866, + p. 144; Cory, B. W. Indies, p. 139 (1889); Hartert, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. + XVI, p. 592 (1892). + +The whole diagnosis of Linnaeus is "Caprimulgus narium tubulis +eminentibus," but the prominent tubular nostrils are just the character +which distinguishes _S. americanus_ most strikingly from all the other +goatsuckers, and I think that Sloane's figure and description are +sufficient to indicate this bird. Sloane says as follows:-- + +"This was seven Inches from the end of the Bill to that of the Tail, and +ten from the end of Wing to Wing expanded, it had a quarter of an Inch long +crooked black bill, with two _Tubuli_ about one eight Part of an Inch long +for the Nostrills, along the upper Mandible were several bristly Hairs in a +Line, like those of a Cat's Mustachoes of a black Colour, the _Aperture_ of +Chaps or Swallow was extraordinary large. The Feathers on the Head and +under the Chaps were many, the Tail was four Inches long, the Head and Back +were cover'd with Feathers of a mixt Colour of _Feuille Morte_, grey and +black, the Wings and Tail were of the same Colour only Lighter under the +Chaps, Breast and Belly was also of the same, the Legs and Feet were an +Inch and half cover'd with brown Scales, the Toes four, three before, that +in the middle three-quarters of an Inch long, and one behind. {44} + +"Its Stomach was not very muscular, it was fill'd with Scarabei, &c. The +rest of the Bowells agreed in everything with those of the greater Sort, +concerning which see the description above. + +"They feed on _Scarabei_ and other Insects of that Kind. + +"They are found with the former." + +Specimens of this Goatsucker are very rare in collections, and I am only +aware of the existence of examples in American museums and of the pair +obtained by Osburn in Jamaica about half a century ago, and now in the +British Museum. Recent collectors have failed to procure it, and it is +therefore to be feared that, like _Aestrelata caribbaea_, it has been +exterminated by the introduced mongoose and other animals. + +Habitat: Jamaica. + +{45} + + + + NESTOR PRODUCTUS (GOULD.) + + (PLATE 6, head.) + + _Wilson's Parrakeet_ Latham, Gen. Hist. B. II, p. 170 (1822). + + _Plyctolophus productus_ Gould, P.Z.S. 1836, p. 19. + + _Nestor productus_ Gould, Syn. Austr. B. and adj. Isl. pt. I, pl., fig. + 1 (183--?). + + _Centrurus productus_ Bp., Naumannia 1856, Consp. Psitt. No. 265. + +Latham's original description is as follows: "Length thirteen inches. Bill +very long and hooked, and upper mandible measuring almost two inches, the +under three-quarters, colour dusky; plumage in general greenish ash, +inclining to brown, and clouded here and there with orange as in the +'Crossbill,' but the edges of the feathers of the back dun colour; all the +under parts of the body mixed yellow and dull orange; rump dull red; under +wing coverts dull yellow; thighs brown; the quills reach almost to the end +of the tail, which is somewhat, but not greatly, cuneiform; both quills and +tail are brown, the former marked on the inner webs with five or six +whitish bars; legs dusky, toes very long. Inhabits New South Wales. I met +with a fine specimen of it in the collection of Thomas Wilson, Esqre." + +It has long been a question whether _Nestor productus_ of Gould and _Nestor +norfolcensis_ of Pelzeln were really distinct or only individual varieties +of one species. I had for a long time considered them to be merely +individual varieties, for I could not persuade myself that a small island +like Philip Island, almost contiguous to Norfolk Island, could have a +different species of _Nestor_ to that found on the larger island. Since +commencing to write this book, however, I have come to somewhat different +conclusions. In the first place no special locality is given for _N. +productus_ by the earlier authors, in the same way as in the case of +_Notornis alba_, which, like the _Nestor_, was said to come from N. S. +Wales. This fact is easily explained, as N. S. Wales and Norfolk Island +were both penal settlements in the early days, and there was intercourse by +regular vessels plying between these colonies and Lord Howe's Island. Now +we find in the case of several other birds that distinct local forms occur +on Norfolk and Lord Howe's Islands, while as far as I know there is no +other record of a distinct bird from Philip Island. I therefore believe +that _Nestor productus_ inhabited both Norfolk and Philip Islands, and that +all specimens extant are from Philip Island, where it lingered some years +longer than on the main island, while the specimens of Ferdinand Bauer and +Governor Hunter, and possibly the supposed _N. norfolcensis_ of {46} Canon +Tristram's collection, now in Liverpool, had been brought from Lord Howe's +Island in cages and were kept as pets in Norfolk Island; and then, as the +value of exact data in those early days of our science was unknown, the +references were made to the place whence the specimens were seen or +brought. One thing however is certain, the bill in Ferdinand Bauer's sketch +is evidently a monstrous growth produced by captivity, for Latham expressly +describes the bill of Governor Hunter's bird as ending in a long thin +point. The differences of _N. norfolcensis_ are the dull crimson sides of +face, chin, and throat; dull green head and hind neck, and the total +absence of bars on the tail. The plate given herewith is a reproduction of +the Liverpool bird, with the bill of Ferdinand Bauer's sketch added, as +this is wanting in that bird, and in the corner a head of the specimen of +_N. productus_, purchased for the Tring Museum, when the late Mr. Wallace's +Museum at Distington, Cumberland, was dispersed. + +I have carefully examined the three fine specimens of _Nestor productus_ in +the British Museum, and the conclusion I have come to is that the bird +described by Gould as the adult of his _N. productus_ was an abnormal +specimen, and was in relation to normal _N. productus_ what the aberrations +called "_superbus_" and "_esslingi_" are to _N. meridionalis_. The bills of +the British Museum specimens are very different. The one from the Bell +collection has the long, thin bill, but it is at least half-an-inch to +three-quarters shorter than those in the Tring and Florence specimens. + +Habitat: Philip Island and probably Norfolk Island. + +One in Tring, three in London, one in Florence, two in Vienna, one in +Prague, two in Leyden, one in Amsterdam, are known to me. + +The two specimens in the Vienna Museum were both bought in 1839. One from +Ward, with a short bill, brown chest and throat, and a very wide yellow +breast-band. The other from Baron von Hügel, which has a long bill and very +red cheeks and chin. {47} + + + + NESTOR NORFOLCENSIS PELZELN. + + (PLATE 6, full figure.) + + _Long-billed Parrakeet_ Latham, Gen. Hist. II, p. 171 (1822). + + _Nestor norfolcensis_ Pelzeln, Sitzb. k. Akad. Wiss. XLI, pp. 322-325, + pl.--(1860--detailed description from the manuscript of the late + botanist, Ferdinand Lucas Bauer, and figure of head with an evidently + abnormally developed bill. The specimen was from Norfolk Island; it had + disappeared before Pelzeln's time). + +Latham's original description is as follows: "Length above 12 inches. Bill +very long and curved, thick halfway from the base, but tapering quite to a +point at the tip, and under mandible truncated at the end, colour of both, +dusky; head and neck dull green; sides under the eyes, chin and throat pale +crimson; upper parts of the body, wings and tail dusky; breast yellowish; +belly, thighs and vent more or less crimson; tail cuneiform; legs brown." + +"One of these was in possession of Governor Hunter, who brought it from +Norfolk Island; from the bill it seems related to the other, but the tail +is cuneiform in a much greater degree, without any bars across it." + +The only bird of this species extant is the one in Liverpool, from the +Tristram collection. + +Governor Hunter's specimen and Bauer's bird were both brought from Norfolk +Island, but as they were cage-birds, and differed so markedly from _N. +productus_, I, for reasons given under _N. productus_, believe this bird +came from Lord Howe's Island. + +Habitat: Lord Howe's Island (?). + +{49} + + + + LOPHOPSITTACUS NEWTON. + +The huge bill and peculiar shaped crest, together with the--apparently, +_i.e.,_ if the figure is correct--very short wings are characteristic of +this genus. (P.Z.S. 1875, p. 350.) + + + + LOPHOPSITTACUS MAURITIANUS (OWEN). + + (PLATE 7.) + + _Broad-billed Parrot_ Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. VI, p. 53 (1866). + + _Psittacus mauritianus_ Owen, Ibis, p. 168 (1866). + + _Psittacus (Lophopsittacus) mauritianus_ A. Newton, P.Z.S. (1875), pp. + 349, 350. + + _Lophopsittacus mauritianus_ Newton, Enc. Brit. (ed. 9) III, p. 732, + ff. 44, 46 (1875). + +This extraordinary parrot was first described and made known to science by +Professor Owen in 1866. He described it from 2 lower mandibles, much +damaged, which were dug up from the Mare aux Songes. Except a few further +osseous remains, mostly collected by Sir Edward Newton, nothing more of +importance was found relating to this bird till Professor Schlegel +discovered in the Library of Utrecht the manuscript journal kept during the +voyage to Mauritius in A.D. 1601-1602 of Wolphart Harmanszoon, in which +among other items of natural history there is a sketch of _Lophopsittacus_ +from life, and the statement that it was wholly of a grey-blue colour. From +the fact that this bird is not mentioned by the voyagers who visited +Mauritius in the 2nd and 3rd decades of the 18th century, it is probable +that it was one of the first of the Mascarene birds to become extinct. This +is easily understood when we consider that the bird was apparently unable +to fly, and would like all big parrots prove excellent eating. + +Only known from osseous remains and the above-quoted drawing and notes. + +35 tarsi and tibiae, and 60 complete and incomplete lower mandibles and +fragments of palatine bones in the Tring Museum. + +Habitat: Mauritius. + +{51} + + + + ARA TRICOLOR BECHST. + + (PLATE 10.) + + _Le petit Ara_ D'Aubenton, Pl. Enl. 641. + + _L'Ara tricolor_ Levaill., Perr. I p. 17, pl. 5 (1801). + + _Psittacus tricolor_ Bechst., Kurze Ueb. p. 64, pl. I (1811). + + _Sittace? lichtensteini_ Wagl., fide Bp., Naumannia 1856, Consp. Psitt. + +Bechstein's description, taken from Levaillant, is (translated) as follows: +"This _Aras_, which others have held to be only a variety of _Macao_, is +according to Vaillant a distinct species. It is one third smaller than the +red-fronted species, or 1 ft. 10 in. long, of which the tail takes 11 +inches and the bill 18 lines. The latter is of a black colour and has the +upper mandible less curved, and the sides of the lower mandible more +swollen than is the case in the other _Ara_ species. The cheeks are naked +and white, with three lines of red feathers. Head, front and sides of the +neck, breast, belly and thighs red; back of the neck pale yellow; back, +shoulders and smaller wing coverts brownish red bordered with yellow or +green; flanks yellowish, primaries above dark azure blue, below coppery +red. Crissum violet blue, undertail coverts pale blue with green and +brown-red borders; under-wing coverts red, the larger yellow, and brownish +green. Two centre tail feathers all red with blue tips, the outer ones blue +on outer webs and tips, red on the rest of the feather." + +Of this bird I know only of two in the British Museum, one in Paris, one in +Leyden, one in Liverpool. The specimen in the Paris Museum bears the +inscription "Macrocercus tricolor (Bechst.) M. E. Rosseau. Cuba. Ménagerie +1842." Probably, however, there are more specimens in other museums. + +Apparently the last specimen was shot in 1864 at La Vega (Bangs, Americ. +Nat. XXXIX, p. 200). + +Like all the extinct West Indian Macaws, Amazons and Conures, it became +extinct through its persecution by the inhabitants for food. + +Habitat: Formerly Cuba and Isle of Pines. {52} + + + + ARA GOSSEI ROTHSCH. + + (PLATE 11.) + + _Yellow-headed Macaw_ Gosse, Birds of Jamaica, p. 260 (1847). + + _Ara gossei_ Rothsch., Bull. B.O.C., XVI, p. 14 (1905); Proc. IV, Orn. + Congr., p. 201 (1907). + + _Ara tricolor_ (non Bechstein) Clark, Auk 1905, p. 348. + +Mr. Gosse's description is as follows:--"Basal half of upper mandible +black; apical half, ash coloured; lower mandible, black, tip only ash +coloured; forehead, crown, and back of neck, bright yellow; sides of face, +around eyes, anterior and lateral parts of the neck, and back, a fine +scarlet; wing coverts and breast deep sanguine red; winglet and primaries +an elegant light blue. The legs and feet are said to have been black; the +tail, red and yellow intermixed (Rob.)" + +Mr. Gosse also remarks, "If this is not the _tricolor_ of Le Vaillant, +which is the only Macaw I am aware of marked with a yellow nape, it is +probably new." + +In spite of the evident differences in the description, the Jamaican _Ara_ +has always been united with the Cuban _A. tricolor_, even as lately as +October, 1905, by Mr. Austin H. Clark (Auk, 1905, p. 348), though he +queries it in a footnote. The specimen described by Dr. Robinson, here +quoted by Gosse, was shot about 1765, by Mr. Odell, in the mountains of +Hanover parish, about ten miles east of Lucea. + +Habitat: Jamaica. + +The specimen described no longer exists, and there are none in any +collection known. + +There was a third member of the _tricolor_ group of Macaws found on the +large island of Haiti, which Mr. Clark has also united under _A. tricolor_, +but I believe it must have been different, just as the Jamaica bird. {53} + + + + ARA ERYTHROCEPHALA ROTHSCH. + + (PLATE 12.) + + _Ara militaris_ Gosse, Birds of Jamaica, p. 261 (1847). + + _Ara erythrocephala_ Rothsch., Bull. B.O.C., XVI, p. 14 (1905); Proc. + IV Orn. Congr., p. 201 (1907). + +Gosse says the description given to him in a letter, just received from Mr. +Hill, was as follows:--"Head red; neck, shoulders, and underparts of a +light and lively green; the greater wing coverts and quills, blue; and the +tail scarlet and blue on the upper surface, with the under plumage, both of +wings and tail, a mass of intense orange yellow." + +"The specimen here described was procured in the mountains of Trelawny and +St. Anne's by Mr. White, proprietor of the Oxford estate." No specimen now +known. + +Habitat: Jamaica. + +Mr. Gosse also relates that the Rev. Mr. Coward, in 1842, saw two large +Macaws flying near the foot of the mountains in the parish of St. James, +near the centre of the island. These birds were said to have been blue and +yellow; if so, probably they were my _Ara erythrura_, whose precise island +home is unknown. + + + + ARA MARTINICUS (ROTHSCH.) + + (PLATE 14.) + + _Les Aras_ Père Bouton, Rel. de l'étab. d. Français dep. 1635, en l'ile + Martinique pp. 71. 72 (1640). + + _Anadorhynchus martinicus_ Rothsch. Bull. B.O.C. XVI, p. 14 (1905); + Proc. IV Orn. Congr., p. 202 (1907). + +Père Bouton says, "Les Aras sont deux ou trois fois gros comme les +Perroquets et ont un plumage bien différent en couleur. Ceux que j'ai vus +avaient les plumes leleucs et orangées." + +No specimen preserved. + +Habitat: Martinique. {54} + + + + ARA GUADALOUPENSIS CLARK. + + _Les Arras_ Du Tertre, Hist. gen. des Antilles Vol. II p. 248 (1667). + + _Ara Rouge_ D'Aubenton, Pl. Enl. 12 (1779). + + _Ara guadaloupensis_ Clark, Auk, XXII, p. 272 (1905). + +Du Tertre gives the following description:--"The Arras is a sort of Parrot +bigger than all the others. This is proved because those of Guadaloupe are +larger than all the other Parrots, both those from the Islands as well as +from the Mainland; while this Arras is larger than these by one third. It +has the head, the neck, the belly and the back of the colour of fire; its +wings are a mixture of yellow azure, and crimson feathers; while the tail +is entirely red and a foot-and-a-half long." + +Macaws of this colouration are mentioned by Du Tertre, De Rochefort, and +others of the older authors as being found on Guadaloupe, Dominica and +Martinique, and Mr. Clark has united them under one name. This I feel sure +is wrong, and I believe each of the three islands had a distinct species of +Red Macaw, so I confine this name to the Guadaloupe form. + +Habitat: Guadaloupe. + +No specimen existing. + + + + ARA ERYTHRURA NOM. NOV. + + (PLATE 15.) + + De Rochefort, Histoire Nat. & Mor. des Iles Antilles, &c. (1658), p. + 154, Art. IX (Des Arras). + + _Anadorhynchus coeruleus_ (non Gmelin) Rothsch., Bull. B.O.C., XVI, p. + 15 (1905). + +In the Bull. B.O.C. XVI, p. 15 (1905), I unfortunately described this bird +under the name of _Anadorhynchus coeruleus_ (Gm.), having misread his +description, and also said it came from Jamaica. Professor Salvadori, in +the Ibis (1906) Series 8, Vol. VI, "Notes on Parrots," p. 451, calls +attention to my double error, but failed entirely to realise what bird I +really meant. The original description is (translated) as follows:-- + +"Among them are some which have the head, the upper side of the neck, and +the back of a satiny sky blue; the underside of the neck, the belly, and +undersurface of the wings, yellow, and the tail entirely red." + +No specimen existing. + +Habitat: One of the West Indian Islands. + +{55} + + + + ANODORHYNCHUS PURPURASCENS ROTHSCH. + + (PLATE 13.) + + _Le gros Perroquet de la Guadaloupe_ Don de Navarette, Rel. Quat. voy. + Christ. p. 425 pl. II (1838). + + _Anadorhynchus purpurascens_ Rothsch. Bull. B.O.C. XVI, p. 13 (1905); + Proc. IV Orn. Congr., p. 202 (1907). + +The original description of this bird says it was entirely deep violet. +Native name _Oné couli_. No specimen extant. I have placed this species in +the genus _Anodorhynchus_ on account of its uniform bluish colour. + +Habitat: Guadaloupe. + +{57} + + + + AMAZONA VIOLACEUS (GM.) + + (PLATE 17.) + + _Perroquet de la Guadeloupe_ Du Tertre, Hist. Nat. Antill. II, p. 250, + fig. p. 246 (1667). + + _Perroquets_ Labat, Voy. aux iles de l'Amér., vol. II p. 214 (1742). + + _Psittacus violaceus_ Gmelin, Syst. Nat. I, p. 337 (1788). + +Labat's translated original description is as follows:--"Those of +Guadaloupe are a little smaller than the _Aras_; they have the head, the +neck, and the belly slate colour with a few green and black feathers, the +back is entirely green, and the wings are yellow and red." + +Gmelin's description reads thus:--"Ps. violaceus viridi et nigro admisto +varius, dorso ex fusco viridi, remigibus majoribus nigris, reliquis ex +luteo, viridi, et rubro variis, tectricum macula rosea. Rostrum et orbitae +incarnata." + +Du Tertre's description is as follows:--"He is about as big as a fowl, has +the beak and eyes bordered with red. All the feathers of the head, neck and +belly are of a violet colour, a little mixed with black and green, shot +like the throat of a pigeon. All the upper part of the back is green, +strongly washed with brown. Outer primaries black, rest yellow, green and +red." + +No specimens in collections. + +Habitat: Guadaloupe. + + + + AMAZONA MARTINICANA CLARK. + + (PLATE 18.) + + _Perroquets_ Labat's Voy. aux iles de l'Amér. II p. 214 (1742). + + _Amazona martinicana_ Clark, Auk. XXII, p. 343 (1905). + +Labat's description reads thus:--"Those of Dominica have some red feathers +on the wings, under the throat, and in the tail; all the rest is green +(Amazona bouqueti, W.R.). Those of Martinique have the same plumage as the +last mentioned, but the top of the head is slate colour with a small amount +of red." + +No specimen now known. + +Habitat: Martinique. + +{59} + + + + CONURUS LABATI ROTHSCH. + + (PLATE 16.) + + _Perriques_ Labat, Voy. aux iles de l'Amér. II p. 218 (1742). + + _Conurus labati_ Rothsch. Bull. B.O.C. XVI, p. 13 (1905); Proc. IV Orn. + Congr., p. 202 (1907). + +Labat's translated description of this bird is as follows:--"Those of +Guadaloupe are about the size of a blackbird, entirely green, except a few +small red feathers, which they have on their head. Their bill is white. +They are very gentle, loving, and learn to speak easily." + +No specimens known. + +Habitat: Island of Guadaloupe. + +{61} + + + + NECROPSITTACUS MILNE-EDW. + + _Necropsittacus_ Milne-Edwards, Ann. Sc. Nat. (5) XIX, Art. 3, p. 18 + (1874). + +Milne-Edwards considered _Necropsittacus_ closely allied to the genus +_Palaeornis_, and at the same time to show affinities with the _Loriidae_. +At the same time the two mandibles were sufficient, in his opinion, to show +that this bird belonged to a little generic group standing near +_Palaeornis_. + + + + NECROPSITTACUS RODRICANUS (MILNE-EDW.) + + _Psittacus Rodricanus_ A. Milne-Edw., Ann. Sc. Nat. (5) VIII, pp. + 151-155, pl. 7, ff. 1, 2 (1867). + + _Necropsittacus rodericanus_ A. Newt., P.Z.S. p. 41 (1875). + +This parrot was described from a portion of the upper mandible by Professor +Milne-Edwards, and then was more fully described by Dr. Günther and Sir +Edward Newton, who examined a nearly complete skull and other bones. + +A manuscript discovered in the Archives of the Ministry of Marine in Paris +proves that this bird only became extinct at a not very distant date, it +having been seen alive by the writer of the manuscript about the year 1731. +In this manuscript the bird was said to have a body considerably larger +than a pigeon, with a _very_ long tail and a _very_ large head and bill. +Unfortunately the writer does not mention the colour, but adds that the +smaller green and blue parrot (_Palaeornis exsul_) was much handsomer; so +we can safely assume that our bird was of sombre colouration. It was +undoubtedly closely allied to the genus _Palaeornis_. The two following, +though much brighter coloured and but scantily described, apparently belong +to the same genus. + +Habitat: Rodriguez. {62} + + + + NECROPSITTACUS(?) BORBONICUS NOM. NOV. + + (PLATE 8.) + +This parrot is described by the Sieur D.B. (Dubois) in the following +terms:--"Body the size of a large pigeon, green; head, tail and upper part +of wings the colour of fire." As he compares it with the other parrots +which are true _Palaeornis_, it is evident that this bird must have been a +_Necropsittacus_. + +This description is the sole evidence we have of the existence of this +bird. + +Habitat: Bourbon or Réunion. + + + + NECROPSITTACUS(?) FRANCICUS ROTHSCH. + + _Necropsittacus francicus_ Rothsch., Proceedings Int. Ornith. Congress + 1905, p. 197 (1907). + +Original description:--"Head and tail fiery red, rest of body and wings +green." We only know this bird from the descriptions in the various +"Voyages" to Mauritius in the 17th and early 18th centuries. + +Habitat: Mauritius. + +{63} + + + + MASCARINUS LESSON. + + _Mascarinus_ Lesson, Traité d'Orn. p. 188 (1831--A mixture of forms. By + elimination the name _Mascarinus_ has been restricted to the Mascarine + Parrot). + +The generic affinities of this bird have been discussed by various authors. +Wagler, Gray, Pelzeln, Hartlaub (1877) and Messrs. A. and E. Newton united +it with the Vaza Parrots in the genus _Coracopsis_, Finsch included it, +together with the Vazas and the Grey Parrot (_Psittacus erithacus_), in the +genus _Psittacus_. Recent authors--Oustalet 1893, W. A. Forbes 1879, and +Salvadori (Cat. B. XX, p. 421, 1891)--have admitted a separate genus, +_Mascarinus_. This is evidently the proper course, and I agree with W. A. +Forbes, Oustalet and Salvadori that its nearest affinities appear to be the +genus _Tanygnathus_ rather than _Coracopsis_, and that the place of +_Mascarinus_ is among the _Palaeornithinae_ of Salvadori. + +The large red bill, with distinctly ridged gonys, concealed nostrils and +moderately long, strongly rounded tail, are peculiar characters. The +colouration is unique. Only one species is known. {64} + + + + MASCARINUS MASCARINUS (L.) + + MASCARINE PARROT. + + (PLATE 9.) + + "_Perroquets un peu plus gros que pigeons, ayant le plumage de couleur + de petit gris, un chaperon noir sur la teste, le becq fort gros, & + couleur de feu_" Le Sieur D.B, (Dubois), Voyages aux Iles Dauphine ou + Madagascar, et Bourbon ou Mascarenne. p. 172 (1674--"Bourbon ou + Mascarenne"). + + _Psittacus Mascarinus_ Brisson, Orn. IV., p. 315 (1760); Hahn, Orn. + Atlas, Papageien p. 54, pl. 39 (1835). + + _Psittacus mascarin._ Linnaeus, Mantissa Plantarum, regni animalis + appendix p. 524 (1771--"Habitat in Mascarina." Ex Brisson). + + _Perroquet Mascarin_ Levaillant, Perroquets II, p. 171, pl. 189 + (1805--"Madagascar," errore). + + _Mascarinus madagascariensis_ Lesson, Traité d'Orn, p. 189 + (1831--"Madagascar," ex Levaillant). + + _Coracopsis mascarina_ Wagler, Mon. Psittac. p. 679 (1832); Pelzeln, + Verh. Zool. Bot. Ges. Wien 1863, p. 934. + + _Mascarinus obscurus_ (non _Psittacus obscurus_ L.) Bonaparte, Rev. & + Mag. de Zool. 1854 p. 154 (Linnaeus, _Psittacus obscurus_--Syst. Nat. + Ed. X, p. 97, 1758, ex Hasselquist M.S.--though identified by himself + with the Mascarine Parrot in 1766--Syst. Nat. Ed. XII, I, p. + 140--cannot be the same as _P. mascarinus_; the description disagrees + entirely, and the bird was described from a specimen probably seen + alive by Hasselquist, with uncertain locality. What Linnaeus' _P. + obscurus_ was, is difficult to say; if it was not for the long tail, + one might consider it a variety of the Grey Parrot). + + _Psittacus madagascarensis_ Finsch, Papageien II pp. 306, 955 + (1868--Finsch was not acquainted with the history of this Parrot, as he + still considered Madagascar to be its home, and wondered why it had not + been found there by recent collectors). + + _Psittacus madagascariensis_ Pelzeln, Ibis 1873, p. 32. + + _Mascarinus duboisi_ W. A. Forbes, Ibis 1879, pp. 304, 305 (figures), + 306; Milne-Edwards & Oustalet, Centenaire Mus. d'Hist. Nat. pp. + 191-205, pl. I (1893--excellent lengthy account). + + _Mascarinus mascarinus_ Salvadori, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. XX, p. 421 + (1891--Réunion). + +It has been mentioned above that "Le Sieur D.B." (Dubois) described this +Parrot clearly in 1674, and that it lived on Réunion, and not on +Madagascar. Linnaeus in 1771 (see above) was the first to bestow a +scientific name on it, though Brisson had already again described it in +1760. Linnaeus' diagnosis is, as usual, rather poor, and not quite +correct[1], but his reference to Brisson leaves no doubt as to what he +meant. + +This parrot is one of the rarest of extinct birds, only two stuffed +specimens being known. One normally coloured specimen is preserved in the +Museum of Natural History in Paris, and it is evidently this which has been +figured by Daubenton and Levaillant, and in the "Centenaire du Muséum +d'Historie Naturelle." From the latter plate my figure has been taken. + +The example in Vienna is unfortunately semi-albinistic, there being some +white feathers on the back, wings and tail. Another normal individual, +however, lived formerly in the Menagerie of the King of Bavaria, where it +was depicted by Hahn in 1835. Unfortunately this specimen has not been +preserved. + +{65} + + + + PALAEORNIS EXSUL NEWTON. + + (PLATE 19.) + + _Palaeornis exsul_ A. Newton, Ibis 1872, p. 33. + +Leguat was the first to mention these parrots as "Perroquets verds et +bleus," and that they were wonderfully good to eat and also delightful +pets. + +Professor Newton's description is as follows: "Female: Of moderate size. +General appearance greyish-glaucous, darker above than beneath. From the +corner of the mouth proceeds an ill-defined dull black chin stripe, which +becomes broader as it passes backward and upward, ceasing somewhat abruptly +on reaching the level of the ears. Head, nape and shoulders, upper +wing-coverts, and rectrices above dull greyish-glaucous, the blue tinge in +which predominates when the bird is seen against the light, and the green +when seen in the contrary aspect; the outer rectrices paler. Rump verditer +blue. Primaries with their outer, and most part of their inner, webs deep +greenish blue, the former with narrow, lighter edges, and the latter +broadly bordered with pitch black; shafts and lower surfaces greyish black. +Secondaries much the same as the primaries, but of a still deeper shade. +Breast dull greyish-glaucous, but lighter than the upper parts and passing +on the belly into verditer, which becomes lighter and greener on the vent. +Rectrices beneath yellowish grey, darker toward the tips of the longer +feathers. Bill black." + +The specimen was sent in spirits to Sir Edward Newton in 1871 by Mr. +Jenner, the Magistrate of Rodriguez. + +The male differs from the female in having the upper mandible crimson, +fading into horn at the tip. Top of head more glaucous. Black stripe from +nostril to eye. Black chin stripe prolonged almost to meet on nape of neck. +Most of primaries with dull black patch on inner webs. Middle secondaries +dusky black. + +The male was sent to Sir Edward Newton in 1875 by Mr. J. Caldwell. + + Total length 16 inches. + Wing 7.5 " + Tail 8.5 " + +Probably almost if not quite extinct. Recent investigations about its +status are very desirable. + +Habitat: Rodriguez Island. {66} + + + + PALAEORNIS WARDI E. NEWTON. + + (PLATE 20.) + + _Palaeornis wardi_ E. Newton, P.Z.S. 1867, p. 346 (Seychelles). + +The translation of Sir Edward Newton's diagnosis is as follows: "Similar to +_P. alexandri_, but with a stouter bill, purple red shoulder patches, and +the hind neck without a red band. + +"_Adult Male._ Crown of head and throat bluish, cheeks ochraceous green, +chin and line round base of mandible black, continued in a stripe from the +gape to the hind neck; back and wings grass green; rump brighter; a single +wide band (or patch) on the shoulders purplish red; remiges and rectrices +deep green washed with blue, the latter yellowish, the former dusky below; +belly yellowish green; bill vivid scarlet with paler tip; feet dusky. Total +length 16 inches, wings 7.75, tail 9." + +Female similar to the male but duller, and with the bill all black, and +without the black mandibular stripe. + +Formerly abundant on most of the islands in the Seychelles, especially +Mahé, but now confined to the little islet of Silhouette, where it will in +all probability become extinct. According to E. Newton its name was "Cateau +vert." + +Habitat: Seychelles Islands. {67} + + + + PALAEORNIS EQUES (BODD). + + _Psittaca borbonica torquata_ Briss., Orn. IV p. 328, pl. XXVII f. 1 + (1760). (Bourbon.) + + _Psittacus alexandri var._ [gamma] Linnaeus, S.N. p. 142 (1766). + + _Perruche à collier de l'Isle de Bourbon_ Daubenton, Pl. enl. 215. + + _Perruche à double collier_ Buff., Hist. Nat. Ois. VI, p. 143 (1779). + + _Alexandrine Parrakeet var. C. Double Ringed Parrakeet_ Latham, Syn. I + p. 326 (1781). + + _Psittacus eques_ Boddaert, Tabl. Pl. Enl. p. 13 (1783). + + _Psittacus semirostris_ Hermann, Obs. Zool. p. 125 (1804). + + _Psittacus bitorquatus_ Kuhl, Consp. Psitt. p. 92 (1820). + + Rose Ringed Parrakeet var. B. Latham, Gen. Hist. II p. 161 (1822). + + _Psittacus bicollaris_ Vieillot, Enc. Meth. III p. 1385 (1823). + + _Palaeornis bitorquatus_ Vigors, Zool. Journ. II p. 51 (1825). + + _Palaeornis borbonicus_ Bp., Rev. and Mag. Zool. 1854, p. 152. No. 140. + +There has been considerable confusion with regard to this parrot. It was +first asserted that it occurred on both Bourbon and Mauritius. Then +Professor Newton separated the Mauritius bird as _Pal. echo_. Salvadori, +however, in Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. XX, p. 442, reunited the Bourbon and +Mauritius birds, while quite unaccountably stating only Mauritius as the +habitat. + +The Abbé Dubois describes this bird as follows: "Green Parrots as large as +pigeons having a black collar." + +Now the species of _Palaeornis_ from Rodriguez, the Seychelles, and the +mainland of Africa are all distinct, and the other land birds of Mauritius +are and were different from those of Bourbon. I therefore feel quite +certain that Professor Newton is right, and that his _Palaeornis echo_ is +distinct from _P. eques_, though, unfortunately, we do not know in which +way the two forms differed. + +Habitat: Bourbon or Réunion, but now extinct. No specimens known. {68} + + + + PALAEORNIS ECHO NEWTON. + + _Palaeornis echo_ Newton, Ibis 1876, p. 284. + + _Palaeornis eques_ Salvadori, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. XX, p. 442 (1891). + +Description of Male: Green, the occiput tinged with bluish; a narrow black +stripe from the nostrils to the eyes; broad black mandibular stripes +passing down and across the sides of the neck where they meet a pink +collar, which is interrupted on the hind neck; under wing-coverts yellowish +green; central tail feathers scarcely tinged with bluish; tail below dark +yellowish grey; upper mandible red, under mandible almost black with only a +brownish tinge in places. Iris yellow. Naked skin round eyes orange. Wing +7.5 inches, tail 8.75 inches, bill 9 inches. The female differs by the +absence of the collar, no bluish tint on occiput, and the bill entirely +blackish. + +It differs from _P. torquatus_ in the incomplete collar, darker green +colour and broader tail feathers. This bird is still found in the interior +of the island, but is rare and apparently on the verge of extinction. + +Habitat: Mauritius. + +Three specimens at Tring, four in the British Museum. + +{69} + + + + CYANORHAMPHUS ZEALANDICUS (LATHAM.) + + _Red Rumped Parrakeet_ Latham, Syn. I, p. 249, No. 50 (1781). + + _Psittacus novae seelandiae_ Gmelin (nec. Sparrm.), S.N. I, p. 328, No. + 83 (1788). + + _Psittacus zealandicus_ Latham, Ind. Orn. I, p. 102, No. 58 (1790). + + _Psittacus novae-zealandiae_ Kuhl, Consp. Psitt. p. 44, var. 1 (1820). + + _Psittacus erythronotus_ Kuhl, Consp. Psitt. p. 45, No. 67 (1820). + + _Psittacus pacificus_ var. No. 3, Vieillot, Enc. Méth., p. 1387 (1823). + + _Platycercus pacificus_, part. Vigors, Zool. Journ. I, p. 529 (1825). + + _Platycercus erythronotus_ Stephens, Gen. Zool. XIV., p. 129, No. 9 + (1826). + + _Conurus phaeton_ Des Murs, Rev. Zool. 1845, p. 449. + + _Platycercus phaeton_ Des Murs, Icon. Orn. pl. 16 (1845). + + _Cyanorhamphus pacificus_ Bonaparte, Rev. et. Mag. 1854, p. 153, No. + 184. + + _Cyanorhamphus erythronotus_ Gray, Hand-list II, p. 140, No. 8029 + (1870). + + _Cyanorhamphus forsteri_ Finsch, Papag. II, p. 270 (1868). + +This bird has received a variety of names owing to the adult bird being +very different to the younger and quite young birds. _Adult_, forehead +black; stripe from lores passing through eye almost to hind-neck scarlet; +rump scarlet; back and breast dull green; cheeks, head, neck, belly, +under-tail coverts and wing coverts, bright green. Flight-feathers blue on +outer, brown on inner, webs; bend of wing blue; tail feathers blue, edged +with green. + +_Young_ differs in having a dull bluish-black forehead, brownish head, back +mixed brown and green, rump and eye stripe chestnut red, and the underside +greyish green. + +This species was confined to the Society Islands, where it was obtained +during Cook's Voyage by Ellis and by Forster, and lastly by Lieutenant de +Marolles in 1844. We only know for certain at the present day of the +existence of two specimens, one in the British Museum, ex Massena +collection, whose origin is doubtful, and one in Paris, collected by +Lieutenant de Marolles. What became of the other two specimens of the +latter's collecting, and of Forster's and Ellis' specimens, I cannot say. + +Habitat: Society Islands. + +Evidently extinct. {70} + + + + CYANORHAMPHUS ULIETANUS (GM.) + + _Society Parrot_ Latham, Syn. I p. 250 (1781). + + _Psittacus ulietanus_ Gmelin, S.N. I p. 328, n. 85 (1788). + + _Platycercus ulietanus_ Vig., Zool. I p. 533, Suppl. pl. 3 (1825). + + _Cyanorhamphus ulietanus_ Bonaparte, Rev. et Mag. de Zool. 1854, p. + 153, n. 188. + + _Platycercus tannaensis_ Finsch, Papag. II, p. 272 (1868). + + _Psittacus fuscatus_ Pelz., Ibis 1873, p. 30. + +_Adult_: "Olive brown, the head brown-black; rump and basal upper +tail-coverts brown-red, the longest upper tail-coverts olive brown like the +back; underparts olive-yellow; quills, primary-coverts, under wing coverts +and tail-feathers grey; bill black, base of upper mandible grey; feet +brown." (Salvadori, Cat. B. XX p. 579). Wing 5.3 inches, bill 0.8 inches, +tarsus 0.8 inches, tail 5 inches. + +Habitat: Ulietea, Society Islands (fide Latham). + +The type from the Leverian Museum is in Vienna, and a specimen from +Bullock's collection is in the British Museum. These are the only two +specimens known, and as it is now more than a hundred years since anyone +has procured a specimen, we may suppose that this is an extinct species. +The specimen in Vienna, which I have recently been able to examine, has the +head, back, wings, and tail deep umber-brown, the rump dark-crimson, upper +tail-coverts olive, underside brownish yellow. + + + + CYANORHAMPHUS SUBFLAVESCENS SALVADORI. + + _Parrot from Lord Howe Island_ Phillips, Bot. Bay, p. 225 (1789). + + _Cyanorhamphus subflavescens_ Salvadori, Ann. & Mag. (6) VII, p. 68 + (1891). + +Very similar to _C. cooki_ and _C. saisseti_ and intermediate in size. +Above more yellowish than _C. saisseti_, below more greenish, tail shorter +than in either of the latter. + +This species is believed to be extinct. Last year I received some specimens +of a _Cyanorhamphus_ from an inhabitant of Lord Howe's Island, but from +subsequent letters these appear to have been collected on Norfolk or Philip +Island, and they certainly are _C. cooki_. + +Habitat: Lord Howe's Island. + +A pair in the British Museum appear to be the only known specimens. + +{71} + + + + BUBO(?) LEGUATI NOM. NOV. + + _Strix sp._ Milne-Edwards, Ann. Sci. Nat. (5) XIX p. 13 (art. 3.) 1874. + +Milne-Edwards had only a single tibio-tarsus of this form and described +this bone, but refrained from giving it a specific name, though he stated +it was probably a small _Bubo_, in the hopes of getting more material. + +As, however, we have no further specimens, I think I am justified in naming +it after Leguat, who first mentions Owls on Rodriguez. Milne-Edwards' +description of this tibio-tarsus is that it equals in length that bone in +_Asio accipitrinus_, but was distinguished from the latter by the strong +inward curvature and the great development in width of its distal +extremity. + + _Tibio-tarsus._ + + Total length 77 mm. + Length from the proximal extremity to the + top of the peronial ridge 25 " + Width at distal extremity 10.5 " + Width at proximal extremity 9 " + Width of shaft 3.7 " + +Habitat: Rodriguez. + +{73} + + + + SCOPS COMMERSONI OUST. + + _Scops commersoni_ Oustalet, Ann. Sci. Nat. (8) III, p. 35 fig. 3 + (1896). + +This owl, I believe, is not a true _Scops_, being much too big, but we must +leave it in that genus for the present, as there are no specimens or bones +extant, and only Jossigny's drawing to guide us as to its appearance. The +first mention of owls on Mauritius was in the year 1606, when Admiral +Matlief says that owls were common in the Island. Monsieur Desjardins, in +1837, gave the first accurate description of the bird, of which I here +reproduce the translation. "The digits and even the tarsi are not +feathered, only on the front portion of these latter one sees some short, +stiff feathers running down to a point nearly to the centre. The digits are +very strong, they being armed with hooked nails. + +The beak is very stout, arched from its base; the upper mandible, which is +much longer than the other and covering it, is as if cut square at the +point. The nostrils pierce the bill pretty high up in the horny portion. +The eyes, of which I could not see the colour, are round, and placed, like +in the entire family, in front. They are surrounded by a circle or disc of +stiff, thread-like feathers, which is interrupted at the sides. A sort of +collar is perceptible on the throat. Two tufts, similar to those of the +Eagle Owls and Eared Owls, and very apparent, are behind the eyes and +towards the top of the occiput. + +The wings are a little longer than the tail, the fourth and fifth primaries +being the longest, the third and sixth are shorter, and the second still +shorter, being equal to the eighth, and the first is shortest of all. The +tail reaches to the end of the digits; it is rounded and not much +lengthened: all the retrices are equal in length. The ear-tufts are brown, +with some slight buff shading, the discal plumes being white marked with +buff. All the upper side is of a dark brown colour, the feathers of the +head, the neck and the back are edged with rufous, but not very distinctly +so; this rufous colour is more apparent on the scapulars, and some of these +even have on the outer web one or two whitish patches surrounded with +brown. + +The large tail feathers are less brown and more rufous in colour, with +lighter rufous marbling mixed with brown. + +The tertials and secondaries have a darker brown bar towards the centre, +and their outer web is pleasantly marked with somewhat square ocelli or +irregular bands of white, pale buff, and brown. The large primaries or {74} +flight feathers present the same ornamentation, but more strongly +developed, and the blotches are buffy white on the inner web, which +produces a regular spotting on a brown ground colour; the tip of these +large feathers is finely stippled with brown on a fairly pale ground; and +there is a large patch of white on the wings in addition. + +The throat and abdomen are nicely adorned with dark buff feathers, which +have a black brown centre and two to four large round white spots. The +large feathers on the flanks are whitish, with a brown shaft line and +marked with buff. All the well feathered parts, underneath the feathers are +covered by a very thick black down." + +The colour of bill and feet is reddish brown. Total length, 13½ inches = +345 mm. Desjardins says the specimen he described was killed at the end of +October, 1836, in the forest crowning the hills close to "Bamboo Creek." In +1837 several were still seen near "La Savane," and one was killed at +Curepipe by Dr. Dobson of the 99th Regiment. This latter is believed to +have been one of, if not the last of this species, so we have to thank that +excellent naturalist, Desjardins, and Monsieur Jossigny, the companion of +Commerson, that we know what this extinct species was like. + +Habitat: Mauritius. + +{75} + + + + ATHENE MURIVORA MILNE-EDWARDS. + + _Strix (Athene) murivora_ Milne-Edwards, Ann. Sci. Nat. (5) XIX p. 13 + (Art. 3.) (1874). + +Professor Milne-Edwards described this bird from a tibio-tarsus and a +tarso-metatarsus collected in Rodriguez by Sir Edward Newton, and says that +he considers it to belong to the genus _Athene_, because the proportions of +the tibio-tarsus and tarso-metatarsus agree with those of that genus. The +most remarkable specific characters appear to be that the ridge to which +the fibula is articulated is stout, and extends very far along the outer +edge of the bone. The diaphysis is large and nearly straight; the distal +extremity is furnished with two equal condyles separated by a deep channel. + + _Tibio-tarsus._ + + Total length 71 mm. + Length from proximal extremity to end of + peronial ridge 25 " + Width of distal extremity 10 " + Width of proximal extremity 9 " + Width of shaft 4 " + + _Tarso-metatarsus._ + + Total length 46 mm. + Width at proximal extremity 10 " + Width at distal extremity 15 " + Width of shaft 5 " + +Habitat: Rodriguez. + +{77} + + + + SCELOGLAUX RUFIFACIES BULLER. + + _Sceloglaux rufifacies_ Buller, Ibis 1904, p. 639; id. Suppl. B. New + Zealand II, p. 65, pl. VII (1906). + +Original description: "Adult female: Similar to _Sceloglaux albifacies_, +but appreciably smaller; face dull rufous brown, instead of being white; +crown and nape blackish brown; entire upper surface strongly suffused with +rufous; quills marked with regular transverse bars and a terminal edging of +rufous brown; tail-feathers uniform yellowish brown, obscurely barred with +pale brown; bill lemon-yellow; feet dull yellow." + +"Wairarapa district, near Wellington, North Island, in the summer 1868-9." + +This supposed "species" is a very doubtful one. A close examination in the +Tring Museum of the type (which was offered me for such a high price that I +did not feel justified in buying it, fond as I am of possessing extinct +forms, types and varieties) by Messrs. Hartert, Hellmayr and myself proved +beyond doubt to all three of us that the specimen was not fully adult, but +showed signs of immaturity. If I said to Sir Walter Buller that it was an +extremely young, hardly fledged _Sceloglaux_ this was certainly incorrect, +and was perhaps just an exclamation after a hasty preliminary examination, +for the bird is of course fully fledged and has passed, at least partially, +through one moult of the feathers. On the other hand, both Professor +Newton's and Dr. Sharpe's reputed statements that the owl in question is +fully adult are not correct. It certainly shows unmistakable signs of +immaturity, as noticed at once by Dr. Gadow (cf. Newton's letter on p. 66, +l.c.), by Hartert, Hellmayr and myself. Moreover Professor Newton--though +Buller says he "pronounced it to be an adult bird"--also admits that the +bird "had moulted, though not necessarily to be in adult plumage," and he +continues that he thinks the character of the markings continues to be +juvenile. + +Having thus discussed the age of this owl, the question must be considered +if it is different from _S. albifacies_ from the South Island. This is less +easily done. Buller described it as a "new species," and mentions among the +distinctive characters (see above) the colour of the tail. The tail, +however, is "skillfully" (as Buller calls it, though I should use a less +complimentary adverb) stuck in, and does not belong to a _Sceloglaux_, but +to an Australian _Ninox_, and also some feathers on the neck are foreign. +The wings being abraded, its slightly smaller length is not very +significant. Certainly, however, the colouration in general is slightly +more rufous than {78} in _S. albifacies_, though some of my specimens +approach it almost completely, and the face is more rufescent. Professor +Newton cautiously warned Sir Walter Buller, suggesting that _S. albifacies_ +might possibly have a red "phase," like _Syrnium aluco_, and this North +Island specimen represented the latter. As for myself, I do not think that +_S. albifacies_ has two phases, as I have seen too many specimens, and +found them to vary but little. I have now in my collection eight specimens +from the South Island. On the other hand, I have not seen juvenile +examples; but it is very likely that the rufous face of the North Island +specimen is a character peculiar to the North Island form, which would then +be a sub-species of _S. albifacies_ from the South Island, and should be +called _S. albifacies rufifacies_. The type from Wairapara is said to have +been killed in the summer of 1868-9, and, since no further evidence of its +existence has come forth, I presume that the North Island race of this owl +must be extinct by this time. + +{79} + + + + STRIX NEWTONI NOM. NOV. + + _Strix sp._ Newton and Gadow, Trans. Zool. Soc. XIII, p. 287 (1893). + +Messrs. Newton and Gadow give the measurements of, and describe a pair of +metatarsi procured with the remains described as _Strix sauzieri_, and +state that they do not fit in with that species. For, as they are fully +adult bones, it is impossible to attribute their much smaller size to +youth. They then add a sentence of which this is the first part: "Unless we +assume, what is unlikely, that the Island of Mauritius possessed two +different species of _Strix_, we have to conclude that the short pair of +metatarsals belonged to a small individual of _Strix sauzieri_, ----." +Evidently Messrs. Gadow and Newton, when they wrote this, did not remember +the fact that throughout a very large portion of the range of _Strix +flammea_, its various geographical races are found side by side with +another species of the group of _Strix_, namely, _S. candida_ and _S. +capensis_, popularly called "_Grass owls_"; these in nearly every case have +the legs considerably longer than in the true _Barn Owls_ (_Strix flammea_ +and its races). + +Therefore I consider it not in the least unlikely that two species of +_Strix_ inhabited Mauritius, and that _Strix sauzieri_ was the Mauritian +representative of the "Grass Owls," while these two short metatarsals +belonged to the representative of the "Barn Owls." I therefore have much +pleasure in naming this form after the collector of these bones, the late +Sir Edward Newton. + +Length of tarso-metatarsi, 56 mm. + +Habitat: Mauritius. {80} + + + + STRIX SAUZIERI NEWT. & GAD. + + _Strix sauzieri_ Newton & Gadow, Trans. Zool. Soc. XIII, p. 286, pl. + XXXIII, figs. 11-18 (1893). + +Messrs. Newton and Gadow describe this species from four metatarsi, three +tibiae, and two humeri. They state that the relative length of the tibia to +the metatarsus is very constant and characteristic of the various families +and genera of owls. In the present instance this comparison indicates a +species of _Strix_. + +The longer and higher cnemial process of the tibia and the shortness of the +humerus serve amply to justify the specific separation of this Mauritian +owl. + +The following are the measurements:-- + + Humerus, length 71 mm. + Tibia-tarsus, length 90-93 " + Tarso-metatarsus, length 63-66 " + +Habitat: Mauritius. + +{81} + + + + "CIRCUS HAMILTONI" FORBES. + + _Circus hamiltoni_ Forbes, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIV, p. 186 (1892--no + proper description). + +A very large harrier, much larger than _Circus gouldi_, but not so big as +_Harpagornis_. + +Habitat: Middle Island, New Zealand. + + + + "CIRCUS TEAUTEENSIS" FORBES. + + _Circus teauteensis_ Forbes, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIV, p. 186 (1892--no + proper description). + +Another very large harrier from Teaute, which has never yet been properly +described. + +Habitat: Middle Island, New Zealand. + +{83} + + + + ASTUR ALPHONSI NEWT. & GAD. + + _Astur sp._ Milne-Edwards, Ann. Sci. Nat. (5) XIX, Art. II, pp. 25, 26, + pl. 15 fig. 2. (1874). + + _Astur alphonsi_ Newton and Gadow, Trans. Zool. Soc. XIII p. 285, pl. + XXXIII, figs. 9, 10. (1893). + +Messrs. Newton and Gadow bestowed the name _Astur alphonsi_ on a pair of +tibiae, a pair of metatarsals, and the metacarpals of the left side of a +goshawk apparently of the same size and relative proportions as _A. +melanoleucus_ of South Africa. They justified their description of this +goshawk as a distinct species, first of all by the fact that most of the +Mascarene extinct species were distinct; and then because the bony ridge +for the _M. flexor digitorum communis_ was more strongly developed, the +fibula reached further down the tibia, the peroneal crest was straighter +and longer, and the cnemial crest slanted more gradually into the anterior +inner edge of the shaft of the tibia. + +Milne-Edwards gives the measurements of the solitary tarso-metatarsus of +this bird which he had for examination as follows:-- + + Total length 80 mm. + Width at proximal extremity 11 " + Width at distal extremity 13 " + Width at smallest part of shaft 6 " + +Messrs. Gadow and Newton give the length of their tarso-metatarsi as 81 +mm., of their tibiae as 117 mm., and of the metacarpals as 55 mm. + +Habitat: Mauritius. + +Seven tarsi in the Tring Museum. + +{85} + + + + HARPAGORNIS HAAST. + +Allied to _Aquila_, from which it is distinguished by the ulna being +relatively shorter and the tarso-metatarsus stouter. + + + + HARPAGORNIS MOOREI HAAST. + + _Harpagornis moorei_ Haast, Trans. N.Z. Inst. IV, p. 192 (1872). + +Description of femur (from Haast): The cylindrical shaft bent forward, and +above the distal extremity it is slightly curved back. The hollow on the +top of the head is very large and measures .42 inch across. + +The trochanteric ridge is well developed and the outer side is very rough, +showing that muscles of great strength and thickness must have been +attached to it. + +The inter-muscular linear ridges are well raised above the shaft, of which +the one extending from the fore and outer angle of the epitrochanteric +articular surface to the outer condyle is the most prominent. The pits for +the attachment of the ligaments in the inter-condyloid fossa are strongly +marked. The femur is pneumatic, the proximal orifice is large and +ear-shaped, resembling in form most closely that of the Australian Sea +Eagle. + + Total length 6.66 inches. + Circumference at proximal end 4.66 " + Circumference at distal end 5.58 " + Circumference at thinnest part of shaft 2.50 " + + Ungual phalanx (probably of left hallux): + Length 2.92 inches. + Circumference at articular end 3.17 " + + Ungual phalanx (probably of right second toe): + Length 2.75 inches. + Circumference 2.92 " + +Type locality: Glenmark Swamp. + +Habitat: New Zealand. + +Type bones: 1 left femur, 2 ungual phalanges, and 1 rib. + +For a more detailed description my readers must refer to the Transactions +of the New Zealand Institute VI, pp. 64-75 (1874). + +{87} + + + + CARBO PERSPICILLATUS (PALL.) + + (PLATE 39.) + + _Phalacrocorax perspicillatus_ Pallas, Zoogr. Rosso.-Asiat. II, p. 305 + (1827--Berings Island); Gould, Zool. Voy. Sulphur, p. 49, pl. XXXII + (1844); Stejneger, Bull. U.S. Nat. Mus., No. 29, p. 180 (1885); id. + Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. XII, pp. 83-94, pls. II-IV (1889--Osteology); + Grant, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. XXVI, p. 357 (1898). + + _Graculus perspicillatus_ Elliot, New and heret. unfig. sp. N. Amer. B. + II, part 14, No. 3, text and plate (1869). + + _Pallasicarbo perspicillatus_ Coues, Osprey III, p. 144 (1899). + +Pallas gives the first recognizable description of this bird, which, as +translated from the Latin, is as follows: "Of the size of a very large +goose. Of the shape of the former (sc. Cormorants), which it also resembles +in the white patches on the flanks. The body is entirely black. A few long, +white, narrow pendant plumes round the neck, as in Herons. Occiput with a +huge tuft, doubly crested. Skin round the base of the bill bare, red, blue +and white, mixed, as in a turkey. Round the eyes a thick, bare white patch +of skin, about six lines wide, like a pair of spectacles. Weight 12 to 14 +pounds. Female smaller, without crest and spectacles. (From Steller.)" + +Steller, who was shipwrecked on Bering Island in 1741, was the discoverer +of _C. perspicillatus_, and Pallas took his diagnosis from Steller's notes. + +The Spectacled or Pallas's Cormorant is one of the rarest of all birds. It +is generally said that four specimens are known, but five are really in +existence: Two in the St. Petersburg Museum, one in Leyden, and two in +London. One of these latter is perfect, while the other has no tail. +Probably all five have been obtained by Kuprianoff, the Russian Governor at +Sitka, who, in 1839, gave one to Captain Belcher, and sent some others to +St. Petersburg. The careful researches of Stejneger and others on Bering +Island have clearly shown that this Cormorant exists no longer. Formerly it +is said to have been numerous, but the natives were fond of its flesh, +which formed their principal diet when other meat was difficult to obtain. +Probably it would not so soon have become extinct if it had not been that +their rather short wings resulted in a certain slowness of locomotion on +land and in the air. A good description is given in the Catalogue of Birds, +and a still more detailed one by Stejneger (Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. 1899, p. +86) from Brandt's manuscript. + +Habitat: Bering Island. {88} + + + + CARBO MAJOR (FORBES). + + _Phalacrocorax novaezealandiae var. major_ Forbes, Trans. N.Z. Inst. + XXIV, p. 189 (1892--no proper description). + +Dr. Forbes only informed us that this shag was of greater dimensions than +_Ph. novaezealandiae_ (a very closely allied form of _Ph. carbo_). It would +be interesting to know more about it, and, especially, if this extinct form +was incapable of flight, like _Ph. harrisi_ of the Galápagos Islands. + +Habitat: New Zealand. + +{89} + + + + PLOTUS NANUS NEWT. & GAD. + + _Plotus nanus_ Newton and Gadow, Trans. Zool. Soc. XIII p. 288, pl. + XXXIV figs 1-5. (1893). + +The humerus, the pelvis with sacrum, and the tibia were the materials on +which our authors founded this new species. They state that all the +strongly developed characters in these bones leave no possible doubt as to +its being a species of _Plotus_, and its diminutive size at once +distinguishes it from the three known species--_P. anhinga_, _P. +melanogaster_, and _P. novaehollandiae_. + +The measurements are as follows:-- + + Left humerus, length 89 mm. + Left tibia, length 61 " + +Distance from acetabular axis to anterior end of sacrum 30 mm. + +Distance between ventral inner margins of the acetabula 14.5 mm. + +Habitat: Mauritius. (Also recorded from Madagascar.) + +{91} + + + + "CHENOPIS SUMNERENSIS" FORBES. + + _Chenopis sumnerensis_ Forbes, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIV, p. 188 (1892) + (Nomen nudum). + +This appears to have been a very large species, with not very great powers +of flight, if not flightless. + +Habitat: New Zealand and Chatham Islands. + +Bones from Chatham Islands in my collection. + +{93} + + + + CHENALOPEX SIRABENSIS ANDREWS. + + _Chenalopex sirabensis_ Andrews, Ibis 1897, p. 355, pl. IX, figs. 1-3. + +This species of which skull, sternum, pelvis, the bones of fore and hind +limbs, &c., are preserved, appears to be closely allied to _Chenalopex +aegyptiacus_, but has such a number of small differences that Mr. Andrews +is, I think, quite justified in separating it; I do not, however, agree +with him when he suggests that perhaps it is the same as Newton and Gadow's +_Sarcidiornis mauritianus_, although many of the bones agree. Of course, +his line of comparison was strengthened by the fact of subfossil bones of +_Plotus nanus_ occurring both in Mauritius and Madagascar; but it does not +follow that because in one family of birds the same species occurred in two +places the others must do likewise, and, therefore, one must not +necessarily regard a certain similarity of osteological characters as proof +of identity. I must here again refer my readers to Mr. Andrews' very full +description. + +Habitat: Sirabé in C. Madagascar. + +The measurements are:-- + + Coracoid 67-75 mm. + Humerus 132-147 " + Radius 126-134 " + Ulna 129-142 " + Metacarpus 76-85 " + +The smaller bones, undoubtedly, belonged to female, and the larger to male +individuals. + +{95} + + + + CENTRORNIS ANDREWS. + +Allied to _Chenalopex_ and _Chenopis_, but differs from _Chenalopex_ in the +form and proportion of its metatarsus, and from all other Anserine forms by +the extreme length and slenderness of the shaft of the tibio-tarsus and the +relative shortness of the fibular crest. From _Chenopis_ it differs in +several respects, and the very long fibular crest of the latter at once +separates them. + + + + CENTRORNIS MAJORI ANDREWS. + + _Centrornis majori_ Andrews, Ibis 1897, p. 344, pl. VIII. + +This species was discovered by Dr. Forsyth Major and Monsieur Robert in the +bed of an old lake at Sirabé, Central Madagascar, in 1896-1897. It was +similar in many respects to _Sarcidiornis_ and _Chenalopex_ but differed in +its large size and the great length of its legs. Indeed, judging from the +slenderness of the metatarsus and femur and the slight degree of inflection +of the lower end of the long tibia, it seems probable that this bird was +ill adapted for swimming, though a good runner. The wings were long and +powerful and armed with a long spur. I must refer my readers for a fuller +description to Mr. Andrews, as quoted above. + +The measurements are:-- + + _Tibia._ + + Length (exclusive of cnemial crest) 213-215 mm. + Width of upper articular surface 20-21 " + Width of middle of shaft 11-11.5 " + Thickness of shaft 8.5-9 " + Width of distal extremity 20-21 " + + _Femur._ + + Length 103-107 mm. + Width of proximal extremity 25-26 " + Width of distal extremity 26 " + Width of shaft 11 " + + {96} + _Metatarsus._ + + Length 130 mm. approx. + Width of shaft 8.5 " + Width of middle trochlea 10 " + + _Coracoid._ + + Length 31 mm. + Width of glenoidal surface 13 " + + _Scapula._ + + Width at proximal extremity 23 mm. + + _Radius._ + + Length 24 mm. + + _Ulna._ + + Width at middle of shaft 10 mm. + + _Metacarpus._ + + Greatest width at proximal extremity 31 mm. + Length of spur 26 " + Width of second metacarpal 9 " + +Habitat: Madagascar. + +{97} + + + + CNEMIORNIS OWEN. + +Skull short and massive, with beak rounded and stout. Carina of sternum +aborted. Limb-bones short and very stout, the ulna being shorter than the +humerus, and having very prominent tubercles for the secondaries; cnemial +crest of tibia greatly developed. No foramen between third and fourth +trochleae of tarso-metatarsus. Spines of dorsal vertebrae tall. The power +of flight was absent. The chief differences from _Cereopsis_ were the +presence of extra pre-sacral vertebrae, so that two only instead of three +ribs articulate with the sacrum; and an elevated pent-roof arrangement of +the _ossa innominata_, which indicate more decided cursorial habits. + + + + CNEMIORNIS CALCITRANS OWEN. + + _Cnemiornis calcitrans_ Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. V, p. 396 (1865). + +"The type species. Very considerably larger than the existing _Cereopsis +novaehollandiae_, with the limbs relatively much stouter and shorter" +(Lydekker). + + Height of back from ground 26 inches. + Length from beak to tail 34 " + +Habitat: Middle Island, New Zealand. + +For full description see Trans. N. Z. Inst. VI, pp. 76-84, pls. X-XII +(1874). {98} + + + + "CNEMIORNIS GRACILIS" FORBES. + + _Cnemiornis gracilis_ Forbes, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIV, p. 187 (1892) + (_Nomen nudum_). + +"A most elegantly moulded goose from the North Island." Unfortunately this +is all that has been published about this form! + +Habitat: North Island, New Zealand. + + + + CNEMIORNIS MINOR FORBES. + + _Cnemiornis minor_ Forbes, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIV, p. 187 (1892); vide + also Trans. N.Z. Inst. VI, pp. 76-84 (Hector). + +This species appears to be distinguished from _Cnemiornis calcitrans_ by +its very small size, being hardly bigger than _Cereopsis novaehollandiae_. + +Habitat: Middle Island, New Zealand. + +{99} + + + + CEREOPSIS NOVAEZEALANDIAE FORBES. + + _Cereopsis novaezealandiae_ Forbes, Trans. N. Zealand Inst. XXIV, p. + 188 (1892). + +This species was founded on an incomplete skull, and differed from _C. +novaehollandiae_ by its slightly larger size. + +Habitat: New Zealand. + +{101} + + + + SARCIDIORNIS MAURITIANUS NEWT. & GAD. + + _Sarcidiornis mauritianus_ Newton & Gadow, Trans. Zool. Soc. XIII, p. + 290, pl. XXXIV, figs. 9-10. + +The evidence on which this species is founded is a single left metacarpal +and an incomplete left half of the pelvis. Its specific character is the +very large size as compared to the two existing species. + +Habitat: Mauritius. + +In an old work entitled "Memorandums concerning India" by J. Marshall +(1668) in the article on the Island of Mauritius, there occurs this +passage: "They are many Geese; the halfe of their wings towards the end are +black and the other halfe white; they are not large, but fat and good. +Plenty of Ducks." As there is no mention of the caruncle on the bill here +or in other authors alluding to geese in Mauritius, Oustalet doubted that +these geese were this _Sarcidiornis_, but I believe this merely to have +been an oversight of Marshall's and that his description goes far to prove +the distinctness of Newton and Gadow's species. + +The allusion to the small size also points to the geese of Marshall being +the _Sarcidiornis_. L'Abbé Dubois in "Les Voyages du Sieur D.B." records +the fact that on Bourbon were some wild geese slightly smaller than the +geese of Europe but having the same plumage. Their bill and feet were red. +It is also probable that wild geese were found on Rodriguez. There is +nothing to show what these Bourbon geese were, and as no osseous remains of +such birds have been found as yet it is impossible to do more than mention +the fact of such birds having been recorded. + +{103} + + + + ANAS FINSCHI VAN BENEDEN. + + _Anas finschi_ Van Beneden, Journ. Zool. IV, p. 267 (1875); Ann. de la + Soc. Geol. Belg. II, p. 123 (1876). + +This duck is most peculiar, as it stands intermediate between _Querquedula_ +and _Dendrocygna_ in structure, and its nearest known ally seems to be the +extinct _A. blanchardi_ of Europe, and of living forms apparently _Clangula +clangula_. + +Skull nearest to that of _Clangula clangula_ but wider, nostrils more +elongated, eye-sockets smaller, and the whole skull more regularly rounded +off. _Sternum_ differs from that of _C. clangula_ by having the notch +lower, more faint behind and shorter in front. Clavicle and coracoid +resemble those of _Fuligula marila_. Humerus larger and stronger than in +_F. marila_ and _C. clangula_, as are the femur, tibio-tarsus and +tarso-metatarsus, which are almost double as long and thick. + +Judging from the shape of its leg-bones this bird must have been a strong +runner, and probably at the same time was a poor flyer. + +Habitat: Middle Island, New Zealand. + + + + ANAS THEODORI NEWT. & GAD. + + _Anas theodori_ Newton & Gadow, Trans. Zool. Soc. XIII, p. 291, pl. + XXXIV, figs 11-17 (1893--Mauritius). + +Messrs. Newton and Gadow founded this species on a fragment of a sternum, a +pair of coracoids, eight humeri, and a pair of tarso-metatarsi. These are +referable to a duck of larger size than _Nettion bernieri_, and somewhat +intermediate between _N. punctata_ and _Anas melleri_. + +The sternum differs from that of _A. melleri_ by the lesser height of the +keel and by the shape and direction of the anterior margin of the latter. +The coracoid is longer and larger than in _N. bernieri_, but is much +shorter than in _A. melleri_, though agreeing with that of the latter in +shape, and by the plain almost ridgeless ventral surface of the shaft. The +seven humeri vary in length from 70-78 mm., and agree in size with those of +_N. punctata_, thus proving our species to be smaller than _A. melleri_. + +The two tarso-metatarsi are in poor condition; the right one measuring 42 +mm. in length, thus indicating that _A. theodori_ was a bird with a shorter +foot than _A. melleri_. + +Habitat: Mauritius. + +{105} + + + + CAMPTOLAIMUS LABRADORIA (GM.) + + (PLATE 36.) + + _Anas labradoria_ Gmelin, Syst. Nat. I, 2, p. 537 (1788--"Habitat + gregaria in America, boreali." Ex Pennant and Latham.) + + _Anas labradora_ Latham, Ind. Orn. II, p. 859 (1790). + + _Rhynchaspis labradora_ Stephens, in Shaw's Gen. Zool. XII, 2, p. 121 + (1824). + + _Fuligula labradora_ Bonaparte, Ann. Lyceum N.Y. II, p. 391 (1826). + + _Somateria labradora_ Boie, Isis 1828, p. 329. + + _Kamptorhynchus labradorus_ Eyton, Mon. Anat. p. 151 (1838). + + _Fuligula grisea_ Leib, Journ. Acad. Sc. Philad. VIII, p. 170 + (1840--young bird). + + _Camptolaimus labradorus_ Gray, List. Gen. B. ed. 2, p. 95 (1841); + Dutcher, Auk. 1891, p. 201, pl. II; 1894, pp. 4-12; Hartl. Abh. naturw. + Ver. Bremen XVI, p. 23 (1895). + + _Camptolaemus labradorius_ Baird, B.N. Amer. p. 803 (1858); Baird, + Brewer and Ridgway, Water--B. N. Amer. II, p. 63 (1884); Milne-Edw. and + Oustalet, Centen. Mus. d'Hist. Nat., Notice Ois. éteint. p. 51, pl. IV + (1893); Salvadori, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. XXVII, p. 416 (1895). + +The adult male and a young male, both in my museum, are represented on +plate 36, but the young bird became too rufous, through the colour type +reproduction, and should be somewhat more mouse-gray. Though first +technically named by Gmelin in 1788, this duck was first described in 1785 +by Pennant, in the Arctic Zoology II, p. 559, as follows:-- + +"Pied Duck. With the lower part of the bill black, the upper yellow, on the +summit of the head is an oblong black spot; forehead, cheeks, rest of the +head and neck, white; the lower part encircled with black; scapulars and +coverts of wings white; back, breast, belly, and primaries, black; tail +cuneiform, and dusky; legs black. The bill of the supposed female? +resembles that of the male, head and neck mottled with cinereous brown and +dirty white; primaries dusky; speculum white; back, breast, and belly +clouded with different shades of ash-colour; tail dusky and cuneiform; legs +black. Size of a common Wild Duck. + +"Sent from Connecticut, to Mrs. Blackburn. Possibly the great flocks of +pretty Pied Ducks, which whistled as they flew, or as they fed, seen by Mr. +Lawson in the western branch of Cape Fear inlet, were of this kind." + +The Labrador-Duck is one of those birds, the disappearance of which is not +easily explained. As Mr. Dutcher truly said, "we can speculate as to the +cause of its disappearance, but we have no facts to warrant a conclusion." +Formerly _Camptolaimus_ was of regular occurrence along the northern +Atlantic shores of North America, in winter south to New Jersey and New +York. It has often been sold on the markets of New York and Baltimore, and +nobody anticipated even fifty years ago that they might become extinct, but +they {106} appear never to have been very numerous, at least we have no +proof of this. It is true that Professor Newton tells us that this duck +used to breed on rocky islets, and that "its fate is easily understood," +since "man began yearly to visit its breeding haunts, and, not content in +plundering its nests, mercilessly to shoot the birds." This, however, seems +to be mere conjecture, as we do not know for certain where the breeding +haunts of this Duck have been, and that anyone has ever visited them. All +information known about the breeding of this bird is that of Audubon, who +says that his son was shown empty nests on the top of bushes, which a clerk +of the fishing establishment told him were those of the Labrador Duck. This +information is certainly too uncertain to draw any conclusions from, but +the breeding places might just as well have been much further to the north, +and probably were. + + The number of specimens extant is 48. + + Amiens, Town Museum: 1 [male] ad. (Auk. 1897, p. 87). + + Berlin Museum: 1, bought from Salmin (Hartl. p. 23). + + Paris: [male] adult, presented 1810 by M. Hyde de Neuville. + + London, British Museum: 2, a [male] ad. and a [female] ad., neither of + them with exact locality or date. + + Liverpool: 2 [male] ad., 1 [female], 1 [male] jun. + + Cambridge: 1 [male] + + Dublin: 1 fine mounted [male] (Dr. Scharff in litt.) + + Tring: 1 [male] ad., 1 [male] jun. (See below.) + + Brussels: 1 [male] ad. + + St. Petersburg: 1 [male] ad., purchased from Salmin. + + Heine Museum in Germany: 1 poor specimen. + + Munich: The Museum possesses a male from the collection of the Duke of + Leuchtenberg. + + Dresden: 1 [male] and two doubtful eggs--the latter doubtless wrong I + should say. + + Vienna: 1 [male] ad., exchanged from Baron von Lederer in 1830. + Locality New York; 1 [female] ad., bought from Brandt in Hamburg in + 1846, for 4 Gulden! + + Leiden Museum: [male] [female], from the Prince of Wied. + + American Museum, New York: 7, three of which formerly belonged to + George N. Lawrence. + + Long Island Historical Society, Brooklyn: 1 [male] ad. + + Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, N. York: 1 [male] ad. + + New York State Museum, Albany: [male] [female] ad. + + Cory collection: [male] [female] ad. + + University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont: 1 [male] ad. + + Philadelphia: 2 [male] jun., 1 [female] + + U.S. National Museum, Washington: 2 [male], 1 [female], 1 [male] jun. + + Collection of Mr. William Brewster: 1 [male] jun., 1 [female] + + Boston Society of Natural History: 1 [male] jun. + + Collection of Dalhousie College, Halifax: [male] [female] + +This makes a total of 48 known specimens. {107} + +The last specimens killed were those shot in May, 1871, at Grand Manan +Island, the date of which is absolutely certain, and the specimen bought +from a Mr. J. G. Bell in 1879, for the Smithsonian Institution, which is +said to have been shot in 1875, but this date seems not quite certain (Cf. +Auk, 1894, p. 9). That several other specimens were shot later than 1852 is +perfectly certain. As the specimen of 1875, or thereabouts, is a young +male, Mr. Lawrence's question about the old birds is certainly justified. +As, however, no Labrador Duck has been recorded later than 1871 or 1875 we +may suppose that it is now extinct. + +My young male was bought in the Fulton Market, New York, about 1860, and +probably came from Long Island. It was mounted by John Bell, a +bird-stuffer, through whose hands several Labrador Ducks have gone, and is +in the finest possible condition. I bought this bird from the late Gordon +Plummer, shortly before his death. He died at his home in Brookline, Mass., +in November, 1893. (Cf. Auk, 1891, p. 206.) + +My adult male is the one of which the history is given in Auk, 1894, p. +176. It is described there in detail and then added: "Shot in the bay of +Laprairie this spring (1862) by a habitant, and purchased by Mr. Thompson +of this city, who has kindly placed it at my disposal for examination." Mr. +William Dutcher of New York City bought this specimen from the widow of the +Mr. Thompson, mentioned in the above note as the original owner, and I +purchased it from Mr. William Dutcher, who informs me that "the Bay of +Laprairie" is simply a name given to a wide part of the River St. Lawrence, +just south of Montreal, Quebec. The name is found on good maps of Quebec. + +{109} + + + + "BIZIURA LAUTOURI" FORBES. + + _Biziura lautouri_ Forbes, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIV, p. 188 (1892--nomen + nudum). + +Dr. Forbes, unfortunately, gives no description whatever of this bird. It +would be interesting to know something about it, and especially if its +powers of flight were impaired, as it seems to have been the case in so +many extinct birds. + +{111} + + + + ARDEA MEGACEPHALA MILNE-EDWARDS. + + _Butors Leguat_, Relation du Voyage (1708). + + _Ardea megacephala_ Milne-Edwards, Ann. Sci. Nat. (5) XIX, 1874, p. 10. + +Leguat's description, here translated, is as follows:--"We had Bitterns as +big and as fat as capons. They are tamer and more easily caught than the +'gelinotes.'" He also says, "The lizards often serve as prey for the birds, +especially for the Bitterns. When we shook them down from the branches with +a pole, these birds ran up and gobbled them down in front of us, in spite +of all we could do to prevent them; and even if we only pretended to do so +they came in the same manner and always followed us about." + +Milne-Edwards remarks, among other notes, that "This bird is not a true +Bittern, but its head is so large and its feet so short that it is easy to +understand that Leguat should have called it so." + +The bony structure of the head is remarkable on account of its massive and +thick proportions; the skull itself is strongly enlarged posteriorly, and +the temporal fossae are bordered by very pronounced ridges, especially +those on the occipital region. The upper side of the skull is hardly +convex, and the interorbital region is large, but only slightly depressed +along its middle line. The bill is stout, almost straight, a good deal +enlarged at its base and rounded beneath. The nostrils are large and +preceded by a large groove, which extends very far towards the tip. + +It is impossible to confound this skull with that of any Bittern, the +latter having the beak relatively slender and only barely exceeding the +skull in length. These also have the skull much constricted at the temporal +region. The fossil skull from Rodriguez therefore presents characters +essentially those of a Heron, but differs from all known species in its +massive appearance. In the Grey, Purple and Goliath Herons, as well as in +the Egrettes, the head is narrower, more elongated, the bill less conical +and less strong. In _Ardea atricollis_, now inhabiting Madagascar, the beak +much resembles that of our extinct species, but it is longer and less +enlarged at the base. The interorbital area is much wider, while on the +other hand the hinder portion of the skull is narrower and more elongated, +which gives to the skull a totally different aspect. + +The feet relatively to the head are extremely short, and from this I +conclude that we know no species of Heron which can be compared to that of +Rodriguez. Nevertheless, the tarso-metatarsus presents all the characters +{112} of _Ardea_, and is far removed from that of _Botaurus_. The tibia is +big and short; it surpasses in length the tarso-metatarsus by about a +third, as is usual in the Herons; but the femur on the contrary is strongly +developed, being quite as large as in the _Ardea cinerea_; which shows us +that the body of this creature was of large size, and that the reduction in +size of the feet had only taken place at their extremities. + +The sternum is puny and small as compared with the creature's size. It is +clearly that of a bird not furnished with powerful wings, and is even much +less elongated than in the Bittern, but the coracoidal bones are very long +and slender. The wings also were short and feeble, the humerus being hardly +as big as in _Butorides atricapilla_. It is conspicuously slenderer and +shorter than in the Bittern. The main body of the bone is slightly curved +on the outside, and the lower articular condyle is large and flattened. I +have not been able to examine any bone of the "manus," but the metacarpal +bone shows exactly the same proportions for the wing as does the humerus, +as it also barely reaches the size of that of _Butorides atricapilla_. The +measurements are as follows:-- + + _Skull._ + + Total length 154 mm. + Length of upper mandible 94 " + Width of upper mandible at base 22 " + Width of interorbital region 22 " + Space between the mastoid apophyses 40 " + Width of skull at level of postorbital apophyses 40 " + Length of lower mandible 147 " + + _Tarso-metatarsus._ + + Total length 95-162 mm. + Width at proximal extremity 14 " + Width at distal extremity 13.5-14 " + Width of shaft 6.2-7 " + + _Tibio-tarsus._ + + Total length 140-210 mm. + Width at distal extremity 12-13 " + Width at proximal extremity 13-14 " + Width of shaft 6-6.5 " + + {113} + _Femur._ + + Total length 90-92 mm. + Width of distal extremity 15-16 " + Width of proximal extremity 14-16 " + Width of shaft 6.2-7 " + + _Sternum._ + + Total length 64-88 mm. + Width in front 35-48 " + Width behind costal facets 26-36 " + Width at posterior border 27-35 " + + _Coracoidals._ + + Total length 59-67 mm. + Width at lower extremity 17-18 " + + _Humerus._ + + Total length 118-180 mm. + Width of proximal extremity 20-27 " + Width of distal extremity 16.5-24 " + Width of shaft 7-11 " + + _Metacarpals._ + + Total length 62-98 mm. + Width of proximal extremity 12-17 " + Width of distal extremity 7-11 " " + +The anonymous author of the manuscript "Rélation de l'île Rodrigue" (see +Ann. Sci. Nat. (6) II p. 133 et seq. 1875) about the year 1830 mentions +this bird as follows:--"There are not a few Bitterns which are birds which +only fly a very little, and run uncommonly well when they are chased. They +are of the size of an Egret and something like them." + +Habitat: Rodriguez Island. + +2 Humeri, 2 Femora, 2 Tibiae, and 2 Metatarsi in the Tring Museum. {114} + + + + ARDEA DUBOISI NOM. NOV. + + _Butors ou Grands Gauziers_ Dubois, Les Voyages faits par le Sieur D.B. + (1674) p. 169. + +L'Abbé Dubois is the only author who has, as far as I can ascertain, told +us that the Island of Réunion also had a large almost flightless Heron as +well as Mauritius and Rodriguez; and so feeling sure that it, like most +other birds of this island, was distinct I name it after him. + +The translation of his original description is as follows:--"Bitterns or +Great Egrets, large as capons, but very fat and good. They have grey +plumage, each feather spotted with white, the neck and beak like a Heron, +and the feet green, made like the feet of Poullets d'Inde (_Porphyrio_, +W.R.). This bird lives on fish." + +Habitat: Réunion or Bourbon. {115} + + + + ARDEA MAURITIANA (NEWT. & GAD.) + + _Butorides mauritianus_ Newton & Gadow, Trans. Zool. Soc. vol. XIII, p. + 289 (1893). + +The bones on which this species is founded are a pair of ulnae, one radius, +four metatarsi, and one coracoid. The description is as follows:--"The +bones in question are all considerably shorter than the corresponding bones +of _A. (Nycticorax) megacephala_. The metatarsi agree otherwise in every +detail with those of the latter species; this relative stoutness indicates +that they belonged to a Night-Heron or Bittern like _A. megacephala_. The +two ulnae cannot, unfortunately, be compared with those of _A. +megacephala_; their length, 110 mm., compared with the length of the +humerus of _A. megacephala_, 119 mm., shows, however, likewise that they +were those of a considerably smaller bird. The single left coracoid agrees +in all the features of its dorsal or scapular half with _A. megacephala_, +but its ventral or sternal half differs considerably, first by the much +more strongly marked ridge of the _linea intermuscularis_ on its ventral +surface, secondly by the almost straight instead of inwardly curved margin +between the _processus lateralis_ and the lateral distal corner of the +sternal articulation, thirdly by a very low but very distinct and sharp +ridge, which arises from the median margin of the coracoid, a little above +its median articulating corner. This roughness or prominent ridge is +entirely absent in _A. megacephala_ and in all other Herons which we have +been able to examine, but at least a slight indication of it occurs in an +individually varying degree in _Nycticorax_ and _Botaurus_. That this +coracoid bone belonged, however, to an Ardeine bird is clearly indicated by +its whole configuration, notably by the shape and position of the +precoracoid process, the various articulating facets at the dorsal end, and +the prominent lip on the visceral or internal surface of the median portion +of the sternal articulating facet." + +The following are the measurements:-- + + Length of ulna 111-112 mm. + Length of metatarsus 81- 87 " + Length of coracoid 48 " + +Habitat: Mauritius. + +Although _megacephala_ and _mauritiana_ have been placed in _Ardea_ and +_Butorides_ respectively, from the short, stout legs and general build, I +am inclined to think that all three of these Herons belong to the genus +_Nycticorax_. + +{117} + + + + PROSOBONIA BP. + +This genus is, in the Catalogue of Birds, placed in a section with somewhat +long tarsus, the latter being longer than the culmen, containing in +addition to _Prosobonia_ the genera _Tringites_, and _Aechmorhynchus_ (see +afterwards), and it differs from the latter by its long hind toe, from the +former by its square tail. The position of this singular bird is, however, +not quite certain. The late Henry Seebohm placed it in the genus +_Phegornis_, though the latter has no hind toe whatever, and it has +even--but doubtless wrongly--been suggested that it belonged to the +_Rallidae_, rather than to the _Charadriidae_. We know only one species. It +is true that Dr. Sharpe bestowed a new name on the figure of Ellis, which +is said to have been taken from an Eimeo-specimen, but it is hardly +creditable that it belongs to a different species. Latham appears to have +had three specimens, which were all three different from each other. Both +Forster and Ellis, in their unpublished drawings in the British Museum, as +well as Latham, evidently considered all three to belong to the same +species, and it is not advisable now to over-rule their verdict, given with +the specimens before them, merely on account of the different plumages, +since we all know that most waders, and especially brightly-coloured ones, +differ considerably in plumage, according to age and seasons. We are +convinced that "_P. ellisi_" has been a younger bird. Sharpe attaches +importance to the different habitat, but this is no argument in this +instance, because Eimeo is, at the nearest point, not more than seven and a +half miles from Tahiti,[2] and it is quite against all precedents among +_Charadriidae_ and beyond all plausibility that two such closely situated +islands have closely allied forms of a Wader. + +{118} + + + + PROSOBONIA LEUCOPTERA (GM.) + + (PLATE 35.) + + _White-winged Sandpiper_ Latham, Gen. Syn. III, pt. 1, p. 172, pl. + LXXXII (1785--Otaheite and Eimeo). + + _Tringa leucoptera_ Gmelin, Syst. Nat. I, p. 678 (1788--ex Latham!); + Westermann, Bijdr. Dierk. I, p. 51, pl. 15 (1854--Figure of the type). + + _Totanus leucopterus_ Vieillot, Nouv. Dict. d'Hist. Nat. (Ed. II) VI, + p. 396 (1817). + + _Calidris leucopterus_ Cuvier, Règne Anim. I, p. 526 (1829). + + _Tringa pyrrhetraea_ Lichtenstein, Forster's descr. anim. p. 174 + (1844--Otaheiti). + + _Prosobonia leucoptera_ Bonaparte, Compt. Rend. XXXI, p. 562 (1850); + Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. XXIV, p. 525 (1896). + + _Tringoides leucopterus_ Gray, Handl. B. III, p. 46 (1871). + + _Phegornis leucopterus_ Seebohm, Geogr. Distrib. Charad. p. 452 pl. 18 + (1888). + + _Prosobonia ellisi_ Sharpe, Bull. B.O.C. XVI, p. 86 (1906--"Eimeo"). + +Dr. Sharpe's description, made from the type in the Leyden Museum, is as +follows: "Adult. General colour of upper surface blackish brown; the lower +back and rump ferruginous; centre tail-feathers blackish, the rest rufous, +banded with black, less distinctly on the two next the middle pair; +wing-coverts blackish, with a white spot near the carpal bend of the wing, +formed by some of the lesser coverts; crown of head blackish, the hind-neck +browner, mixed with black; sides of face brown, the lores and ear-coverts +slightly more reddish, behind the eye a little white spot; cheeks and under +surface of body ferruginous red, the throat buffy white. Length 6.7 inches, +culmen 0.9, wing 4.45, tail 2.15, tarsus 1.3 (Mus. Lugd.)" + +We know nothing of this bird, but the one specimen in the Leyden Museum, +which is the type, or at least one of the types. As no other specimens have +been obtained for nearly a century and a quarter, there is every reason to +fear that this bird is extinct. My plate has been made up by Mr. Lodge from +the unpublished drawings of Ellis and Forster in the British Museum. + +Habitat: Tahiti, and the adjacent islet of Eimeo. + +{119} + + + + AECHMORHYNCHUS COUES. + +This genus appears to be closely allied to _Prosobonia_, but has a much +shorter hind toe. Its colouration is very different, and quite that of a +Sandpiper, while the pattern of _Prosobonia_ is most singular. Seebohm +placed _Aechmorhynchus_, together with _Prosobonia_, in the genus +_Phegornis_. + +We know only one species. + + + + AECHMORHYNCHUS CANCELLATA (GM.) + + (PLATE 35.) + + _Barred Phalarope_ Latham, Gen. Syn. III. pt. 1, p. 274 + (1785--Christmas Island in the Pacific Ocean). + + _Tringa cancellata_ Gmelin, Syst. Nat. I, p. 675 (1788--ex Latham). + + _Tringa parvirostris_ Peale, U.S. Expl. Exp., Birds p. 235, pl. LXVI, 2 + (1848--Paumotu) Cassin, U.S. Expl. Exp. p. 321, pl. 38, 2 + (1858--Paumotu). + + _Totanus_ (_Tryngites?_) _cancellatus_ Gray, Cat. B. Trop. Islands Pac. + Ocean, p. 51 (1859). + + _Phegornis cancellatus_ Seebohm, Geogr. Distrib. Charadr. p. 451, pl. + 17 (1888). + + _Aechmorhynchus cancellatus_ Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. XXIV, p. 525 + (1896). + +"Bill short, straight, and slender; wings long, first, second, and third +quills very nearly equal; tertiaries but very little longer than the +secondaries; tail rather long, wide, rounded; legs and toes long, the +former robust; tibia feathered for more than half its length. A distinct +stripe over and behind the eye ashy-white. Entire upper parts umber-brown, +unspotted on the top of the head, but on the other upper parts edged and +tipped with ashy-white and reddish fulvous. Tail-feathers umber-brown, with +irregular and imperfect transverse narrow bands of ashy and pale +reddish-white, and tipped with the same. Underparts white, with a tinge of +ashy; throat and middle of the abdomen unspotted; breast, sides, and under +coverts of the tail spotted, and with irregular transverse bars of brown, +the latter most apparent on the sides, flanks, and under tail-coverts. +Under wing-coverts ashy-white, irregularly spotted with brown. Bill +greenish, darker at the tip; legs dark green. Sexes very nearly alike, +female slightly paler. (Cassin.)" {120} + +I have here given the synonymy of this bird, as it has now been generally +accepted by Seebohm, Sharpe, and others. An actual comparison of the types +would, however, be very desirable, but, unfortunately, we do not know where +the type of Latham is, and if it still exists. Christmas Island lies much +to the north of the Paumotu group! As no specimens have been obtained since +the U.S. Exploring Expedition, we may safely suppose that the species has +ceased to exist for some reason. + +Habitat: "Christmas Island in the Pacific Ocean and Paumotu Islands." + +{121} + + + + GALLINAGO CHATHAMICA FORBES. + + _Gallinago chathamica_ Forbes, Ibis 1893, p. 545. + +Evidently a species allied to _G. pusilla_, but very much larger. Bill +three inches long. + +Habitat: Chatham Islands. + +Several skulls and a few bones in the Tring Museum. This is a snipe only a +little larger than the existing _Gallinago aucklandica_. + +{123} + + + + HYPOTAENIDIA (?) PACIFICUS (GM.) + + (PLATE 26.) + + _Pacific rail_ Latham, Gen. Syn. III, pt. I, p. 255 (1785). + + _Rallus pacificus_ Gmelin, Syst. Nat. I, p. 717 (1788). + +Forster's description is as follows, in translation: "Black with white +spots or bars; abdomen, throat, and eyebrow white; hind neck ferruginous; +breast grey; bill blood-red; iris red. Bill straight, compressed, narrowed +at the top, thicker at the base, and blood-red. The mandibles subequal, +pointed; the upper slightly curved, with the tip pale fuscous; gape medium. +Nostrils almost at the base of bill, linear. Eyes placed above the gape of +the mouth. Iris blood-red. Feet four-toed, split, built for running, flesh +coloured. Femora semi-bare, slender, of medium length. + +"Tibiae slightly compressed, shorter than the femora. Four toes, slender, +of which three point forward (are front toes). The middle one almost as +long as the Tibia, the side ones of equal length shorter, the back one +short, raised from the ground. Nails short, small, slightly incurved, +pointed, and light coloured. Head oval, slightly depressed, fuscous. A +superciliary line from bill to occiput whitish. Throat white. Hindneck +ferruginous. Neck very short. Back and rump black, sparsely dotted with +minute white dots. Breast bluish grey. Abdomen, crissum, and loins white. +Wings short, wholly black, variegated with broken white bands. Remiges +short. Rectrices extremely short, black spotted with white, hardly to be +distinguished from the coverts. + + Total length from bill to tail 9 inches. + Total length to middle toe 12¾ " + Bill 1-1/10 " + Tibiae 2 " + Middle toe 1-3/10 " " + +Mr. Keulemans' plate was done from Forster's unpublished drawing in the +British Museum, and no specimen is in existence. The legs should, however, +be less bright red, more flesh-colour. + +Habitat: Tahiti, but evidently long extinct. + +This bird, according to Forster, was called "Oomnaa" or "Eboonaa," on +Otaheite, and the neighbouring islands. + +{125} + + + + NESOLIMNAS ANDREWS. + +Differs from _Cabalus_ by the relatively shorter bill; by having the whole +culmen convex with the tip sharply decurved, by having a close instead of a +loose plumage, and a much less reduced sternum, with a well-developed +instead of almost obsolete keel. Type of genus _Nesolimnas dieffenbachi_ +(Gray). + + + + NESOLIMNAS DIEFFENBACHII GRAY. + + (PLATE 27.) + + _Rallus Dieffenbachii_ Gray, Dieffenb., Trav. N.Z. II App. p. 197 + (1843). + + _Ocydromus dieffenbachi_ Gray, Voy. Ereb. and Terr., Birds p. 14, pl. + 15 (1846). + + _Hypotaenidia dieffenbachi_ Bonaparte, C. R. XLIII, p. 599 (1856). + + _Cabalus dieffenbachi_ Sharpe, Voy. Ereb. and Terr., Birds p. 29, pl. + 15 (1875), id., Cat. B. Brit. Mus. XXIII p. 47 (1894). + + _Nesolimnas dieffenbachi_ Andrews, Novit. Zool. III. p. 266, pl. X, + figs 3-15 (1896). + +Adult: "General colour above, brown, banded on the mantle and scapulars, +and spotted on the upper back with ochreous buff, these buff markings being +margined with black, which takes the form of broad bars on the mantle; +lower back and rump uniform brown; upper tail coverts brown, barred across +with light rufous and black; lesser wing coverts like the back; median and +greater coverts, as well as the primary coverts and quills, light chestnut, +barred with black, the inner secondaries spotted and barred with ochre and +black, like the back; tail feathers brown, mottled with chestnut near the +base; crown of the head and nape uniform brown, followed by an indistinct +patch of chestnut on the hindneck; lores dull rufous, surmounted by a broad +line of bluish grey, extending from the base of the nostrils to the sides +of the nape; rest of the sides of the face bluish grey, extending on to the +lower throat; this grey area of the face separated from the grey eyebrow by +a broad band of dark chestnut, which extends from the lores through the eye +along the upper part of the ear-coverts; chin and upper throat white; lower +throat black, barred across with white; fore neck and chest ochreous buff, +banded rather narrowly with black, this pattern of colouration {126} +extending up the sides of the neck to the chestnut on the ear coverts; +lower breast and abdomen black, banded with white, the light bars on the +flanks and vent feathers being tinged with ochreous; under-tail coverts +broadly banded with black and ochre; under-wing coverts and axillaries +blackish, barred with white; under surface of quills chestnut, with broad +black bars. + +Wing 4.8 inches, culmen 1.35, tail 2.7" (Sharpe). + +Habitat: Chatham Islands. + +The type and only known specimen is that in the British Museum. + +{127} + + + + CABALUS HUTTON. + + _Cabalus_ Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst. Vol. VI p. 108, pl. XX (1874--Type + and unique species _Cabalus modestus_). + +Captain Hutton characterized his new genus as follows: "Bill longer than +the head, moderately slender and slightly curved, compressed in the middle +and slightly expanding towards the tip; nostrils placed in a membranous +groove which extends beyond the middle of the bill, openings exposed, oval, +near the middle of the groove. Wings very short, rounded; quills soft, the +outer webs as soft as the inner, fourth and fifth the longest, first nearly +as long as the second; a short, compressed claw at the end of the thumb. +Tail very short and soft, hidden by the coverts. Tarsi moderate, shorter +than the middle toe, flattened in front, and covered with transverse +scales; toes long and slender, inner nearly as long as the outer, hind toe +short, very slender, and placed on the inner side of the tarsus; claws +short, compressed, blunt. + +"The bird is incapable of flight, and the stomach of the specimen, +dissected by Dr. Knox, contained only the legs and elytra of beetles." + +Captain Hutton also adds, l.c., a valuable description of the skeleton. + +One species known. + + + + CABALUS MODESTUS (HUTTON). + + (PLATE 28.) + + _Rallus modestus_ Hutton, Ibis 1872, p. 247. (Mangare, Chatham + Islands.) + + _Cabalus modestus_ Hutton, Trans. New Zeal. Inst. VI p. 108. (The genus + _Cabalus_ established.) + + _Rallus dieffenbachii_ juv. Buller, B. New Zealand, Ed. I pp. 179, 180; + Ed. II p. 121 (1888). + + _Cabalus dieffenbachii_ (part., juv.!) Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. XXIII + p. 47 (1894); corr. p. 331. + + _Cabalus modestus_ Forbes, Bull. Brit. Orn. Club. No. IV. p. XX (Dec. + 1892); Salvadori, op. cit. V p. XXIII (Jan., 1893); Forbes, Ibis 1893, + pp. 532, 544, pl. XIV, fig. 4, egg; Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. XXIII p. + 331 (1893); Buller, Suppl. B.N.Z. I p. 45, pl. III (1905). + + _Ocydromus pygmaeus_ Forbes, Nature XLVI, p. 252 (1892--nomen nudum! + cf. Ibis 1893, p. 544). + +Captain Hutton (Ibis 1872, p. 247) described this interesting species as +follows: "Olivaceous brown, bases of the feathers plumbeous; feathers of +the breast slightly tipped with pale fulvous, those of the abdomen and +flanks with two narrow bars of the same colour; {128} throat dark grey, +each feather slightly tipped with brown. Quills soft brown, the first three +faintly barred with reddish fulvous, fourth and fifth the longest. Tail +very soft and short, brown. Irides light brown, bill and legs light brown. +Length 8.75 inches, wing 3.15, bill from gape 1.4, tarsus 1, middle toe and +claw 1.4. + +_Young._ Uniform brownish black. + +A single specimen and young from Mangare; also a specimen in spirits." + +The author knew perfectly well what he was doing when he described this +excellent species. Sir Walter Buller afterwards (B. New Zealand, Ed. I, pp. +179, 180) declared "after carefully comparing it with the type of _Rallus +dieffenbachii_, and submitting the matter to the judgment of other +competent ornithologists, I have no hesitation in considering it the same +species, in an immature state of plumage." (_Sic!_) Unfortunately, Dr. +Sharpe, in the Catalogue of Birds XXIII, repeated Buller's error, and, on +Plate VI, figured _Cabalus modestus_ under the name of _Cabalus +dieffenbachii_, though the latter is not congeneric with _C. modestus_, and +must be called _Nesolimnas dieffenbachii_, while the third form included in +_Cabalus_ by Dr. Sharpe, viz. _sylvestris_ of Lord Howe's Island, must also +be separated genetically from _Cabalus_. + +Formerly _Cabalus modestus_ inhabited Great Chatham Island, as Dr. Forbes +proved by bones found by himself at Warekauri, but when the species was +discovered it existed there no more, though being plentiful on the little +outlying island of Mangare. Unfortunately even there it is evidently +extinct now, this island being overrun with cats and rats, besides which, +according to Buller, the original vegetation has been ruthlessly burnt down +for the purpose of sowing grass-seed, as even this bleak little island has +been claimed by an enterprising sheep-farmer. Fortunately a good many +specimens have been secured by the late W. Hawkins. I have fifteen in my +museum, and there are specimens in the British Museum, in Liverpool, and +one in Cambridge. Henry Palmer failed to get specimens when he visited +Mangare. + +I have also the egg described and figured in the Ibis by Dr. Forbes. It +measures 40 by 21.4 mm., and is creamy white, with faint pale reddish and +purplish roundish spots. + +Habitat: Chatham Islands, east of New Zealand. + +{129} + + + + OCYDROMUS MINOR HAMILTON. + + _Ocydromus sp._ Hamilton, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXV, p. 103 (1893). + + _Ocydromus minor_ Hamilton (nec. Forbes) l.c. + +This species is nearest allied to _sylvestris_ Scl., which has quite +erroneously been placed in the genus _Cabalus_ by Dr. Sharpe; _sylvestris_ +will have to form the type of a new genus, but until the skull of _minor_ +is known I prefer to leave the latter temporarily in _Ocydromus_. + +The present species is known from two pelves, seven femora, six tibiae, and +five metatarsi, as well as the front portion of a sternum. The measurements +all show that _minor_ was a slightly larger form than _sylvestris_, but +owing to having a much shorter tibio-tarsus it must have been a much +stumpier bird. + + _Minor._ _Sylvestris._ + + Pelvis extreme length 65 mm. 62.5 mm. + Pelvis extreme breadth 28 " 25 " + Femur length 64 " 63 " + Tibio-tarsus length 93 " 98 " + Tarso-metatarsus length 53 " 51 " + Sternum greatest width 24.5 " 24.5 " + +Habitat: Middle Island, New Zealand. Extinct. + + + + OCYDROMUS INSIGNIS FORBES. + + _Ocydromus insignis_ Forbes, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIV, p. 188 + (1892--insufficient description). + +This bird "far exceeded in size any of the existing species of +_Ocydromus_." That is all that is published about this bird. + +Habitat: Middle Island, New Zealand. + +{131} + + + + APHANAPTERYX FRAUENFELD. + +Bill produced, not cut short, rather curved. The nostrils are exposed and +situated at the base of the bill. Halluces of the naked fowl-like legs of +moderate length. Front of legs apparently scutellated. Wings abortive, no +rectrices apparent. + + + + APHANAPTERYX BONASIA SELYS. + + (PLATE 29.) + + _A Hen_ Sir Thomas Herbert, A relation of some years' Travaile (1626). + + _Velt-hoenders_ Reyer Cornelisz, Van der Hagen's voyage (1646). + + _Poules rouges au bec de Becasse_ Cauche, Rélations véritables et + curieuses de l'Isle de Madagascar (1651). + + _Apterornis bonasia_ Edm. de Sélys-Longchamps, Revue Zoologique, p. 292 + (1848). + + _Didus herberti_ Schlegel, Vers. Med. Ak. Wetensch., II, p. 256 (1854). + + _Didus broecki_ Schlegel, l.c. + + _Aphanapteryx imperialis_ Frauenfeld, Neu aufgef. Abbild. Dronte, p. 6 + (1868). + + _Aphanapteryx broeckii_ Milne-Edwards, Ann. Sci. Nat. (5), X, pp. + 325-346, pls. 15-18 (1868). + + _Pezophaps broeckii_ Schlegel, Mus. Pays-Bas, Struthiones, p. 4 (1873). + +I here give a translation of Frauenfeld's original diagnosis: "Of the size +of a fowl, of a uniform brown red all over. Bill and legs dark. Iris +yellowish. Feathers decomposed, as in the _Apteryx_, somewhat lengthened on +the nape." + +This description was made by Frauenfeld from a drawing by G. Hoefnagels, in +the Imperial Library, Vienna, executed about the year 1610, and, together +with that of the Dodo, apparently drawn from life in the Imperial Menagerie +at Ebersdorf. This drawing proves Van den Broecke, Herbert, and Cauche's +descriptions to have been correct, though their drawings are somewhat +startlingly different in shape. Only known from these four drawings and +osseous remains. 18 fragments of beaks, 5 pelves, 35 tibiae, 1 sacrum and +fragments, and 1 vertebra in the Tring Museum. + +Habitat: Mauritius. + +{133} + + + + DIAPHORAPTERYX FORBES. + +This genus is closely allied to _Aphanapteryx_ and _Erythromachus_, but, on +the whole, is nearer to _Aphanapteryx_. It differs from both these genera +and _Ocydromus_ in the large protuberances on the basi-temporal region of +the skull, and the tarso-metatarsus was much shorter than in +_Aphanapteryx_. For complete diagnosis of this genus see Andrews in +Novitates Zoologicae, Vol. III, pp. 73-76 (1896). + + + + DIAPHORAPTERYX HAWKINSI (FORBES). + + _Aphanapteryx hawkinsi_ Forbes, Nature XLVI, p. 252. + + _Diaphorapteryx hawkinsi_ Forbes, Bull. B.O.C.I. p. XXI, 1893. + +The remains of this bird were first sent to Dr. H. O. Forbes in 1892 by the +late W. Hawkins, from the Chatham Islands, 500 miles E.S.E. of New Zealand. +It appears to have been confined to the Island of Wharekauri. Dr. Forbes +subsequently went to the Chathams himself and collected a large number of +bones of various extinct birds, including those of _Diaphorapteryx_. In +1895 I received a consignment of bones through the agency of Mr. +Dannefaerd, from the Chathams, such as has never been equalled from any +deposit elsewhere, for literally there were many hundreds of thousands of +bones of a considerable number of species of birds. From this collection +Mr. C. W. Andrews was able to draw up a most minute description of the +skeleton of _Diaphorapteryx_, founded on several practically complete +skeletons, some thirty or more skulls, and several thousand individual +bones of various portions of the skeleton. This description, published in +Novitates Zoologicae, Vol. III, pp. 73-84, is too long for reproduction +here, and so I must refer my readers to it. + +This bird, as well as the _Palaeolimnas_, shows an apparent relationship +between the Chatham Islands and the Mascarene Islands; but I believe that +{134} this is not a real relationship, as has been asserted, due to a +former land-connection, but merely a case of parallel development owing to +similar conditions of existence. + +Habitat: Wharekauri Island, Chatham Islands. + +In the Tring Museum are two complete skeletons, more than a thousand bones, +and about fifteen skulls. + +One almost complete skeleton, and the type, skull, and bones, are in the +British Museum. + +{135} + + + + ERYTHROMACHUS MILNE-EDWARDS. + +"Legs stout, made for running, and from a quarter to one-fifth shorter than +in _Ocydromus_, the three anterior digits well developed and the hallux +very small. Body less massive than in _Ocydromus_, with the wings slightly +more developed, but not serviceable for flight. Head small; bill red, +straight, pointed, and about 60 mm. = 2.4 inches. A red naked patch round +the eye; plumage pale grey." + + + + ERYTHROMACHUS LEGUATI MILNE-EDWARDS. + + _Gelinote_ Leguat, t. II p. 71 (1708). + + _Erythromachus leguati_ Milne-Edwards, Ann. Sci. Nat. (5) XIX, pp. 6, + 7, pls. XI, XII (1874). + + _Aphanopteryx leguati_ Günther & E. Newton, Phil. Trans. Vol. 168, pp. + 431-432, pl. XLIII (1879). + +Of the older writers only Leguat appears to have described the Rodriguez +flightless rail. There are several references to "_Hens_," "_Veld +Hoenders_," &c., but all appear to refer to the Mauritius bird +_Aphanapteryx bonasia_. Leguat's description is as follows:-- + +"Our 'gelinotes' are fat all the year round and of a most delicate taste. +Their colour is always of a bright grey, and there is very little +difference in plumage between the two sexes. They hide their nests so well +that we could not find them out, and consequently did not taste their eggs. +They have a red naked area round their eyes, their beaks are straight and +pointed, near two and two-fifths inches long, and red also. They cannot +fly, their fat makes them too heavy for it. If you offer them anything red, +they are so angry they will fly at you to catch it out of your hand, and in +the heat of the combat we had an opportunity to take them with ease." + +Quite extinct. Only known from descriptions and osseous remains. One tibia +in the Tring Museum. + +Habitat: Rodriguez Island. + +{137} + + + + PENNULA DOLE. + + _Pennula_ Dole, Hawaiian Alman. 1879 p. 54 (Reprint in Ibis 1880 p. + 241). + +I believe that the genus _Pennula_ should be placed near _Porzanula_, but +its wings are softer, the rectrices are next to invisible, but can be felt, +as they have stiff shafts and are about 13 mm. long, though being entirely +hidden by the soft tail-coverts. The tibia is bare for about 7 mm., the +metatarsus covered in front with nearly a dozen transverse, very distinct +scales, and distinctly reticulated behind. The bill much as in +_Poliolimnas_ and _Porzanula_. + +Two species can be recognized: _Pennula millsi_, with a uniform upper +surface, and _Pennula sandwichensis_, with a distinctly spotted upper side. +Both forms are now extinct. + + + + PENNULA MILLSI DOLE. + + MOHO OF THE NATIVES. + + (PLATE 26, FIG. 3.) + + _Pennula millei_ (misprint for _millsi_) Dole, Hawaiian Almanac 1879 p. + 54 (reprint in Ibis 1880 p. 241. "Uplands of Hawaii: named in honour of + Mr. Mills, spec. in Mills's Coll., nearly extinct"); Rothsch., Avif. + Laysan, etc., p. 241 pl. LXXVI. + + _Pennula ecaudata_ apud Wilson & Evans, Aves. Hawaii., part V, text and + plate. + +All we know of this bird are the five specimens caught by an old native +bird-catcher named Hawelu for the late Mr. Mills of Hawaii. Two of these +are now in my Museum, one in Cambridge, and two in the Bishop-Pauahi Museum +in Honolulu. There can be no doubt that this bird is now extinct. All +recent attempts to find specimens have been futile. Mr. Palmer, whom I sent +a specially trained dog, also failed to find even traces of it. It lived +formerly in the country between Hilo and the volcano Kilauea, in places +where thick grass, _Vaccinium_ and _Dianella_, forms the thickest cover +possible. In former times the "Moho" was a dainty on the tables of the +Hawaiian kings, but its disappearance is probably due to the introduction +of the obnoxious mongoose and to bush fires. {138} + + + + PENNULA SANDWICHENSIS (GM.) + + (PLATE 26, FIG. 2.) + + _Rallus Sandwichensis_ Gmelin, Syst. Nat I p. 717 (1788--ex Latham! + "Habitat exilis in insulis Sandwich"). + + _Pennula Wilsoni_ Finsch, Notes Leyden Mus. XX p. 77 (1898--Finsch + explains that the specimen in the Leyden Museum is not the type of + Latham--and therefore of Gmelin's name--and therefore renames it). + + For full synonymy and explanations of name, etc., cf. Avifauna of + Laysan, p. 239, 240 and 243, also plate LXXVI. + +Latham's description--from which Gmelin's diagnosis was taken--distinctly +says that the feathers were "darkest in the middle," and in the Index +Ornith. "supra maculis obscuris." Moreover, the unpublished drawing of +Ellis, well reproduced in Mr. Scott Wilson's book, shows beyond doubt the +identity of the bird of the old authors with the specimen in the Leyden +Museum. + +The Leyden specimen is all we are acquainted with, and of the history of +this bird we know nothing but Latham's statement that it came from the +Sandwich Islands. + +{139} + + + + TRIBONYX ROBERTI ANDREWS. + + _Tribonyx roberti Andrews_, Ibis 1897, p. 356, pl. IX, figs 4-7. + +This bird is described from an imperfect pelvis, a perfect left +tibio-tarsus and a femur. The pelvis differs from that of _T. mortieri_ in +not having the deep depression in the ilia in front of the acetabulum and +above the pectineal process. It also differs in having a rather wider +pelvic escutcheon and wider renal fossal, and the supra-acetabular ridges +of the ilia are smaller than in the Australian bird. The +beautifully-preserved left tibia differs from that of _T. mortieri_ in +having the intercondylar groove wider and shallower, the inner condyle less +massive, thus making the difference between the inner and outer condyle +more marked; _T. roberti_ also has the shaft immediately above the extensor +bridge wider, the bridge itself less oblique, and the fibular crest is +longer. + +The measurements are:-- + + _Pelvis._ + + Length of Ilium 82 mm. approx. + Least width of acetabular region of Pelvis 14 " + Width at Antitrochanter 40 " + Width at anterior angle of Pelvic Escutcheon 36 " + Width at Posterior angle of Pelvic Escutcheon 40 " + Length of Sacrum 68 " + + _Tibia._ + + Length 143 mm. + Width at distal extremity 12 " + Width at middle of shaft 7 " + + _Femur._ + + Length 83 mm. + Width at distal extremity 17 " + Width at middle of shaft 7 " + +Habitat: Sirabé in C. Madagascar. + +{141} + + + + NOTORNIS OWEN. + +Differs from _Porphyrio_ by the secondaries being nearly as long as the +primaries, and the wing-coverts more or less elongated, sometimes nearly +hiding the quills. + +Type: _Notornis mantelli_. + + + + NOTORNIS MANTELLI OWEN. + + _Notornis mantelli_ Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. III, p. 377, pl. LVI, figs. + 7-11 (1848). + +This species was founded on a nearly entire skull, collected by Walter +Mantell at Waingongoro, North Island, New Zealand. This skull is more than +twice the size of that of _Porphyrio melanotus_. The basisphenoidal +surface, however, is flatter, the anterior angle projects below the base of +the presphenoid, and there is a slender ridge continued from each +paroccipital to the lateral angles of the platform, the posterior angles +being hemispheric tubercles as in _Palapteryx_. + +The occipital region inclines forwards as it rises, while the same is more +vertical in _Porphyrio_. The post-frontal is broader than in _Porphyrio_. +The chief distinction from that of _Porphyrio_ is, however, the almost +regular four-sided figure of the skull. The breadth of the anterior part is +almost exactly that of the occipital region, and the extent of the sides is +not much more than that of the front and back part. The parieto-frontal +region of the skull is very unlike that of _Porphyrio_, being convex and +oblong, and _Notornis_ also lacks cerebral or hemispheric convexities. Owen +gives a large number of other differences, but I refer my readers to the +original article as above, pp. 366-371. I, however, must state here, as is +already mentioned by Mr. Hamilton, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIV, p. 176, 1892, +that the _Dinornis_ skull, with which Professor Owen compared _Notornis_, +referred by him to _D. casuarinus_ is really that of _Aptornis defossor_ +(_vide_ Trans. Zool. Soc. III, pl. 52, figs. 1-7), and, therefore, it is +quite natural that Professor Owen found a great likeness to _Dinornis_ in +_Notornis_, as the skull he compared it with was really that of the Ralline +_Aptornis_, and not the Struthious _Dinornis_ at all. + +Habitat: North Island, New Zealand. + +Dr. H. O. Forbes, Trans. N.Z. Inst., discusses at length measurements of +tibiae and femora of _Notornis_, provisionally naming the skeleton in the +Otago Museum _Notornis parkeri_, as a new species, but I consider we must +wait for confirmation till we get an associated skeleton of _N. mantelli_. +{142} + + + + NOTORNIS HOCHSTETTERI A.B.M. + + (PLATE 34.) + + _Notornis Hochstetteri_ A. B. Meyer, Abbild. Vogelskelett, Lief. IV & + V, p. 28, pl. XXXIV-XXXVII (1883--South Island, New Zealand); + Zeitschr. ges. Orn. II, p. 45, pl. I (1885--figures of the bird). + + _Notornis mantelli_ (non Owen 1848!) Gould, P.Z.S. London, 1850, pl. + 21; Trans. Zool. Soc. London IV, pl. 25 (1850); Gould, B. Austr. + Suppl., pl. 76 (1869); Buller, B. New Zealand, pl. (1873); Sharpe, + Cat. B. Brit. Mus. XXIII, p. 208 (1894). + +The name _Notornis mantelli_ having been based on a cranium and some +leg-bones from the North Island, and the bones of a specimen from the South +Island, showing marked differences, Dr. A. B. Meyer was fully justified in +describing the latter form as different, under the name of _N. +hochstetteri_. + +According to the describer there are considerable differences in the +cranial bones, but the comparison of the leg-bones shows such differences +in size that these alone would be sufficient to separate the North and +South Island forms. The femur of _N. hochstetteri_ measures 109, that of +_N. mantelli_ 122, the tibia of the former 165, the tarso-metatarsus 109, +the tibia of the latter 200, the tarso-metatarsus 129 mm. For further +measurements see A. B. Meyer, Abbild. Vogelskelett I, p. 30. + +The upper surface is olive-green with some slaty-blue shading, the quills +are black with purplish blue outer webs; rectrices blackish, green on the +outer webs. Head, neck, and under surface purplish blue, thighs more +blackish. Under tail-coverts white, frontal plate and bill bright red, +yellow towards the tip of both mandibles. Feet red. + +Although this bird is evidently not extinct, a specimen having been +captured as late as 1898, it seems that not many examples live at present +in New Zealand, as they have been sought after a good deal, and yet only +four have been taken so far, _i.e._, the two in the British Museum, one in +the Dresden Museum, and the last-mentioned one. + +Full accounts of the capture of this last specimen have been given in the +Trans. New Zealand Institute, XXXI, pp. 146-150, and in Sir Walter Buller's +Supplement to the Birds of New Zealand, I, pp. 66-74, where, however, the +year of the capture is not mentioned, though one can guess that it must +have taken place shortly before the articles on it appeared. + +Habitat: Middle Island, usually called South Island, apparently nearly +extinct. {143} + + + + NOTORNIS STANLEYI (ROWLEY). + + _White gallinule_, Voy. of Gov. Phillip to N.S.W., p. 273, cum tab. + (1789). + + _Porphyrio stanleyi_ Rowley, Orn. Misc. I, p. 36, pl. IX (1875). + + _Porphyrio melanotus_ (part.) Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. XXIII, p. + 205 (1894). + + _Porphyrio alba_ G. R. Gray, List Birds N.Z., &c., Ibis 1862, p. 214. + +The first to point out the differences between the bird now in the +Liverpool Museum and the specimen in Vienna was Mr. Dawson Rowley. The +original description of the anonymous author of Phillip's Voyage is as +follows:-- + +"This beautiful bird greatly resembles the purple Gallinule in shape and +make, but is much superior in size, being as large as a dunghill fowl. The +length from end of bill to that of the claws is two feet three inches. The +bill is very stout, and the colour of it, the whole of the top of the head +and the irides red; the sides of the head round the eyes are reddish, very +thinly sprinkled with white feathers; the whole of the plumage is, without +exception, white. The legs the colour of the bill. This species is pretty +common on Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island, and other places, and is a very +tame species. The other sex, supposed to be the male, is said to have some +blue on the wings." + +Gray states under _Porphyrio alba_, in Ibis 1862, p. 214: "It is stated +that a similar kind was found on Lord Howe Island which was incapable of +flight. The wings of the male were beautifully mottled with blue." + +Dr. H. O. Forbes, in the Bulletin of the Liverpool Museums, Vol. III, No. +2, pp. 62-68 (1901), gives an exhaustive account of Rowley's type, in which +he comes to the conclusion that the bird is not a _Porphyrio_ but a +_Notornis_, and that it is also probably a specimen of _Notornis alba_. +That it is a _Notornis_ I equally believe; but I think the length of the +wing-coverts in the type of _N. alba_, puts it out of the question that the +two birds could be the same. Moreover, the two original pictures of Phillip +and White show this difference of the wings very well. I have therefore +kept the two separate, and I feel sure if we had other specimens with exact +data we should find this a parallel case to that of _Nesonetta aucklandica_ +of the Auckland Islands and _Anas chlorotis_ of New Zealand, and that +_Notornis alba_ of Norfolk Island was a still further degenerate form to +the already flightless _N. stanleyi_ of Lord Howe Island. Wing nine inches. + +Habitat: Lord Howe Island. {144} + + + + NOTORNIS ALBA (WHITE). + + (PLATE 33.) + + ? _White gallinule_ Callam, Voy. Botany Bay (1783?) (teste Gray). + + _Fulica alba_ White, Journ. Voy. N.S.W., p. 238 and plate (1790). + + _Gallinula alba_ Latham, Ind. Orn. I, p. 768 (1790). + + _Porphyrio albus_ Temminck, Man. d'Orn. II, p. 701 (1820). + + _Porphyrio melanotus var. alba_ Gray, Voy. Ereb. and Terror, Birds, p. + 19 (1844). + + _Porphyrio melanotus_ Gray, Voy. Ereb. and Terror, Ed. II (1846), p. + 14. + + _Notornis ? alba_ Pelzeln, Sitz. k. Akad. Wiss. Wien. XLI, p. 328 + (1860). + + _Notornis alba_ Salvin, Ibis 1873, p. 295, pl. X. + +There has been considerable confusion in connection with this bird and the +following species, owing to the fact of White not having given any locality +for the specimen on which Latham founded his _Gallinula alba_, and which is +now in the Vienna Museum. That the Vienna specimen is really White's bird +is proved because it was bought at the sale of the Leverian Museum, and +White expressly states that all his birds were deposited in the Leverian +Museum. + +It is quite impossible to say with _certainty_ which of the two forms, +_Notornis alba_ or _N. stanleyi_, came from Norfolk Island, as we have no +indication of the origin of the Liverpool specimen. But seeing that in the +anonymous work, "The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay," the first +mentioned habitat is Lord Howe Island, and the figure shows a bird with the +shorter wing-coverts of _N. stanleyi_, I think I am justified in taking the +bird with longer wing-coverts--viz., _Notornis alba_, to be the bird from +Norfolk Island. + +White's description is as follows:--"White Fulica, with bill and front red, +shoulders spined, legs and feet yellow." White's figure clearly shows the +long wing coverts characteristic of the genus _Notornis_. Von Pelzeln says +in his account of this bird that there is a label on it bearing the number +102, and giving as place of origin Norfolk Island, but White makes no +mention of this. There are traces of a bluish shade, and two or three dark +spots on the plumage, which has led many ornithologists to consider _N. +alba_ an albino. Gray, in "A List of Birds from New Zealand, &c.,"[3] +remarked that some Norfolk Island specimens had blue between the shoulders, +and the back spotted with the same colour. He also states that the young +are said to be black, then become bluish grey, and afterwards pure white. +From these and other authors' similar remarks I believe we have not here a +case of albinism, but a bird which was in a stage of evolution towards +becoming a fixed white species. Wing 9 inches (measured by myself in the +Vienna Museum). + +Habitat: Norfolk Island. + +{145} + + + + APTERORNIS SELYS. + +"Differed widely from _Didus_ and _Pezophaps_ in its long beak, which +resembles a little that of a woodcock, but is much stronger. These birds +were high on the leg, ran swiftly, and were far removed from pigeons like +the Dodo and the Solitaire, but to which they had a certain resemblance, +owing to their rudimentary wings, apology for a tail, and the disposition +of their digits." + +The above is a translation of de Selys-Longchamps' diagnosis of the genus, +but owing to his inclusion therein of _Didus solitarius_ and _Aphanapteryx +bonasia_, it does not fit when restricted to the "Oyseau bleu" of Le Sieur +D.B. It might be described as: Resembling _Aptornis_, but with shorter bill +and feet, thus more approaching _Notornis_. + +One species. + + + + APTERORNIS COERULESCENS SELYS. + + (PLATE 32.) + + _Oyseaux bleus_ Le Sieur D.B., Les Voyages aux Isles Dauphine and + Bourbon, pp. 170, 171 (1674). + + _Apterornis coerulescens_ Selys-Longchamps, Rev. Zool. 1848, p. 294. + +The original description of the Sieur D.B. (Dubois) is as follows +(translated):--"_Oyseaux bleus_: As big as the Solitaires; they have the +plumage entirely blue, the beak and the feet red and made like those of +fowls; they do not fly at all, but run extremely quickly, so that a dog can +hardly catch them; they are very good." + +Habitat: Bourbon or Réunion. + +Dubois gives the size of these birds as the same as that of a big goose and +the feet as being like those of a fowl: I have, therefore, in +reconstructing the plate of this bird, had it made intermediate in +structure between the New Zealand _Notornis_ and _Aptornis_, which were +evidently its nearest allies. + +{147} + + + + APTORNIS OWEN. + +Differs from _Dinornis_, _Palapteryx_ and _Notornis_ in having an articular +surface for a very strong hind toe, and the tarso-metatarsus of a +conformation more nearly resembling that found in the _Dodo_, but shorter +and thicker than in the latter. In addition, the strong calcaneal process, +perforated by a complete bony canal for the tendon at the back part of the +proximal end of the tarso-metatarsus; the perforation above the interspace +between the condyles for the middle and outer toes; and the more posterior +position for the condyle for the inner toe all prove the distinctness of +this genus. + +Type: _Aptornis otidiformis_. + + + + APTORNIS OTIDIFORMIS (OWEN). + + _Dinornis otidiformis_ Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. III, p. 247, pls. XXV + and XXVI, fig. 5 (1844). + + _Aptornis otidiformis_ Owen, ibidem p. 347 (1848). + +This is the North Island form, and I must refer my readers to Owen's +description, only remarking that Mr. Hamilton, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIV, p. +179, says the vertebrae assigned by Owen to _Cnemiornis_ all belong to +_Aptornis_. + +Locality of type tibia: Poverty Bay, North Island, New Zealand; collected +by Rev. Wm. Williams in 1842. {148} + + + + APTORNIS DEFOSSOR OWEN. + + _Aptornis defossor_ Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. VII, pp. 353 to 366, pls. + 40-44 (1871). + +The skull differs from that of _A. otidiformis_ by the vertical surface of +the descending part of the occiput being less deeply concave, the occipital +foramen relatively smaller. The hind part of the base of the alisphenoid is +more produced and tuberous outside the end of the hyoid process of the +paroccipital in _A. defossor_. + +The chief other differences in size, according to Owen, are as follows:-- + + _A. defossor_. _A. otidiformis_. + _Skull._ + Length 7.2 inches. 6.2 inches. + Breadth across paroccipitals 3.3 " 2.9 " + Breadth across postfrontals 3.2 " 2.10 " + Breadth across temporal fossae 2.3 " 1.1 " + Breadth of base of upper mandible 1.6 " 1.3 " + Breadth of middle of upper mandible 1.4 " 1.1 " + Breadth of fore end of upper mandible 0.7 " 0.6 " + Length of premaxillary 5.0 " 4.3 " + + _Femur._ + Length 7.6 " 6.2 " + Breadth of proximal end 2.2 " 1.9 " + Breadth of distal end 2.2 " 1.9 " + Circumference of middle of shaft 2.9 " 2.3 " + + _Tibia._ + Length 10.3 " 8.9 " + Breadth of proximal end 2.3 " 1.9 " + Breadth of distal end 1.10 " 1.3 " + Circumference of middle of shaft 2.6 " 1.11 " + + _Metatarsus._ + Length 4.4 " 3.10 " + Breadth of proximal end 1.8 " 1.5 " + Breadth of distal end 1.9 " 1.6 " + Breadth of middle of shaft 1.6 " 1.4 " + +Locality of type: Oamaru. + +Habitat: South Island. + +A nearly perfect skeleton in the Tring Museum, collected by Mr. W. S. +Mitchel in limestone cave on Oreti River, Southland. + +{149} + + + + PALAEOLIMNAS FORBES. + +Differs from _Fulica_ by the much more curved shape of the skull, the +deeply marked glandular impressions over the eyes, and the great +pneumaticity of the frontal bones. + + + + PALAEOLIMNAS CHATHAMENSIS (FORBES). + + _Fulica chathamensis_ H. O. Forbes, Nature, vol. XLVI p. 252 (1892). + + _Fulica newtoni_ H. O. Forbes, l.c. (non Milne-Edwards). + + _Palaeolimnas newtoni_ H. O. Forbes, Ibis 1893, p. 544. + + _Palaeolimnas chathamensis_ Milne Edwards, Ann. Sci. Nat. (VIII) 2, + 1896 p. 130. + +Dr. Forbes says in Nature "I procured from the same beds which contained +_Aphanapteryx_ a certain number of bones of a _Fulica_ which much resemble +those of _Fulica newtoni_; like the bones of _Aphanapteryx_ (should be +_Diaphorapteryx_, W.R.) they vary much in size, some being equal to, while +others were considerably larger than similar bones of _Fulica newtoni_. +This variation is so great that I am inclined to consider them as belonging +to different species, or at least different races. I have given the name +_Fulica chathamensis_" to the larger species. + +Later, in the Ibis, Dr. Forbes says, "The limb-bones and pelvis correspond +so closely to those of _F. newtoni_ that I am not able to separate them. +The head of the type is, however, unknown." + +Professor Milne-Edwards, however, points out numerous differences. In the +humerus the sub-trochanterial groove is bigger, and particularly wider than +in typical _Fulica_. The iliac grooves are larger than in _Fulica newtoni_, +the pelvic knob is more extended, and the sciatic foramen is larger. The +first sacral vertebrae are stunted below the median sinus, while in the +Mauritius species one observes a very stout one, occupying the four first +vertebrae of the pelvis. The feet were also larger and stronger than in the +latter. + +Habitat: Chatham Islands. + +An almost complete skeleton and numerous bones in the Tring Museum, and an +almost complete skeleton in the British Museum. {150} + + + + PALAEOLIMNAS NEWTONI (MILNE-EDWARDS). + + _Poules d'eau_ Sieur D.B., Voyages 1674. + + _Fulica newtoni_ Milne-Edwards, Ann. Sci. Nat. (5) VIII pp. 194-220, + pls. 10-13 (1867). + +The translation of the Sieur D.B.'s (Abbé Dubois) description is as +follows:--"Waterhens which are as large as fowls. They are always black, +and have a large white crest on the head." For the anatomical description I +must refer my readers to Professor Milne-Edwards. + +Habitat: Bourbon. + +Milne-Edwards gives so many details in which _Fulica newtoni_ agrees with +_Palaeolimnas chathamensis_ that I feel convinced that the former is not a +true _Fulica_, and, until we know its skull and can decide for certain, I +think it is best to include it in the genus _Palaeolimnas_. 16 tibiae, 30 +metatarsi, 8 humeri, 2 sternums, 4 fragments and an entire pelvis and +sacrum, and 3 cervical vertebrae in the Tring Museum. + + + + PALAEOLIMNAS PRISCA (HAMILTON). + + _Fulica prisca_ Hamilton, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXV, p. 98 (1893). + +This bird was nearly as large as _Notornis_, but with a very small head and +with a frontal shield. It was probably a poor flier, though not flightless, +as _Fulica chathamensis_ was. It was smaller than the latter. Measurements, +according to Hamilton:-- + + _prisca_. _newtoni_. _chathamensis_. + + Femur: Length 78-93 mm. -- 85 mm. + Tibio-tarsus: Length 143-162 " 144 mm. 152-163 " + Tarso-metatarsus: Length 81-98 " 88 " 96 " + +Habitat: Middle Island, New Zealand. + +{151} + + + + LEGUATIA SCHLEGEL. + +Body not larger than that of a goose; wings rather short but still fitted +for flight; feathers of the legs reaching down almost to the top of the +tarso-metatarsus; toes long and completely free, middle toe almost as long +as tarso-metatarsus. Bill with a naked shield reaching back beyond the eye. +Height about 6 feet. + + + + LEGUATIA GIGANTEA SCHLEGEL. + + (PLATE 31.) + + _Le Géant_ Leguat, Voyages (1708), p. 171, English edition. + + _Leguatia gigantea_ Schlegel, Versl. Med. Akad. Wetensch. Amst. VII, p. + 142 (1858). + +Leguat's description is as follows: "... and many of those birds called +giants, because they are six feet high. They are extremely high mounted, +and have very long necks. Their bodies are not bigger than that of a goose. +They are all white, except a little place under their wings, which is +reddish. They have a goose's bill, only a little sharper; their claws are +very long and divided." This bird was apparently confined to the island of +Mauritius. + +Professor Newton asserts that Leguat's "Géants" were Flamingos, principally +because bones of Flamingos have been found in Mauritius and not a single +bone has ever been got of the "géant." This argument is, in my opinion, +insufficient, and no evidence at all. We know that a Didine bird and a +gigantic rail existed on Réunion, but no bones are yet known of these. I +think, like Professor Schlegel, that Leguat's figure and description cannot +be meant for a Flamingo and that they prove the former existence of a +gigantic ralline bird in Mauritius. + +The figure is made up from Leguat's description. The bill is drawn like +that of a gigantic moorhen, and so are the feet. + +Habitat: Mauritius. + +{153} + + + + ALCA IMPENNIS L. + + THE GREAT AUK. + + (PLATE 38.) + + _Penguin_ Hore, in Hakluyt's Coll. Voyages III p. 129 (Ed. 1600--ex + Hore). + + _Anser Magelanicus s. Pinguinus_ Worm, Museum Wormianum, Lib. III, + Cap. 19, p. 300, 301 (1655--Figured from a specimen from the Faröe + Islands). + + _Penguin_ Willoughby, Orn. Lib. III p. 242 pl. 65 (1676). + + _Northern Penguin_ Edwards, Nat. Hist. Uncommon B. etc., III p. 147 + pl. 147 (1750--First good coloured plate, from a specimen from + Newfoundland). + + _Geyervogel_ Linnaeus, Fauna Suecica p. 43 no. 119 (1746). + + _Alca impennis_ Linnaeus, Syst. Nat. Ed. X p. 130 (1758--Ex fauna + Sueciva no. 119, Mus. Worm. l.c., Willoughby l.c., and Edwards + l.c.); Linnaeus, Syst. Nat. Ed. XII, I, p. 210 (1766); Naumann, + Nat. Voy. Deutschl. XII p. 630 pl. 337 (1844); Dresser, B. Europe + VIII p. 563, pl. 620 (1880); Seebohm, Hist. Brit. B. III p. 371 + (1885). + + _Alca borealis_ Forster, Syn. Cat. Brit. B. p. 29 (1817--nomen + nudum). + + _Plautus impennis_ Brünnich, Zool. Fundamenta p. 78 (1772); Baird, + Brewer and Ridgway, Water Birds N. Amer., II p. 467 (1884); Grant, + Cat. B. Brit. Mus. XXVI p. 563 (1898). + + FOR FULL DESCRIPTIONS, LITERATURE, HISTORY, LIST OF REMAINS, SEE:-- + + _Japetus Steenstrup_: Bidrag til Geirfuglens Naturhistorie etc., + Kjöbenhavn (Copenhagen) 1857 (In Naturh-Forening. Vidensk. Meddel. + 1855, nos. 3-7). + + _Alfred Newton_: Abstract of Mr. Wolley's Researches in Iceland + respecting the Gare-fowl. (In Ibis, 1861, pp. 374-399). + + _William Preyer_: Ueber Plautus impennis. (In Journal f. Orn. 1862 + pp. 110-124, 337-356.) + + _Alfred Newton_: The Gare-fowl and its Historians. (In Natural + History Review XII, 1865 pp. 467-488); id. in Encycl. Britannica + Ed. IX vol. III; id. Dict. B. p. 220-221. + + _Wilhelm Blasius_: Zur Geschichte von _Alca impennis_. Journ. f. + Orn. 1884 pp. 58-176. + + _Symington Grieve_: The Great Auk, or Garefowl. Its History, + Archaeology, and Remains. London 1885; Supplem. note on the Great + Auk; in Trans. Edinburgh Field Nat. Soc. (1897) p. 238-273. + + _Wilhelm Blasius_: Der Riesenalk, Alca impennis L. (In the New + Edition of Naumann Naumann, Naturg. d. Vögel Mitteleuropas) Vol. + XII p. 169-208, plates 17, 17a-17d (1903). + +Probably the first mention of Great Auks is that in André Thevet's book +"Les singularitéz de la France antarctique ...," Anvers 1558, where a large +bird was mentioned under the name of "Aponars," Apponatz or "Aponath." But +evidently this name covered several other sea-birds, and it is at least +doubtful if it was solely applied to the Great Auk. The same applies to the +remarks by Jacques Cartier, as translated in R. Hakluyt's collection of +voyages. On the other hand there is no doubt that the "Penguin" mentioned +by Robert Hore in 1536 (Hakluyt, Collection of Voyages III, p. 129--1600, +and other Editions) was actually the Great Auk. In fact "Penguin" has been +the name usually applied to the Great Auk {154} and is even now used for it +by the French, while in most other languages it has been transferred, from +an early date, to the Antarctic flightless birds, the _Spheniscidae_. + +All the first reports are from Newfoundland and thereabout, and even +Clusius (Exoticorum libri decem, Lib. V, p. 103--1605), who gives a rather +poor but perfectly recognizable figure, describes it first (p. 103) as a +native of America, under the name of "Mergus Americanus." Later on, +however, in the "Auctarium," on p. 367, he mentions it, on the authority of +Henricus Hojerus, as found in the Faröe Islands, under the name +"Goirfugel." Hojerus was also the authority for the account given in +Nieremberg, Hist. Nat., etc., p. 215 (1635). The first comparatively good +figure was published in 1655, in the "Museum Wormianum," on p. 301, from a +specimen brought alive from the Faröe Islands. Curiously enough the figure +shows a white ring round the neck, which no Great Auk, of course, +possesses. + +Linnaeus, when first bestowing a scientific name on the Great Auk, in 1758, +l.c., gave the following short diagnosis and references:-- + + "Alca rostro compresso--ancipiti sulcato, macula ovata utrinque ante + oculos. Fn. Svec. 119. + + Anser magellanicus. Worm. mus. 300 t. 301. + + Penguin. Will. ornith. 244 t. 65 Edw. av. 147 t. 147. + + _Habitat in_ Europa _arctica_." + +From referring to the literature he quotes, there can, of course, be no +doubt as to what species he refers. + +The most detailed descriptions are probably those given in the New Edition +of Naumann (see above), where also a list of literature and figures is +given, fully seven folio pages long! As regards the difference in the sexes +little is known, because very few specimens exist of which the sex has been +ascertained. We find, however, some with the grooves and ridges on the bill +more marked, and the grooves purer white, while others have the grooves of +a dirtier white and less strongly developed; as these latter are apparently +mostly smaller, I think they must be females, the former males. In this +case my two specimens would be females, and the one now in Professor +Koenig's possession an adult male. Probably somewhat similar seasonal +changes took place as in _Alca torda_, and Professor Blasius (l.c.) has +described them. It must, however, be remembered, that the date of capture +is known of but a few examples, and that by far the majority of all those +that exist in collections have been killed in spring, on their +breeding-places. + +Nobody can doubt that the Great Auk is extinct. The last specimens were +obtained on Eldey, near Iceland, in 1844, and the seas and islands {155} +where the great bird used to live are frequented by vessels every year. It +is true that a certain Lorenz Brodtkorb told that in April, 1848, he saw +four Great Auks, of which he shot one, near the Varanger Fjord, east of the +North-Cape, but Professor Newton and Wolley have, in 1855, had an interview +with Brodtkorb, and came to the conclusion that he saw and shot the Great +Northern Diver. This is the more likely to be the case, as the occurrence +north of the Arctic Circle is as yet uncertain, the finding of Great Auks +both on the island of Disco (west-coast of Greenland) and on Grimsey and +Mevenklint on the north coast of Iceland being open to doubt. + +From sub-fossil and prehistoric finds, we know that the Great Auk formerly +inhabited Norway and Sweden, Denmark, with Seeland, Sejerö and Havnö, the +British Islands (Cleadon Hills in County Durham, Scotland, Ireland), the +east coast of North America from Labrador to Florida. + +In historic times we know of the occurrence on the islands near Labrador, +Greenland--where it certainly used to breed on the east coast, but was +probably only of rare and exceptional occurrence on the west +coast--Iceland, the Faröe Islands, Fair Island between the Orkney and +Shetland Islands (doubtful), Orkneys (Papa Westra), St. Kilda, Skye, and +Waterford Harbour in Ireland. But as breeding stations within historic +times the following only are absolutely certain:-- + + 1. Funk Islands near Newfoundland. + 2. Iceland (Geirfuglasker, Grimsey, Eldey). + 3. Faröe Islands. + 4. St. Kilda. + 5. Orkney Islands. + +While we know of regular occurrence and may assume that the bird has been +breeding on the north and west side of Newfoundland, and in east Greenland +(opposite Iceland). + +The remains of the Great Auk and its eggs in collections are more numerous +than one would think, considering the enormous prices paid for mounted +specimens and eggs. There are at present known 79 or 80 skins, 26 or 27 +skeletons, a great quantity of detached bones, and about 73 eggs. + + I HAVE IN MY MUSEUM: + + 1. One adult female, formerly in the collection of the late Comte de + Riocour at Vitry-le-François, in France. I bought this specimen from + the late Alphonse Boucard, together with the bulk of the birds of the + Riocour collection. It is evidently an adult female, having the white + lines on the bill not very much developed, and showing a distinct grey + tinge on the flanks. This shade is present in both my Great Auks; the + feathers of the flanks, just under the wing, are nearly white, with a + conspicuous, very light grey border. This grey tinge is present in all + females, but appears to be absent in adult males. My bird is apparently + in worn breeding plumage. As it was not very well mounted and the feet + slightly damaged, I had it reduced to a "skin." + + {156} 2. Another adult female. I purchased this from Mr. Rowland Ward, + who had it from Mr. Leopold Field in London, in 1897. According to a + letter, dated Paris le 20 Jan., 1890, written by the late A. Boucard, + who sold it in that year to Mr. Field, the history is as follows: "This + bird was captured in Iceland in 1837, did first belong to Mr. Eimbeck + of Brunswick and afterwards in the collection of Mr. Bruch from + Mayence." We must accept this information by the late A. Boucard as + correct, though it is difficult to understand that in the most + painstaking and exact list of remains of the Great Auk, by Prof. + Wilhelm Blasius of Braunschweig, or anywhere else, no mention is made + of a specimen in the possession of the late Eimbeck, or the late Bruch. + Moreover, we have no explanation where this Auk has been between the + time of Bruch's death and 1890, when Boucard sold it to Mr. Field in + London. + + This specimen has been described as "immature," but this is a mistake. + Evidently it arose from some white speckles being visible on the neck + _in the photograph_ (see Symington Grieve, Trans. Edinburgh Field Nat. + and Micros. Society, explanation to plate III, on page 269). The + specimen itself, however, shows no white speckles, but only worn + feathers, out of which the illusion arose in the photograph. This error + has also been transferred to the admirable treatise on the Great Auk in + the New Edition of Naumann. The grey shade "on the body lower than the + wing," mentioned by Mr. Symington Grieve, is not a sign of immaturity, + but appears in all adult females, though it is said to be absent in + males. + +Some years ago an extraordinary rumour was current in Germany about the +Great Auk in the Brehm collection; it was said to have been exchanged by +the widow of Pastor C. L. Brehm for a rare Dresden cup, and that its +present resting-place was unknown. I do not know who invented this story, +or how it arose, but suffice it to say, that the Auk which was in the Brehm +collection was sold to the late King of Italy, in 1868 or 1869. The +business was concluded by Dr. Otto Finsch, and the money was used for the +benefit of a brother of the late Dr. A. E. Brehm, as it had been the wish +of his father, Pastor Brehm. The specimen was re-stuffed by the late +taxidermist Schwerdtfeger in Bremen and forwarded to a professor in +Florence. It was kept for years at the "Veneria Reale," and recently, when +the collection at that castle was dissolved, was placed in the Museum at +Rome. It is one of the finest Great Auks known. + +{157} + + + + AESTRELATA CARIBBAEA (CARTE). + + (PLATE 37.) + + _Procellaria jamaicensis_ Bancroft, Zoological Journal V, p. 81 + (1835--Nomen nudum!). + + _Pterodroma caribbaea_ Carte, P.Z.S. 1866, p. 93, pl. 10 ("Blue + Mountains in insula Jamaica"). + + _Aestrelata caribbaea_ Giglioli & Salvadori, Ibis 1869, p. 66. + + _Fulmarus caribbaeus_ Gray, Handlist B. III, p. 107 (1871). + + _Aestrelata jamaicensis_ Ridgway, Man. N. Am. B., p. 67; Cory, Cat. + West-Indian B., p. 84 (1892). + + _Oestrelata jamaicensis_ Salvin, Cat. B. Brit. Mus, p. 403 (1896). + +It is surprising that the name _jamaicensis_ has generally been adopted for +this species, as Bancroft gave no description whatever. The first +description is that of Carte, in 1866, which is as follows:--"Head, neck, +back, and wings of a uniform dark sooty brown; vertex and external webs of +the primaries a shade or so darker; abdominal feathers and under +tail-coverts a shade or two lighter than those of the back; upper +tail-coverts and basal portion of tail-feathers of a light grey or dirty +white. The light-coloured patch on the rump is conspicuous when the wings +are expanded, but completely concealed when they are closed. Irides dark +hazel. Tarsi, toes, webs, and nails jet-black. + +"Length about 12¾ inches; expanse of wings 34 inches; length from carpal +joint to tip of first primary 10¾ inches; length of bill, measured from +gape, 1-5/8 inches; length of nasal tubes 5/16 inch; length of interval +between nostrils and commencement of apical curve of upper mandible ¼ inch; +length of tarsi 1-5/10 inches; length of toes, outer and middle, sub-equal +2 inches; length of inner toe 1-5/8 inches. First and second primaries +sub-equal, and about ½ inch longer than the third. Tail about 4½ inches +long and round at extremity. The closed wings extend about 1½ inches beyond +the tail. Hallux small, and in shape triangular." + +"With respect to the habits of the bird, Mr. March has most kindly +furnished me with the following interesting details:-- + +"It is a night-bird, living in burrows in the marly clefts of the mountains +at the east and north-east end of the island. The burrows form a gallery 6 +to 10 feet long, terminating in a chamber sufficiently commodious to +accommodate the pair; from this they sally forth at night, flying over the +sea in search of food (fishes), returning before dawn. It is often seen on +moonlight nights and at sunrise running about the neighbourhood of its +domicile, and sometimes crossing the road, regardless of the labourers +going to their work. I know nothing of its nidification." {158} + +The type of "_Pterodroma caribbaea_" is preserved in the Dublin Museum, and +three specimens are in the British Museum. This bird is one of the rarest +in collections, and all modern collectors have failed to obtain specimens. +Quite recently (1906) Mr. B. Hyatt Verrill published a pamphlet entitled +"Additions to the Avifauna of Dominica." In this unpaginated essay he said +under the heading "_Aestrelata jamaicensis_": "Not uncommon (on Dominica), +but seldom seen during the day. Breeds at La Bime, Pointe Guignarde, and +Lance Bateaux, as well as at Morne Rouge and Scott's Head. In many of the +above localities the musky odour of these birds is very pronounced when +passing the cliffs, wherein they breed, on a calm evening. At dusk they may +often be seen flying about the cliffs in company with myriads of bats that +spend the day in the fissures and crevices. They are very difficult to +procure, and although shot at repeatedly only two specimens have been +obtained." + +From all former evidence we might have well considered this species to be +extinct, but if Mr. Verrill's statement is correct it would be far from +exterminated. I do not, however, know if the Dominica specimens have been +compared with Jamaica examples, and if Mr. Verrill's determination +(apparently made on Dominica) is therefore correct. + +Habitat: Jamaica. {159} + + + + AESTRELATA HASITATA (KUHL). + + _Procellaria hasitata_ (sic) Kuhl, Beitr. z. Zool. Temminck, Pl. Col. + 416 (1826); Gould, B Australia VII, pl. 47 (1845). + + _Procellaria diabolica_ Lafresnaye, Rev. Zool. 1844, p. 168. + + _Procellaria meridionalis_ Lawrence, Ann. Lyceum N.Y. IV, p. 475 + (1848-- ), V, pl. 15, p. 220 (1852). + + _Procellaria rubritarsi_ Newton, Zoologist 1852, p. 3692 (ex Gould's + MS., descr. nulla). + + _Aestrelata haesitata_ Bonaparte, Compt. Rend. XLII, p. 768 (1856), + Elliot, B. N. America II. pl. 60, fig. 1 (1868); Rothsch. & Hart, New + Edition of "Naumann" XII, p. 20 (1903). + + _Aestrelata diabolica_ Bonap., Consp. Av. II, p. 189 (1855). + + _Oestrelata haesitata_ Newton, Ibis 1870, p. 277; Dresser, B. Europe + VIII, p. 545, pl. 618 (1880); Stevens, B. of Norfolk, III, p. 361, pl. + 4 (1890); Salvin, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. XXV, p. 403 (1896). + +Mr. Saunders describes this bird as follows: "The adult has the crown and +nape dark brown, hind-neck white, cheeks and ear-coverts greyish; mantle +dark brown; upper tail-coverts white; central tail-feathers chiefly +brownish-black, the rest more or less white on their basal portions but +broadly edged with brown; forehead and under-parts white; bill black; legs +and feet dusky-yellow. Length 16 inches, wing 11.3 inches. The immature +bird is believed to be mottled with brown on the forehead and to be duller +in tint on the upper parts." + +Though evidently not quite extinct, it seems certain that the fate of this +bird is sealed. In former times it used to breed in great numbers on +several of the West Indian Islands: Hayti, Guadeloupe, and Dominica. Its +last breeding place was the Morne au Diable or Morne Diablotin on Dominica. +There it was searched for in vain by Colonel Feilden, in 1889, who wrote a +lengthy article about it in the "Trans. Norfolk and Norwich Nat. Society" +V. p. 24-39. Mr. Selwyn Branch again, ten years later, ascended La Morne au +Diable, and found the old breeding places deserted. The "Manicou," +evidently an introduced North-American Opossum, Mongoose and rats had +entirely extirpated the "Diable." + +Two-and-a-half centuries ago Père du Tertre found this Petrel breeding on +Guadeloupe, and Père Labat, about forty years later, found it in great +numbers, and gave a long, graphic description of it in his "Nouveau Voyage +aux isles de l'Amérique" (Edit. I, Vol. II, pp. 349-353). These birds were +then known as the "Diable" or "Diablotin," and their flesh was highly +esteemed, and they were even salted and exported to Martinique and other +French islands in great numbers. {160} + +In 1876 Mr. F. A. Ober searched already unsuccessfully for our birds. + +It seems that the disturbance and destruction on their breeding places has +scattered these Petrels about, for specimens have at various times been +taken on the coast of Florida and Virginia, and even as late as 1893 and +1895, inland of the State of New York on Oneida Lake, in Ulster County, +Vermont and Ontario; moreover, a specimen has been killed in 1850 in +Norfolk, England, and an example in the Museum of Boulogne is said to have +been killed in the neighbourhood of that town. + +In an undated and unpaginated pamphlet, received last year in Europe, Mr. +A. Hyatt Verrill informs us that this bird is "not uncommon on the fishing +grounds and in Martinique and Guadeloupe channels," and that he took a +specimen in September, 1904. This statement requires confirmation. + +In collections this bird is very rare. I have the male (in moult) which was +caught on August 28th, 1893 on Oneida Lake, in the State of New York. + +Habitat: West Indian Islands. + +{161} + + + + HEMIPHAGA SPADICEA (LATH.) + + (PLATE 21.) + + _Chestnut-shouldered Pigeon_ Latham, Gen. Syn. Suppl. II, add. p. 375 + (1802--Norfolk Island). + + _Columba spadicea_ Latham, Ind. Orn., Suppl. p. LX, No. 7 + (1802--Norfolk Island); Temminck and Knip, Pigeons, II, p. 1, pl. 1 + (1808--"Friendly Islands."--Errore). + + _Columba gigas_ Ranzani, Elementi di Zool. III, 1, p. 223 + (1821--"Friendly Islands."--Errore). + + _Columba princeps_ Vigors, P.Z.S. 1833, p. 78 (Australia--errore). + + _Columba leucogaster_ Wagler, Syst. Av., Columba spec. 12 + (1827--Norfolk Island). + + _Hemiphaga spadicea_ Salvadori, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. XXI, p. 238 (1893). + +The Norfolk Island Pigeon, _Hemiphaga spadicea spadicea_, is very similar +to the New Zealand Pigeon, _Hemiphaga spadicea novaezealandiae_, but +differs in having the hind-neck coppery or metallic green, sharply defined +from the chestnut back, the wings and upper wing-coverts more greyish, less +greenish, also the lower back and rump somewhat more greyish. + +As far as we know this pigeon was only found on Norfolk Island, the +locality "Australia" being doubtless erroneous. Like so many other birds it +became extinct on Norfolk Island, probably more than half a century ago. + +There are evidently quite a number of specimens in various museums, many of +which have never been recorded. I am aware of the following examples: + + 1 in the British Museum (Cat. B. Brit. Mus. XXI, p. 238). + 3 in the Liverpool Museum (Bull. Liverp. Mus. I, p. 35). + 1 in my own collection (Proc. IV. Orn. Congress, p. 215). + 1 in Philadelphia, U.S. America (Cassin, U.S. Expl. Exp. B, p. 225). + 1 in Frankfurt a.M. (Hartert, Kat. Vogelsamml., p. 189). + 1 in Wiesbaden (Lampe, Jahrb. Nassau Ver. 58). + 1 in Bremen (Hartlaub, Verz. Museum, p. 98). + 1 in Lisbon (Forbes and Rob., Bull. Liverp. Mus. II, p. 130). + 1 in Leyden (Schlegel, Mus. Pays-Bas). + 1 in Vienna (Ibis 1860, p. 422). + 1 in Naples, seen by myself. + 1 in Milan, examined by myself. + +The specimen at Tring was bought at the auction of the "Cumberland Museum" +at Distington. + +{163} + + + + ALECTROENAS NITIDISSIMA (SCOP.) + + (PLATE 22.) + + _Pigeon hollandais_ Sonnerat, Voy. Ind. Orient. II, p. 175, pl. 101 + (1782). + + _Hackled Pigeon_ Latham, Syn. B. II, 2, p. 641, No. 36 (1783). + + _Columba nitidissima_ Scopoli, Del. Flor. and Faun. Insubr. II, p. 93, + No. 89 (1786) (ex Sonnerat). + + _Columba franciae_ Gmelin, Syst. Nat. I, 2, p. 779, No. 51 (1788). (ex + Sonnerat). + + _Columba botanica_ Bonnaterre, Enc. Méth. I, p. 233 (1790). + + _Ramier périssé_ Levaillant, Ois. d'Afr. VI, p. 74, pl. 267 (1808). + + _Columba jubata_ Wagler, Syst. Av., _Columba_, sp. 22 (1827). + + _Alectroenas nitidissima_ G. R. Gray, List Gen. B., p. 58 (1840). + + _Alectroenas franciae_ Reichenbach, Syn. Av., _Columbariae_, p. 2, f. + 1302 (1847). + + _Columbigallus franciae_ Des Murs, Encycl. d'Hist. Nat., Ois. VI., p. + 31, (1854?). + + _Ptilopus nitidissimus_ Schlegel and Pollen, Rech. Faun. Madag., p. 159 + (1868). + + _Alectroenas nitidissimus_ G. R. Gray, Hand-list II, p. 228, No. 9164 + (1870). + + _Alectoroenas nitidissimus_ A. Newton, P. Z. S. 1879, pp. 2-4. + +Sonnerat's original description, translated into English, is as follows: +"It is much larger than the European Woodpigeon; the feathers of the head, +neck and breast are long, narrow, and end in a point. These feathers are +rather curiously constructed, they have the polish, brilliancy, and feel of +a cartilaginous blade. I could not, with the aid of a lens, distinguish +whether these blades were formed by the conglomeration of the barbules, but +we may take it for granted that they are constituted in a like manner to +the wing appendages of the Bohemian Waxwing and the cartilaginous blades of +Sonnerat's Jungle Fowl. The eye is surrounded by naked skin of a deep red; +the back, the wings and the belly are of a dark blue; the rump and tail are +of a very bright carmine red; the beak and iris are of the same colour, and +the feet are black." + +Undoubtedly quite extinct. Only three specimens are known of this bird: one +in Edinburgh, one in Paris, and one in Mauritius. Some bones were collected +by the Rev. H. H. Slater. + +Habitat: Mauritius. {164} + + + + ALECTROENAS(?) RODERICANA (MILNE-EDWARDS). + + _Columba rodericana_ Milne-Edwards, Ann. Sc. Nat. (5) XIX art. 3, p. + 16, pl. 12, ff. 1, 1a, 1b, 1c (1874). + +The original description of the sternum is as follows:--"It belongs to a +species small in size, barely as large as _T. tympanistria_, but evidently +much better built for flight. In fact the most striking characters of this +sternum are the large size of the bouclier, the large size of the lateral +notches, and the shape of the keel, whose anterior angle is not much +produced in front. The coracoidal grooves are large and only slightly +oblique. The lateral branches detach themselves from the bone in front of +the costal facets--they are very widely spread, and stretch more directly +outwards than in the remainder of the species of the family. The lower +lateral branches are equally divergent, and the median blade of the +posterior edge is remarkable from its enlargement. The keel is moderately +prominent, its anterior angle is much rounded, and does not reach the level +of the episternal apophysis, as is the case, as a rule, in the pigeons. All +these peculiarities, to which must be added the general flattening of the +bone which is hardly at all sloped like a roof, separate the pigeon of +Rodriguez very widely, not only from _Erythroena_ and _Turtur_, but also +from _Vinago_. In its shape in general, by the little pronounced keel and +the direction of the latter, this sternum presents certain analogies to the +essentially arboreal species such as those of the genus _Carpophaga_, but +they all differ in having the space for the costal facets on the sides of +the sternum much more extended, the superior lateral branches larger, and +the latter arising further back, so that the lateral notches are smaller. +Up to the present I do not know any genus of the family of _Columbidae_ in +which the sternum can at all be likened to that found recently in +Rodriguez, and therefore in all probability this fossil remainder is of yet +another vanished species, which I propose to call _Columba rodericana_." +(Translated.) + +It is probable that Milne-Edwards's _C. rodericana_ belonged to the genus +_Alectroenas_, and was the representative on Rodriguez of the _Alectroenas +nitidissima_ of Mauritius. 1 humerus in the Tring Museum. + +Habitat: Rodriguez. + +{165} + + + + NESOENAS SALVAD. + +Soles normal, not very broad, only the hind toe with the skin prominently +expanded on the sides. First primary about equal to the sixth. Tail +entirely rufous, composed of twelve feathers. + + + + NESOENAS MAYERI (PREVOST). + + (PLATE 3, FIG. 3.) + + _Columba mayeri_ Prévost & Knip, Pigeons II, pl. 60 (1843). + + _Columba meyeri_ Schlegel & Pollen, Rech. Faun. Mad. p. 111, pl. 36 + (1868). + + _Peristera meyeri_ G. R. Gray, Gen. B. III App. p. 24 (1849). + + _Carpophaga meyeri_ G. R. Gray, fide Bp. Consp. Av. II p. 45 (1854). + + _Trocaza meyeri_ Bonaparte, Consp. Av. II p. 45 (1854). + + _Trocaza meijeri_ Pollen, N.T.D. I p. 318 (1863). + + _Nesoenas mayeri_ Salvadori, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. vol. XXI p. 327 + (1893). + +The following is the description by Salvadori in the "Catalogue of +Birds":--"Head, neck and underparts pale pink, fading into whitish towards +the forehead, cheeks and upper throat, and passing into rather darker pink +on the mantle; remainder of the upper back and the entire wings brown, with +a slight shade of olive and rufous; lower back and rump greyish, the latter +mottled with chestnut; upper tail coverts and tail cinnamon, the outer tail +feathers fading into buff on the outer webs and towards the tips; +undertail-coverts pink, like the mantle; undersurface of the wings ashy +brown, slightly pale on the axillaries, and under wing-coverts iris yellow; +bill yellow, shaded with red towards the base; legs red (fide Shelley). +Total length about 15.5 inches, wing 8.5, tail 6.5, bill 0.86, tarsus 1.3." + +In the live bird the pink soon fades away almost entirely, and the olive +shade on the wings is strongly developed. + +This bird was not found by the Rev. H. H. Slater, during his visit to +Mauritius. As observed by Mons. Paul Carié (Ornis XII, p. 127), the idea +that it is extinct is, however, incorrect, as it can still easily be +procured, though it is rare. M. Georges Antelme, of Mauritius, possesses +the eggs of this pigeon. That it still exists is also evident from two +specimens which were sent to the Zoological Gardens, London, last year, and +are still living there. + +Habitat: Mauritius. {166} + + + + NESOENAS DUBOISI SP. NOV. + + _Pigeons sauvages d'un rouge roussastre_ Le Sieur D.B., Voyages aux + Iles Dauphine ou Madagascar, etc., p. 171 (1674--Bourbon). + +Talking of Wild Pigeons, "Le Sieur D.B." tells us that there were on the +island of Bourbon "others of a russet red colour, a little larger than +European pigeons, with the beak larger, red at base near the head, the eyes +surrounded by a fiery colour, as in the pheasants. At a certain season they +are so fat 'qu'on ne leur voit point de croupion;' they taste very good." + +This passage cannot be meant for a turtle-dove, but the description of the +bill and surrounding of the eyes shows that it refers to a form allied to +_Nesoenas mayeri_. The latter, however, is not entirely russet red, but the +head, neck, underside and back are creamy white, washed with a greyish-rose +colour. Therefore the bird mentioned by Le Sieur D.B. was evidently a +representative of N. _mayeri_ or Bourbon. I name it in memory of Monsieur +Dubois, who was the author of the Voyages of the "Sieur D.B." + +Habitat: Bourbon or Réunion. + +{167} + + + + ECTOPISTES SWAINS. + + _Ectopistes_ Swainson, Zoological Journal III p. 362 (1827--Partim! + _Columba speciosa_ and _C. migratoria_ mentioned as types, but ten + years later the genus _Ectopistes_ was restricted to _C. migratoria_ by + the same author). + +Tail very long and excessively cuneate, the central rectrices sharply +pointed. First primary of the wing longest. Tarsus very short, in front +half covered with feathers. Now, only the Passenger Pigeon is included in +this genus, while formerly the _Zenaidura carolinensis_ auct. used to be +associated with it. + + + + ECTOPISTES MACROURA (L.) + + PASSENGER PIGEON. + + _Columba macroura_ Linnaeus, Syst. Nat. Ed. X p. 164 (1758--Ex Catesby, + Carolina I p. 23, pl. 23 [1754]. "Habitat in Canada, hybernat in + Carolina." Regarding the necessity of accepting this name see Bangs, + Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington XIX p. 42, and Auk 1906, pp. 474, 475. The + conclusions of Messrs. Bangs and Allen are perfectly correct). + + _Columba canadensis_ Linnaeus, Syst. Nat. Ed. XII, p. 284 (1766--Ex + Brisson, Orn. I p. 118. Habitat in Canada. Cf. note of Salvadori, Cat. + B. Brit. Mus. XXI, p. 369). + + _Columba migratoria_ Linnaeus, Syst. Nat. Ed. XII p. 285 (Ex Frisch, + pl. 142, Kalm., Brisson I, p. 100, Catesby. "Habitat in America + Septentrionali copiosissima ..."); Wilson, Amer. Orn. I p. 102, pl. + XLIX (1808); Temminck & Knip, Pigeons I, seconde fam., pls. 48, 49 + (1808-11); Audubon, Orn. Biogr. I, p. 319 (1831); Baird, Brewer & + Ridgway, Hist. N.A.B., Land-Birds III, p. 368, pl. 57, 4 (1874). + + _Pigeon de Passage_ Buffon, Hist. Nat. Ois. II, p. 527 (1771). + + _Tourterelle du Canada_ Daubenton, Pl. Enl. 176. + + _Columba Histrio_ P.L.S. Müller, Natursyst. Suppl. p. 134 (1776--ex + Buffon). + + _Columba ventralis_ id., l.c. p. 134 (1776--ex Buffon). + + _Ectopistes migratoria_ Swainson, Zool. Journal III, p. 362 (1827); + Gould, B. Europe, pl. 247 (1848); Coues, B. North-West, p. 387 (1874); + Maynard, B. E. North America, p. 335 (1881). + + _Trygon migratoria_ Brehm, Handb. Naturg. Vög. Deutschl., p. 495 + (1831). + + _Ectopistes migratorius_ G. R. Gray, Gen. B. II, p. 471 (1844); + Brewster, Auk 1889, pp. 286-291; Bendire, Life-History N. Amer. B., p. + 132; Salvadori, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. XXI, p. 370; Proc. Delaware Valley + Ornith. Club II, p. 17 (1898); A.O.U. Check-List (Ed. II) p. 120, No. + 315 (1895); Wintle, B. Montreal, p. 51 (1896); Minot, B. New England, + p. 395 (1895); Auk 1903, p. 66. + + _Trygon gregaria_ Brehm, Vogelfang, p. 258 (1855). + +It is true that Linnaeus' diagnosis of his _Columba macroura_ is very +short, reading, as it does, as follows: "Columba cauda cuneiformi longa, +pectore purpurascente." These words, however, are clearly taken from +Catesby, who gives an excellent figure and description, as is also the +"Habitat," viz.: {168} Habitat in Canada, hybernat in Carolina, though +Linnaeus first quotes Edwards 15, pl. 15, where an entirely different bird +is described and figured. (Cf. Bangs, l.c.) + +The Passenger Pigeon in former times occurred throughout North America in +great abundance, from the Atlantic to the great Central Plains, and from +the Southern States, where it rarely occurred, north to at least 62° +northern latitude. Being a migrant, this bird used to migrate southwards +after the breeding season, and to return to their homes in spring, but it +also shifted its quarters according to the abundance or scarcity of food, +like our Pigeons. Sometimes incredible numbers flocked together. Such +stupendous flights have been described independently by Audubon, Wilson and +others. In 1813 Audubon says that during his whole journey from Hardensburg +to Louisville, fifty-five miles, countless masses of Pigeons continued to +pass over, and also did so during the three following days. "At times they +flew so low, that multitudes were destroyed, and for many days the entire +population seemed to eat nothing else but Pigeons." Where they roosted in +millions, the dung soon covered the ground and destroyed the grass and +undergrowth, limbs and even small trees broke down from the weight of the +birds. "One of the breeding places visited by Wilson, not far from +Shelbyville, Kentucky, stretched through the forest in nearly a north and +south direction. This was several miles in breadth, and upwards of forty +miles in extent. In this immense tract nearly every tree was furnished with +nests wherever there were branches to accommodate them. He was informed by +those who sought to plunder the nests of the squabs, that the noise in the +woods was so great as to terrify their horses, and that it was difficult +for one person to hear another speak. The ground was strewed with broken +limbs, eggs and young Pigeons. Hawks were sailing about in great numbers, +while from twenty feet upwards to the tops of the trees there was a +perpetual tumult of crowding and fluttering multitudes of Pigeons, their +wings resounding like thunder, and mingled with the frequent crash of +falling trees. In one instance he counted ninety nests in a single tree." + +It is only natural that man took advantage of such vast multitudes, and +that they were killed in great numbers, for food, and, maybe, sometimes +wantonly destroyed. Yet it is difficult to understand what brought on their +total destruction, as their power of flight was great, and their vision +remarkably keen. In 1874 Messrs. Baird, Brewer and Ridgway considered them +still common birds, though "their abundance in large extents of the country +had {169} been very sensibly reduced." At that time "in the New England +States and in the more cultivated part of the country, these birds no +longer bred in large communities. The instance near Montpelier, in 1849, is +the only marked exception that has come within my knowledge. They now breed +in isolated pairs, their nests being scattered through the woods and seldom +near one another." In 1895, in the A.O.U. check-list, the authors say: +"Breeding range now mainly restricted to portions of the Canadas and the +northern borders of the United States, as far west as Manitoba and the +Dakotas." + +At the present time the Passenger Pigeon seems to have entirely +disappeared, a small flock in an aviary apparently being all that is left +of it alive. Mr. James H. Fleming, of Toronto, kindly sends me the +following notes, which I think are of the greatest interest:-- + +"The disappearance of the Passenger Pigeon in Ontario dates back at least +forty years, though as late as 1870 some of the old roosts were still +frequented, but the incredible flocks, of which so much has been said, had +gone long before that date, and by 1880 the pigeon was practically +exterminated, not only in Ontario, but over the greater part of its old +range. There are however occasional records of birds taken, for some years +later. An immature bird taken September 9, 1887, in Chester County, +Pennsylvania, is said to be the last for that part of the State[4]; a bird, +also immature, is in my collection, taken in December, 1888, at Montreal, +Quebec. There are other Montreal records of the same date,[5] but with the +exception of one taken at Tadousac, July 26, 1889,[6] these are the last +Quebec records of birds actually taken. In Ontario two were taken at +Toronto in 1890, on September 20, and October 11, both immature females, +the latter is in my collection, as is an adult female taken by Mr. Walter +Brett, at Riding Mountain, Manatoba, May 12, 1892, one of a pair seen. I +also have an adult male taken at Waukegon, Illinois, December 19, 1892. I +was in New York in the latter part of November, 1892, and was then assured +by Mr. Rowland, a well known taxidermist, that he had recently seen several +barrels of pigeons that had been condemned as unfit for food; they had come +to New York from Indian Territory, and I believe had had their tails pulled +out to permit tighter packing. Mr. William Brewster has recorded the +sending of several hundred dozens of pigeons to the Boston market in +December of the same year, and in January, 1893; these were also from +Indian Territory[7]; these are the last records we have of the Passenger +Pigeon as anything more than a casual migrant. The records ceased after +this till 1898, when three birds were taken at points widely apart, {170} +an adult male at Winnipegosis, Manatoba, on April 14,[8] an immature male +at Owensboro, Kentucky, on July 27, now in the Smithsonian Institution, and +another immature bird taken at Detroit, Michigan, on September 14, now in +my collection; these are the last records that can be based on specimens. + +"In 1903 I published a list including sight records, one as late as May, +1902; this latter is possibly open to doubt, but the ones I gave for 1900 +are, I feel confident, correct, as the birds were seen more than once and +by different observers. For all practical purposes, the close of the +Nineteenth Century saw the final extinction of the Passenger Pigeon in a +wild state, and there remained only the small flock, numbering in 1903 not +more than a dozen, that had been bred in captivity by Prof. C. O. Whitman, +of Chicago; these birds are the descendants of a single pair, and have long +ago ceased to breed. It was in an effort to obtain fresh blood for this +flock that I started a newspaper enquiry that brought many replies, none of +which could be substantiated as records of the Passenger Pigeon, and many +referred to the Mourning Dove. I am aware that there has been lately +wide-spread and persistent rumours of the return of the pigeons, but no +rumour has borne investigation, and I feel that Prof. Whitman's small +flock, now reduced (in 1906) to five birds, are the last representatives of +a species around whose disappearance mystery and fable will always gather." + +{171} + + + + FAMILY DIDIDAE. (L.) + +Includes very large and massively-built forms, agreeing with the +_Columbidae_ in the truncation of the angle of the mandible, but with the +extremity of the cranial rostrum strongly hooked. They were totally +incapable of flight, the wing-bones being small, the carina of the sternum +aborted, and the caracoidal grooves shallow and separated from one another. + +Two genera: _Didus_ and _Pezophaps_. + + + + DIDUS LINN. + +Skull with a very large and deeply hooked rostrum, and the nasal and +maxillary processes of the praemaxilla converging anteriorly; the front +region inflated into a sub-conical prominence of cancellous tissue. Neck +and feet shorter than in the succeeding genus. Delto-pectoral crest of +humerus distinct. + +Two species: _Didus cucullatus_ and _Didus solitarius_. {172} + + + + DIDUS CUCULLATUS (L.) + + DODO. + + (PLATES 24, 24A, 24B, 24C.) + + _Walchvoghel_ Van Neck, Voy., p. 7, pl. 2 (1601). + + _Walchvögel_ De Bry, Orient. Ind. pt. VIII, t. 11 (1606). + + _Gallinaceus gallus peregrinus_ Clusius, Exot. Libr. V p. 99 t. 100 + (1605). + + _Dod-eersen_ or _Valgh-vogel_ Herbert's travels 1st ed. (1634) t. page + 212. + + _Cygnus cucullatus_ Nieremberg, Nat p. 231 (with fig. ex. Clus.) + (1635). + + _Dronte_ Bontius, Ind. Orient t. p. 70 (1658). + + _Raphus_ Moehring, Av. gen. 57 (1752). + + _Dodo_ Edwards, Glean. Nat Hist. III p. 179 pl. 296 (1757). + + _Struthio cucullatus_ Linn., S. N. I p. 155 No. 4 (1758). + + _Didus ineptus_ Linn., S. N. I p. 267 No. 1 (1766). + +The first description of this very remarkable bird was given in the account +of the voyage of Admiral Jacob van Neck in 1598, which was published by +Corneille Nicolas at Amsterdam in 1601. It is as follows:--"Blue parrots +are very numerous there, as well as other birds; among which are a kind, +conspicuous for their size, larger than our swans, with huge heads only +half covered with skin as if clothed with a hood. These birds lack wings, +in the place of which 3 or 4 blackish feathers protrude. The tail consists +of a few soft incurved feathers, which are ash coloured. These we used to +call 'Walghvögel,' for the reason that the longer and oftener they were +cooked, the less soft and more insipid eating they became. Nevertheless +their belly and breast were of a pleasant flavour and easily masticated." + +In a large number of works on travel and voyages published in the 17th and +18th Centuries we find all sorts of notices about the Dodo, and numerous +pictures of which I have given outline drawings. From these sources it +appears that the Dodo became extinct about the end of the 17th Century, +_i.e._, 1680-1690. The causes of the extermination of this, perhaps the +best known and most talked about of the recently extinct birds, are not far +to seek. The total inability of flight, the heavy slow gait, and the utter +fearlessness from long immunity from enemies, led to a continual slaughter +for food by the sailors and others who came to and dwelt on Mauritius. But +the final cause of the extermination of this and many other birds in the +Mascarene Islands was probably the introduction of pigs, and also of the +Ceylon Monkey. These animals increased enormously in numbers, ran wild in +the woods, and soon destroyed all the eggs and young birds they could find. +{173} + +It is strange that for many years after great attention had been paid to +the _Dodo_, ornithologists differed conspicuously as to what family it and +the other two Didine species belonged. Many asserted that it was a +Struthious bird, in fact Linnaeus called it calmly _Struthio cucullatus_, +while others just as forcibly declared it to be an abnormal Vulture. The +truth is, that although the _Didunculus strigirostis_ of Samoa, which was +supposed to be its near representative, is not at all closely allied, yet +the two species of _Didus_ and _Pezophaps solitarius_ form a group of very +specialized pigeons. + + THE FOLLOWING IS A LIST OF THE PAINTINGS REPRESENTING THE DODO. + + 1. _Vienna_, in the Library of the Emperor Francis. By Hufnagel, 1626, + reproduced by von Frauenfeldt in his book, 1868. + + 2. _Berlin._ "Altes Museum," Cabinet 3, Division 2, No. 710. By + Roelandt Savery, 1626. + + 3. _Sion House._ Duke of Northumberland. By John Goeimare, 1627. + + 4. _Vienna._ Kunsthistorisches Hofmuseum, formerly Belvedere. By + Roelandt Savery, 1628 + + 5. _London._ Zoological Society, formerly Broderip. By Roelandt + Savery, undated. + + 6. _Pommersfelden, Bavaria._ Count Schönborn, "Orpheus charming the + Beasts." By Roelandt Savery, undated. + + 7. _Haag._ Mauritshuis. "Orpheus charming the Beasts." By Roelandt + Savery. + + 8. _Stuttgart._ Formerly Dr. Seyffer, but sold at his death and since + disappeared. By Roelandt Savery. + + 9. _London._ British Museum, formerly belonging to G. Edwards. + Probably by Roelandt Savery. + + 10. _Emden._ Galerie der Gesellschaft für Bildende Kunst. "Orpheus + charming the Beasts." By Roelandt Savery. + + 11. _Oxford._ Ashmolean Museum. By John Savery, 1651. + + 12. _Haarlem._ Dr. A. van der Willigen, Pz. By Pieter Holsteyn + (1580-1662), not dated. + + 13. _Dresden._ Kgl. Gemälde-Galerie. "Circe and Ulysses." By C. + Ruthart, 1666. + + 14. _Dresden._ Kgl. Gemälde-Galerie. "The Creation of the Animals." + Supposed to be by Franz Francken (1581-1642), no date, and said to be + by a different artist. + +At least 2 _Mauritius Dodos_ have been exhibited alive in Europe, one +brought back by Van Neck in 1599, and which most likely served as the model +for nearly all Roelandt Savery's pictures, and one exhibited in London in +the year 1638, mentioned by Sir Hamon Lestrange. This is almost certainly +the bird afterwards preserved in Tradescant's Museum (1656), and finally in +Oxford (Ashmolean Museum), and probably served for the model of the +supposed Savery picture in the British Museum. + +The Dodo inhabited Mauritius. + + NOTE.--_Didus nazarenus_ Gmelin, based on the "Oiseau de Nazareth" of + Cauche (Descr. de l'ile de Madagascar, p. 130, ff, 1651) is evidently + founded on a mistaken and partly fictitious description of a Dodo, or + rather a mixture of that of the Dodo and a Cassowary. The name was, + perhaps, also a mistake, derived from that of "_Oiseau de nausée_," + which has a similar meaning as "Walghvogel." + +{174} + + + + Explanation of Plates of Dodo. + +_Plate 24._ + + This was taken from the picture by Roelandt Savery in Berlin, but the + wings, tail and bill have been altered, partly from Pierre Witthoos' + picture of the Bourbon Dodo, and partly from anatomical examination. + The tail, however, appears to have been curled over the back in life, + according to most authors. + +_Plate 24 (a)._ + + _Fig. 1._ Reproduction in outline of the Dodo in Savery's Orpheus at + Haag. Vide antea No. 7 in the List of Paintings. + + _Fig. 2._ Outline of Dodo (and Pelican?) in Ruthart's "Circe and + Ulysses" at Dresden. Vide antea No. 13 in the List of Paintings. + + _Fig. 3._ Outline of Dodo (and Pelican?) in Frans Franckens (?) picture + in Dresden. Vide antea No. 14 in the List of Paintings. + +_Plates 24 (b and c)._ + + _No. 1._ Outline of Dodo in Roelandt Savery's picture at Berlin. Vide + antea No. 2 in the List of Paintings. + + _No. 2._ Outline of picture by Roelandt Savery in the British Museum. + Vide antea No. 9 in the List of Paintings. + + _No. 3._ Outline of Dodo in Jacob van Neck's Voyage, Plate 2 (1598). + + _No. 4._ Outline of Roelandt Savery's Dodo, Vienna. Vide antea No. 4 in + the List of Paintings. + + _No. 5._ Outline of Dodo in Broeck's Voyage (Peter van Broeck's Voyage, + 1617). + + _No. 6._ Outline of Dodo in Piso's additions to Jacob Bontiu's Oriental + Natural History, 1658. + + _No. 7._ Outline of Dodo in Sir Thomas Herbert's Relation of some + yeares Travels, 1626. + + _No. 8._ Outline of Dodo in Clusius Exoticorum libri decem, 1605. + + _No. 9._ Outline of Dodo in Joan Nievhof's Gedenkwaerdige Zee and + Lantreize, 1682. + + _No. 10._ Outline of Dodo in John Goeimare's picture at Sion House, + 1627. Vide antea No. 3 in the List of Paintings. + + _No. 11._ Outline of Dodo in Roelandt Savery's picture at + Pommersfelden. Vide antea No. 6 in the List of Paintings. + + _No. 12._ Outline of Dr. H. Schlegel's restoration of the Dodo in + Transactions, &c., of the Amsterdam Academy, vol. 2, 1854. + + _No. 13._ Outline of Dodo in Roelandt Savery's picture, Zoological + Society, London. Vide antea No. 5 in the List of Paintings. + +{175} + + + + DIDUS SOLITARIUS (SELYS). + + RÉUNION DODO. + + (PLATES 25, 25A, 25B.) + + _Great Fowl_ Tatton, Voy. Castleton, Purchas his Pilgrimes, ed. (1625) + I p. 331 (Bourbon or Réunion). + + _Dod-eersen_ Bontekoe, Journ. ofte gedenck. beschr. van de Ost. Ind. + Reyse Haarlem (1646) p. 6. + + _Oiseau Solitaire_ Carré, Voy. Ind. Or. I p. 12 (1699). + + _Solitaire_ Voy. fait par Le Sieur D.B. (1674) p. 170. + + _Apterornis solitarius_ de Selys, Rev. Zool (1848) p. 293. + + _Didus apterornis_ Schlegel, Ook een Wordje over den Dodo p. 15 f. 2 + (1854). + + _Pezophaps borbonica_ Bp., Consp. Av. II p. 2 (1854). + + _Ornithaptera borbonica_ Bp., Consp. Av. II. p. 2 (1854). + + _Didine Bird of the Island of Bourbon_ (_Réunion_) A. Newt. Tr. Zool. + Soc. VI pp. 373-376, pl. 62 (1867). + + _Apterornis solitaria_ Milne-Edw., Ibis (1869) p. 272. + + _? Didus borbonica_ Schleg., Mus. P.B. Struthiones p. 3 (1873). + + _Solitaire of Réunion_ A. Newton, Enc. Brit. II p. 732 (1875). + +The Didine bird of Réunion was first mentioned by Mr. Tatton, the Chief +Officer of Captain Castleton, in his account of their voyage given in +Purchas his Pilgrimes. His account is as follows:-- + +"There is store of land fowle both small and great, plenty of Doves, great +Parrats, and such like; and a great fowle of the bignesse of a Turkie, very +fat, and so short winged, that they cannot fly, being white, and in a +manner tame: and so be all other fowles, as having not been troubled nor +feared with shot. Our men did beat them down with sticks and stones. Ten +men may take fowle enough to serve fortie men a day." + +We then find frequent mention of this bird by Bontekoe in 5 separate +treatises or editions, from 1646 to 1650, and by Carré in 1699. But the +first more detailed description is given by the Sieur D.B. (Dubois) in +1674, which is as follows:-- + +"_Solitaires._ These birds are thus named because they always go alone. +They are as big as a big goose and have white plumage, black at the +extremity of the wings and of the tail. At the tail there are some feathers +resembling those of the Ostrich. They have the neck long and the beak +formed like that of the Woodcocks (he refers to the woodrails, +_Erythromachus_--W.R.), but larger, and the legs and feet like those of +Turkey-chicks. This bird betakes itself to running, only flying but very +little. It is the best game on the Island." {176} + +It will be seen that, while Dubois says the wings and tail are black, +Pierre Witthoos's picture, from which the accompanying plate was partly +drawn, shows the wings yellow. This may either be due to Dubois' faulty +description, or, what is much more probable, the bird brought to Amsterdam, +which Witthoos painted, was somewhat albinistic. The bill in the picture by +Witthoos shows a distinctly mutilated bill, evidently done by the bird's +keeper to prevent being injured by the formidable hook of the untrimmed +bill. In addition to two pictures (the one formerly in the possession of +Mr. C. Dare, of Clatterford, in the Isle of Wight, and a second in Holland, +both by Pieter Witthoos, painted about the year 1670), we know of this bird +only the drawing given in Zaagman's edition of Bontekoe, 1646. In all these +drawings the first four primaries point down and forward, which is probably +owing to the injured condition of the specimen figured, so in the +accompanying plate I had the wing drawn like the true Dodo's and the bill +reconstructed. + +Habitat: Island of Bourbon or Réunion. + +Only known from the above-mentioned descriptions and two drawings. No +specimens existing. + +This bird became extinct between the years 1735 and 1801, because in the +latter year Monsieur Bory St. Vincent made his scientific survey of the +Island, and no such bird existed then; while we know that Monsieur de la +Bourdonnaye, who was governor of the Mascarene Islands from 1735 to 1746, +sent one alive to one of the directors of the French East Indian Company. +Of this, the second living specimen brought to Europe, we unfortunately +have neither drawing nor history. + + + + Explanation of Plates. + +_Plate 25._ + + Drawing of White Dodo from Pierre Witthoos' picture, the bill and tail + being reconstructed from the model of the common Dodo. + +_Plate 25 (a)._ + + _Fig. 5._ Outline of figure of White Dodo in the picture by Pieter + Witthoos circa 1670 vide supra. + + _Fig. 8._ Outline of Woodcut in Zaagman's edition of Bontekoe van + Hoorn, 1646. + + _Fig. 7._ Outline of figure of White Dodo in an edition of Plinius + Secundus about 1643 but without date. + + _Fig. 4._ Outline of Dr. H. Schlegel's reconstruction of the Réunion + Dodo. + +_Plate 25 (b)._ + + Drawing from description of the Sieur D.B. (Dubois), 1674. + +{177} + + + + PEZOPHAPS STRICKLAND & MELVILLE. + +Skull with a moderate rostrum, slightly hooked, and the nasal and maxillary +processes of the praemaxillae diverging anteriorly; the frontal region flat +with but little cancellous tissue. Coracoid stout. Manus armed with an +ossified tuberosity. Neck and feet long. Delto-pectoral crest of humerus +aborted. + +This genus connects _Didus_ with the _Columbidae_. The male is much larger +than the female. + + + + PEZOPHAPS SOLITARIUS (GM.) + + THE SOLITAIRE. + + (PLATE 23, 25A, FIGS. 1, 2, 3.) + + _Solitaire_ Leguat, Voy. deux iles désertes Ind. Or. I pp. 98. 102 + (1708). + + _Didus solitarius_ Gmelin, S. N. I p. 728, n. 2 (1788). + + _Pezophaps solitaria_ Strickland, the Dodo, &c., p. 46 (1848). + + _Didus nazarenus_ Bartl. (nec. Gmel.), P. Z. S. 1851, p. 284, pl. XLV. + + _Pezophaps minor_ Strickland, Contr. to Orn. 1852, p. 19 (?). + +This bird was first made known by Leguat in 1708, but some confusion seems +to have arisen, owing to his applying the same name to them as the Sieur +D.B. (Dubois) gave to the Bourbon Dodo in 1674. This is the original +description:-- + +"The feathers of the males are of a brown-grey colour, the feet and beak +are like a turkey's, but a little more crooked. They have scarce any tail, +but their hind part covered with feathers is roundish, like the crupper of +a hare. They are taller than turkeys. Their neck is straight, and a little +longer in proportion than a turkey's when it lifts up his head. Its eye is +black and lively, and its head without comb on cop. They never fly, their +wings are too little to support the weight of their bodies; they serve only +to beat themselves and flutter when they call one another. They will whirl +about for twenty or thirty times together on the same side during the space +of 4 or 5 minutes. The motions of their wings make then a noise very like +that of a rattle, and one may hear it two hundred paces off. The bone of +their {178} wings grows greater towards the extremity, and forms a little +round mass under the feathers as big as a musket ball. That and its beak +are the chief defences of this bird. 'Tis very hard to catch in the woods, +but easy in open places, because we run faster than they, and sometimes we +approach them without much trouble. From March to September they are very +fat, and taste admirably well, especially while they are young, some of the +males weigh 45 pounds. The females are wonderfully beautiful, some fair, +some brown. I call them fair, because they are the colour of fair hair; +they have a sort of peak like a widow's, upon their breasts, which is of a +dun colour. No one feather is straggling from the other all over their +bodies, they being very careful to adjust themselves, and make them all +even with their beaks. The feathers on their thighs are round like shells +at the end, and being there very thick, have an agreeable effect. They have +two risings on their craws, and the feathers are whiter there than the +rest, which livelily represents the fine neck of a beautiful woman. They +walk with so much stateliness and good grace that one cannot help admiring +them and loving them, by which means their fine mien often saves their +lives." + +The unfortunate Solitaires, owing to the depredations by the pigs and +monkeys introduced by the settlers, and the unceasing slaughter by the +latter, became extinct between the years 1760 and 1780. + +Of their habits we only have the accounts of Leguat:-- + +"Though these birds will sometimes very familiarly come up near enough to +one, when we do not run after them, yet they will never grow tame, as soon +as they are caught they shed tears, without crying, and refuse all manner +of sustenance till they die. + +When these birds build their nests, they choose a clean place, gather +together some palm leaves for that purpose, and heap them up a foot and a +half high from the ground, on which they sit. They never lay but one egg, +which is much bigger than that of a goose. The male and female both cover +it in their turns, and the young is not hatched till at 7 weeks end. All +the while they are sitting upon it, or are bringing up their young one, +which is not able to provide for itself in several months, they will not +suffer any other bird of their species to come within two hundred yards +round of the place. But what is very singular is, the males will never +drive away the females, only when they perceive one they make a noise with +their wings to call their own female--she drives away the unwelcome +stranger, not leaving it till it was without her bounds. The female does +the same as to males, which she leaves to the male who drives them away. We +have observed this several times, and I {179} affirm it to be true. The +combats between them on this occasion last sometimes pretty long, because +the stranger only turns about, and does not fly directly from the nest. +However, the others do not forsake it till they have quite driven it out of +their limits. After these birds have raised their young one, and left it to +itself, they are always together, which the other birds are not, and though +they happen to mingle with other birds of the same species, these two +companions never disunite. + +We have often remarked, that some days after the young one leaves the nest, +a company of 30 or 40 bring another young one to it, and the new fledged +bird, joining the band with its father and mother, they march to some bye +place. We frequently followed them, and found that afterwards the old ones +went each their way alone, or in couples, and left the two young ones +together, which we called a marriage." + +Leguat's, d'Heguerty's, and the Abbé Pingré's descriptions were all we had +of this great ground pigeon down to 1866, except a few bones. When Mr. +Strickland proved its distinctness from the Dodo of Mauritius in 1844, and +up to 1852, these bones numbered 18. In 1864 Mr. E. Newton and Captain +Barclay got 3 more bones, in 1865 Mr. Jenner, the resident magistrate, +collected 8 bones, and in 1866 nearly 2,000 bones were collected, but +during the Transit of Venus expedition in 1874, a thorough search was made, +and a number of complete skeletons was collected. + +Habitat: Island of Rodriguez. + +Represented in Museums by a number of complete skeletons and a large number +of bones. + + + + Explanation of Plates. + +_Plate 23._ + + Coloured drawing made from Leguat's description and figure. + +_Plate 25 (a)._ + + _Fig. 1._ Outline of figure in Leguat's Voyage, 1708. + + _Fig. 2._ Outline of Schlegel's reconstructed figure of the Solitaire, + 1854. + + _Fig. 3._ Outline of Solitaire in Frontispiece to Leguat's Voyage, + 1708. + +{181} + + + + TYMPANUCHUS CUPIDO (L.) + + HEATH HEN. + + _Tetrao cupido_ Linnaeus, Syst. Nat. Ed. X, p. 160 (1758--ex Catesby, + Carolina II, App. p. 1, pl. 1, 1743. "Habitat in Virginia"); Vieillot, + Gal. Ois. II, p. 55, p. 219 (1825). + + _Pinnated Grouse_ Latham, Gen. Syn. II, 2, p. 740 (1783). + + _Bonasa cupido_ Stephens, in Shaw's Gen. Zool. XI, p. 299 (1819--New + Jersey and Long Island). + + _Cupidonia cupido_ Baird, B. N. Am. p. 628 (1860--partim); Maynard, B. + E. Massach. p. 138 (1870--Martha's Vineyard and Naushon Island); + Brewster, Auk 1885, p. 82 (Massachusetts). + + _Cupidonia cupido var. cupido_ Baird, Brewer & Ridgway, N. Amer. B. + III, p. 440 (1874). + + _Cupidonia cupido brewsteri_ Coues, Key N.A.B., App. p. 884 (1887). + + _Tympanuchus cupido_ Ridgway, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. VIII, p. 355 (1885); + Bendire, Life-Hist. N. Amer. B. I, p. 93 (1892); Grant, Cat. B. Brit. + B. XXII, p. 77; Check-List N. Amer. B. Ed. II, p. 115, No. 306 (1895); + Hartlaub, Abh. Naturw. Ver. Bremen XIV, 1 (second ed. of separate copy, + p. 15) (1896). + +Linnaeus' brief diagnosis is: "Tetrao pedibus hirsutis alis succenturiatis +cervicalibus." After the habitat he adds: "Color Tetricis feminae; vertex +subcristatus; a tergo colli duae parvae alae: singulae pennis quinque." +This diagnosis is taken from Catesby, who gives a fairly good description +and a recognizable coloured plate. He specially mentions that the +neck-tufts are composed of five feathers, and in his figure they are shown +to be much pointed. Catesby expressly states that he does not know exactly +from which part of America his specimen came--yet Linnaeus says "Habitat in +Virginia." + +Formerly the Heath Hen inhabited New England and part of the Middle States +(Southern Connecticut, Long Island, New Jersey, Nantucket, Eastern +Pennsylvania), but in 1887 Ridgway stated already that it was then +apparently extinct, except on Martha's Vineyard. About that time it was +still common on that island, inhabiting the woods and chiefly haunting oak +scrub and feeding on acorns. They were then "strictly protected by law," +but this protection seems not to have been effectual, as from 1893 to 1897 +a number were killed, skinned, and sold to various museums. This was, +perhaps, fortunate rather than unfortunate, because Mr. Hoyle (the man who +collected them) told us that in 1894 a fire destroyed many of them, and in +the fall of 1897 they were practically gone. But almost worse than this, +perhaps, two pairs of "Prairie Chicken" (_Tympanuchus americanus_) were +liberated and broods of young (of the latter apparently) were seen, so that +it {182} is to be feared that birds shot now on Martha's Vineyards Island +may have blood of _T. americanus_ in them, the two forms being closely +related, somewhat difficult to distinguish, and evidently sub-species of +each other. Nevertheless, a bird taken in 1901 was pronounced to be typical +_cupido_ by Mr. Brewster. + +From these facts it is pretty clear that the Heath Hen is among the birds +the fate of which is sealed, and which, if not already exterminated or +mixed with foreign blood, will soon have disappeared. The footnote in the +Proceedings of the IV. International Ornithological Congress, p. 203, is +herewith corrected. + +{183} + + + + COTURNIX NOVAEZELANDIAE QUOY & GAIM. + + (PLATE 28, FIG. 2.) + + _Coturnix Novae-Zelandiae_ Quoy and Gaimard, Voy. Astrolabe, Zool. I. + p. 242, pl. 24, fig. 1 (1830--"Il habit la baie Chouraki (rivière + Tamise de Cook), à la Nouvelle-Zélande"); Gould, Syn. B. Austr., text + and pl. fig 2 (1837-38); Buller, B. New Zealand, p. 161, pl. (1873); + Hist. B. New Zealand, 2nd ed. I, p. 225, pl. XXIII (1888); Grant, Cat. + B. Brit. Mus. XXII p. 245 (1893). + +This Quail, though a typical _Coturnix_, is easily distinguished from all +other species. The male has the upper-side almost black, each feather +bordered and indistinctly barred with rufous-brown, and with a wide, creamy +white shaft-line. The throat and sides of the head are rufous-cinnamon, the +feathers of the chest and breast at their basal half buff with a broken +black cross-bar, the distal half black, with two pale buff spots near the +tip, or with a continuous white border. + +This sole representative of the "gamebirds" in New Zealand was in former +days very numerous in both islands, but especially so in the South Island, +wherever there was open grass-land, but is now evidently extinct. Its +disappearance is apparently not due to excessive shooting, but rather to +the introduction of rats, cats, and dogs, and last, but not least, to +bush-fires and to the regular burning of the sheep-runs, according to Sir +Walter Buller. No doubt the establishment itself of extensive sheep-farms +in the once, more or less, uninhabited grass-land was ominous for the +future of the Quail. + +It is not quite clear when the Quail disappeared. The last on the North +Island was shot by Captain Mair at Whangarei in 1860. Specimens were +recorded in 1867 and 1869, but were apparently not procured. In Haast's +"Journal of Exploration in the Nelson Province" it is said to be still very +abundant in 1861 on the grassy plains of the interior. + +Sir Walter Buller mentions two specimens said to be from an island in Blue +Skin Bay, shot in "1867 or 1868." In his Second Edition of the Birds of New +Zealand he informs us that it was found occasionally in the South Island +down to 1875, but in the "Supplement" he speaks of a specimen said to have +been shot in 1871, but adds, "There is no absolute evidence of it," and "if +true, this individual bird must have been about the last of its race." +Therefore, evidently the note about 1875 was erroneous. {184} + +The statement of Mr. Cheeseman, that he took eggs on Three Kings Islands is +erroneous. The eggs belonged to a _Synoecus_, and the egg given to Sir +Walter Buller is now in my collection. + +I have, however, also two eggs of _Coturnix novaezealandiae_, brought home +by Dr. H. O. Forbes. They have a brownish-white shell, covered and washed +all over with deep brown patches and lighter brown underlying markings. +They show distinctly the character of Quails' eggs, but, besides being much +larger, are easily distinguished from eggs of _Coturnix coturnix_. They +measure 34.3 by 25 and 34.5 by 21.3 mm. + +Of birds I have in my collection: One [male] ad. Shot at Whangarei, North +Island, by Major Mair, in 1860. (This is the specimen figured in the Second +Edition of the "Birds of New Zealand." I bought it with Sir Walter Buller's +collection eighteen years ago. By a curious _lapsus memoriae_ Sir Walter +Buller, in the "Supplement," p. 35, in 1905, states that this bird was in +his son's collection.) One [female] ad. and one [male] in the first year's +plumage, shot by Messrs. Walter Buller and E. French near Kaiapoi, South +Island, in the summer of 1859. + +Seven specimens are in the British Museum, the types in Paris, three in +Cambridge, a pair in Christchurch in New Zealand, some in the Canterbury +Museum, and doubtless many others, most of which have never been recorded. + +{185} + + + + DINORNITHIDAE. + + MOAS. + +The first announcement of the former existence of large Struthious birds in +New Zealand was made by Mr. J. S. Polack in 1838. In his book _New +Zealand_, he states that he found large bird bones near East Cape in the +North Island. The first specimen, however, that came into the hands of a +scientific man was the bone sent to Professor Owen in 1839 by Mr. Rule, who +reported that the natives had told him that it was the bone of a large +Eagle which they called "_Movie_." Professor Owen, with his extraordinary +knowledge, at once saw that far from any connection with the _Raptores_, +Mr. Rule's bone was a portion of a femur of a gigantic Struthious bird. He +described it on November 12th, 1839, at a meeting of the Zoological +Society, and it was figured on Plate 3 of Volume III of the Transactions of +the Zoological Society. + +The next notice of the Moas takes the form of a letter, received by +Professor Owen from the Rev. W. C. Cotton, dated Waimate, near the Bay of +Islands, New Zealand, July 11th, 1842; and in it the writer gives an +account of his meeting with the Rev. Mr. Wm. Williams, a fellow missionary +at East Cape. The latter had collected a lot of "Moa" bones and sent them +to a Dr. Buckland. Mr. Williams also reported a conversation with two +Englishmen, who declared they had been taken out by a native at night and +had seen a Moa alive, but had been too frightened to shoot it. + +On January 24th, 1843, Professor Owen exhibited a number of bones from Mr. +Williams' collection, and described them, giving the bird the name of +"_Megalornis novaezealandiae_," afterwards changing the generic title into +_Dinornis_, as _Megalornis_ was preoccupied. Afterwards, when describing +these bones and those contained in the second box of Mr. Williams' +collection more fully, he somewhat inconsistently changed the specific name +to _struthioides_, which Captain Hutton, in his later classification, +retained. Following the laws of priority, however (_novaezealandiae_ has 10 +months' priority over _struthioides_), we must reinstate the name +_novaezealandiae_. + +A number of other finds occurred between 1842 and 1847, but by far the +largest and most important collections were made and sent home between 1847 +and 1852 by the Hon. W. Mantell, who sent to Professor Owen many hundreds +of bones and eggshells, from which the Professor was enabled to determine +and describe a large number of species, and even as early as this to +separate some genera. {186} + +The bulk of later finds were made by Sir Julius von Haast, Captain Hutton, +and Mr. Aug. Hamilton, and the two most famous deposits were Glenmark Swamp +and Te Aute; but it would take too much space to give here an account of +all the other extraordinary discoveries of Moa deposits made by such men as +Dr. Thomson, Mr. Earl, Mr. Thorne, Dr. H. O. Forbes, and many others. +Besides many fragments of eggshell, a number of eggs have been found, which +will be enumerated elsewhere. + +Feathers have been found at Clutha River, near Roxburgh, and also in caves +near Queenstown. Those from Clutha are mostly dark, being black with white +tips; while the Queenstown ones resemble feathers of _Apteryx australis_ in +colours. Professor Owen has shown that _Megalapteryx huttoni_ was feathered +down to the toes, and in the plate I have represented it clothed with +feathers similar to the Clutha ones, which I believe belong to this +species. The Moas at one time must have been extraordinarily numerous, both +in numbers and species, and they varied in height from 2½ feet to 12 feet. +Professor Parker has shown that some of the species had crests of long +feathers on the head, and, as some adult skulls of the same forms show no +signs of this, he infers that the males alone had this appendage. There has +been much discussion as to the time when the Moas became extinct, and we +know for certain that the two species, _Dinornis maximus_ and +_Anomalopteryx antiquus_, belong to a much earlier geological epoch than +the bulk of the other species. It would be too lengthy for my purpose to go +into the arguments, but we can, by the study of the "_kitchen middens_" of +Maoris and their traditions, fairly adduce that the Maoris arrived in the +North Island some 600 years ago, that they hunted Moas, and that they +exterminated them about 100 to 150 years after their arrival. In the South, +or rather Central, Island, the Maoris appear to have arrived about 100 +years later, and to have exterminated the Moas about 350 years ago. It is +only fair to say, however, that Monsieur de Quatrefages adduces evidence in +his paper which goes far to prove that Moas existed down to the end of the +18th or even beginning of the 19th century in those parts of the Middle +Island not, or scantily, inhabited by Maoris. + +The _Dinornithidae_ form a separate group of the order _Ratitae_, in no way +closely related to the Australian Emu (_Dromaius_), as many ornithologists +have asserted, but nearer to the South American Nandu (_Rhea_) than any +other living _Ratitae_, though exhibiting many characters in common with +the _Apterygidae_. There have been a number of classifications set up of +this family. The first by Reichenbach, in 1850, with 7 species and 7 +genera! {187} The next was by Von Haast, in 1873, who enumerated 10 +species, divided into 4 genera. The third was Lydekker's, in 1891, who +acknowledged 23 species, divided into 5 genera. Then came Hutton's, in +1892, which left out _Megalapteryx_, with its then known 2 species, and +acknowledged 26 species, divided into 7 genera. Lastly we have Professor +Parker's, in 1895, in which again _Megalapteryx_ is left out, and 21 +species are acknowledged, divided into 5 genera. There has been a great +amount of controversy as to the number of species of Moas which really +ought to be distinguished, and of late years there has been a tendency to +unite most of the species as synonyms, the authors declaring that bones +vary to such a degree that all the characters relied on for the +distinguishing of the various species were individual variations, and that, +besides, it was impossible that so many distinct forms could have occurred +in such a small area. The extreme of this lumping was reached when +Professor Forbes, in the Bulletin of the Liverpool Museums, III, pp. 27 and +28 (1900), divided the Moas into six genera, each with a single species. He +thus ignores the fact that by doing so he has united forms which were +founded on FULLY ADULT bones, and yet some of them were only about half or +two-thirds the size of the others. I personally think that too many species +have been made, and at least 7 of Captain Hutton's forms must be sunk. On +the other hand some have been described since 1895 and 1900, and I have +been obliged to name others rather against my will, so that in spite of +uniting so many species of others I find I am obliged to acknowledge more +species than anyone else. I have divided these into genera according to +Professor Parker's classification, only adding _Palaeocasuarius_ of Forbes, +with 3 species, and _Megalapteryx_, with 5, which brings my number up to 38 +species, divided into 7 genera. My reasons for not uniting these into 7 +species and 7 genera, as those of the "lumping school" do, are +twofold,--first, the bones of the _Ratitae_ are much more solid than those +of other birds, and are not given to so much individual variation; and, +secondly, in the face of the great number of species of Paradise Birds and +Cassowaries found on New Guinea, the contention that there could not be so +many species of Moa on so small an area is not easily maintained. Moreover, +we have strong support in the present fauna and flora for the presumption +that, when the Moas first came into existence and differentiated into +species, New Zealand was a much larger area, stretching at least from the +Macquarie Islands in the south to the Kermadecs in the north, and from Lord +Howe's Island on the west to the Chatham Islands on the east. So that, like +the giant tortoises on the Galápagos Islands, {188} they only got driven so +closely together after their specific differentiation, when the land +gradually subsided, owing to volcanic action. The differentiation of the +family is as follows:-- + + DINORNITHIDAE. + +Skull with a short and wide beak. Pectoral girdle very small or absent, +wing absent, only an indication in _Dinornis dromioides_. Hallux absent or +present. An extension bridge to the tibio-tarsus, which is placed near the +inner border of the bone. No superior notch to the sternum. Most of the +species of very large size. The tarso-metatarsus is either long and slender +or short and wide, and its anterior surface may or may not be grooved. The +second trochlea is longer than the fourth, the third is not pedunculated, +and there is no perforation in the groove between the third and fourth +trochlea. In the tibio-tarsus the cnemial crest rises well above the head; +the extensor groove is separated by a considerable interval from the inner +border of the bone. There is a well-defined intercondylar tubercle; the +intercondylar gorge is deep, and there is no deep pit on the lateral +surface of the entocondyle. The femur may be either slender or stout, but +is not markedly curved forwards. The popliteal depression is deep, and the +summit of the great trochanter rises considerably above the level of the +head. The pelvis approximates to that of the _Apterygidae_, but the +pectineal process of the pubis is less developed, and the ischium and pubis +may be longer and more slender. The coracoid and scapula are aborted and +may be absent. The sternum, which may be either long and narrow, or broad +and short, differs from that of the _Apterygidae_ by the absence of the +superior notch, the divergent lateral processes, and the reduction of the +coracoidal grooves to small facets or their total disappearance. The +cervical vertebrae are relatively short, an expanded neural platform as far +as the sixth. + +In _Anomalopteryx_ and _Megalapteryx_ the number of cervical vertebrae is +21, and there are 2 cervico-dorsal and 4 free dorsal vertebrae, so it is +fair to assume that this is the correct number throughout the family. + +The feathers had after-shafts. + +THE GENERA ARE AS FOLLOWS: + + _Dinornis_ Owen. + _Palapteryx_ Owen, part. + _Palapteryx_ Hutton. + _Tylapteryx_ Hutton. + + _Megalapteryx_ Haast. + _Anomalopteryx_ Lydekker, part. + *_Mesopteryx_ Hutton. + + {189} + _Cela_ Reichenbach. + _Dinornis_ Owen, part. + _Meionornis_ Haast. + _Anomalopteryx_ Lydekker. + _Mesopteryx_ Parker. + + _Emeus_ Reichenbach. + _Euryapteryx_ Haast. + _Syornis_ Hutton. + _Dinornis_ Owen, part. + + _Pachyornis_ Lydekker. + _Palapteryx_ Haast. + _Dinornis_ Owen, part. + _Euryapteryx_ Hutton. + + _Palaeocasuarius_ Forbes. + *_Megalapteryx_ Forbes, part. + + _Anomalopteryx_ Reichenbach. + _Meionornis_ Haast. + _Dinornis_ Owen, part. + +I have adopted Professor Parker's classification in the genera, only +substituting _Cela_ Reichenbach for _Mesapteryx_ Hutton, which is a synonym +of _Megalapteryx_ Haast. As to the species I have used my own judgment; I +felt obliged to name a number of species acknowledged by Parker and +Lydekker but not named, because this system of indicating species by the +letters A, B, C, &c., which has crept into our nomenclature, will make all +understanding impossible, as not always the same species is denoted by the +same letter. A few of these species will naturally later have to be sunk, +as some have been founded on skulls and others on leg bones, or so, which, +when we get perfect individual skeletons may prove to be identical, but I +do not think these will be many. + +Besides a number of imperfect eggs, particulars of which will be found in +Dr. A. B. Meyer's article in the Ibis, 1903, pp. 188-196, there are known +two perfect Moa eggs and one almost perfect one. + + 1. Otago Museum. Molyneux River, 1901. _Pachyornis pondorosus_. + + 2. Tring Museum. Molyneux River, 1901. _Megalapteryx huttoni_. + + 3. Rowley Collection. South Island, 1859. _Dinornis novaezealandiae_. + +{191} + + + + DINORNIS. + +The skull is broad and much depressed, with a comparatively wide, somewhat +pointed and deflected beak. Breadth at the squamosals twice the height at +basi-temporal. It has a flattened frontal region, and a wide median ridge +on the upper surface of the praemaxillae. The mandible is in the form of a +narrow U, with the angle much inflected, no distinct anticular process, and +the symphysis moderately wide, narrowing anteriorly, with a prominent and +broad inferior ridge, widest in front. The quadrate is elongated, with a +very large pneumatic foramen. The sternum is nearly as long as broad, very +convex, with distinct coracoidal facets, 3 costal articulations, very small +and reflected costal processes, the lateral processes very broad and widely +divergent, and a wide xiphisternal notch. The pelvis is narrow with a high +ilium, in which the inferior border of the postacetabular portion is flat, +and does not descend as a sharp ridge below the level of the anterior +postacetabular vertebrae. The pubis has a small pectineal process; and the +ventral aspect of the true and postacetabular vertebrae is very broad and +much flattened. + +The distal extremity of the tibio-tarsus is not inflected. A hallux is +present in some species. The tibio-tarsus and tarso-metatarsus are long and +slender, the length of the latter equalling and more often exceeding the +length of the femur, and also exceeding half the length of the +tibio-tarsus. The femur is comparatively long and slender, with a short +neck, the head rising but slightly and projecting only a small distance, +the linear aspera in the form of a long irregular line, the outer side of +the distal extremity moderately expanded, the popliteal depression small, +deep, and sharply defined, the profile of the inner condyle semi-ovoid and +narrow, and the interior trochlear surface nearly flat. The phalangeals of +the pes are long and comparatively slender, the proximal surface of the +terminal segments not being trefoil-shaped. In the vertebral column the +middle cervicals are long and narrow, with the postzygapophyses directed +much outwardly and separated by a very deep channel, and the posterior face +of the centrum low and wide. The dorsals have short transverse processes +and neural spine, the anterior and middle ones (those with a haemal spine +or carina) having a large anterior pneumatic foramen between the nib-facet, +the foramen being triangular in shape. All the species of this genus are of +comparatively large size, and include the tallest members of the family. + +Type of the genus: _Dinornis novaezealandiae_ (Owen). + +Number of species: 7. {192} + + + + DINORNIS MAXIMUS OWEN. + + _Dinornis maximus_ Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. VI. p. 497 (1868). + + _D. excelsus_ Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIV. p. 110 (1892). + + _D. giganteus_ Haast, Trans. N.Z. Inst. I p. 88, No. 20 part. + +This is the largest species of Moa, the tibio-tarsus being from 37.5 to +39.2 inches in length, while that of the largest _D. giganteus_ does not +exceed 35 inches, but by far the largest number of the latter are +considerably shorter. + +The type bones were obtained in Glenmark Swamp, Middle Island of New +Zealand, and were sent to Professor Owen by Major J. Michael of the Madras +Staff Corps. Casts of these bones are in the British Museum, No. A 161 in +the Palaeontological Department. + +This bird was the tallest of all known birds, though it must have been +considerably exceeded in bulk by _Aepyornis ingens_ and _Aepyornis titan_ +of Madagascar. + +Locality: Glenmark Swamp, Middle Island, New Zealand. + + + + DINORNIS ALTUS OWEN. + + _Dinornis maximus_ Owen, Ext. Birds N.Z. p. 253 (Dr. Lillie's specimen) + (1879). + + _D. altus_ Owen, Ext. Birds N.Z. (1879) p. 361. + + _D. giganteus var maximus_ Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. VI p. 497 (1868). + +Only known by a tarso-metatarsus, femur and tibio-tarsus from the Middle +Island, New Zealand. The bones at once noticeable by their great length, +and are more slender than the same bones in _D. maximus_. This form must +therefore, till further material comes to hand, be treated as a separate +species. + +Locality: Middle Island, New Zealand. Collected by Dr. Lillie. {193} + + + + DINORNIS GIGANTEUS OWEN. + + _Dinornis giganteus_ Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. III p. 237 (1843) and p. + 307 (1846). + + _Moa giganteus_ Reichenbach, Nat. Syst. der Vög. p. XXX (1850). + + _Dinornis maximus_ (non _D. maximus_ Owen of 1867!) Trans. Zool. Soc. X + p. 147 (1877). + + _D. validus_ Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst. p. 111 (1892). + +This is, as regards size, one of the more variable forms in the +tarso-metatarsus, while the tibio-tarsus is remarkably constant. The +tibio-tarsus is almost invariably 35 inches in length, while the +tarso-metatarsus varies from 17.5 to 19 inches in length. + +The type of _D. giganteus_ Owen is from Poverty Bay; the type of _D. +validus_ is from Glenmark. + +Habitat: North and Middle Islands, New Zealand. + +Portion of skeleton in Tring Museum, from Kopua Swamps, Canterbury, New +Zealand. + + + + DINORNIS INGENS OWEN. + + (PLATE 42.) + + _Dinornis ingens_ Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. III p. 237 (1843). + + _Movia ingens_ Reichenbach, Nat. Syst. der Vög. p. xxx (1850). + + _D. ingens var. robustus_ Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. III p. 307 (1846). + + _Palapteryx robustus_ Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. III p. 345 (1848). + + _D. firmus_ Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIV p. 114 (1892). + + _D. potens_ Hutton, l.c. p. 115. + +_D. ingens_ shows considerable variation in size, but the inter-gradation +is so complete that it seems impossible to retain the four species +_ingens_, _firmus_, _potens_ and _robustus_, which Captain Hutton admits. +This form was widely distributed over the North and Middle Islands. The +type skull of _P. robustus_ came from Timaru, the type of _firmus_ from +Wanganui, that of _ingens_ from Poverty Bay, while that of _potens_ is +quoted from the East side of Middle Island, without specific type locality. + +Habitat: North and Middle Islands. + +The plate of this species was reconstructed by Mr. Frohawk from the +skeleton and feathers in my museum, and the feathers found with the +skeleton now in the York Museum. The only criticism that might be made in +connection with this picture is that the feathers are drawn a little too +much like those of _Apteryx australis_, but this is not of any consequence, +as the Moa feathers in the Tring Museum and elsewhere vary considerably in +appearance, though being more or less coloured like _Apteryx_ feathers. + +There is an almost perfect skeleton in the Tring Museum. {194} + + + + DINORNIS GRACILIS OWEN. + + _Dinornis gracilis_ Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. IV (1855) p. 141. + + _D. torosus_ Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIV p. 117 (1892). + +If we acknowledge that _D. novaezealandiae_ occurs both on the North and +Middle Islands, then I feel sure that the distinctness of _D. gracilis_ and +_D. torosus_ cannot be maintained, as the measurements intergrade +completely. + +The type of _D. gracilis_ came from Wanganui, while that of _D. torosus_ is +a nearly perfect skeleton found in a cave at Takaka, near Nelson. + +Habitat: New Zealand. + +There is an imperfect skeleton in the Tring Museum, from a limestone cave +at Takaka, near Motueka, Province of Nelson, New Zealand. + + + + DINORNIS DROMIOIDES OWEN. + + _Dinornis dromioides_ Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. III. p. 235 (1843). + + _Palapteryx dromioides_ Reichenbach, Nat. Syst. der Vög. p. XXX (1850). + + _Palapteryx plenus_ Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIV p. 122 (1892). + +This form also inhabited both islands, but was probably one of the rarest. +The type of _D. dromioides_ came from Poverty Bay, and that of _P. plenus_ +from Glenmark. + +Habitat: New Zealand. + + + + DINORNIS NOVAEZEALANDIAE OWEN. + + _Dinornis novaezealandiae_ Owen, P.Z.S. (1843) p. 8. + + _D. struthioides_ Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. III p. 244 (1844). + + _D. strennus_ Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXV p. 8 (1893). + +Professor Owen changed the name of this form, but we cannot accept this +change, as it is against the laws of nomenclatorial priority, though we all +appreciate the motive the Professor had in making this change. The type +came from Poverty Bay, but the bird inhabits both islands. + +This species had wings. + +Habitat: New Zealand. + +A nearly perfect skeleton in the Tring Museum from Waitomo district, +Auckland, New Zealand. + +{195} + + + + MEGALAPTERYX HAAST. + +Originally distinguished by Haast from the _Dinornithidae_ as an ancient +form of the _Apterygidae_, but afterwards united by Lydekker with the +_Dinornithidae_. Mr. Lydekker's diagnosis of the genus is as follows:-- + +"Distinguished from _Dinornis_ by the extreme slenderness and length of the +femur and tibio-tarsus, and the relatively shorter tarso-metatarsus, of +which latter the length is considerably shorter than that of the femur. The +pelvis is much narrower than in Dinornis, with the ventral surface of the +postacetabular sacrals ridged and narrower, and a more developed pectineal +process to the pubis. The femur is markedly curved forwards, with the +distal extremity moderately expanded, the popliteal depression larger and +less defined, the linea aspera narrower and sharper, and a more distinct +anterior intermuscular ridge." + +The following additional diagnostic characters are taken from Mr. Charles +W. Andrews' description of the complete skeleton of _Megalapteryx tenuipes_ +in the Tring Museum (Nov. Zool. IV, pp. 188-194, fig. 1-2 in text and pl. +VI):-- + +Width of cranium at paroccipital processes less than half the length of the +basis cranii. Length of premaxilla less than two-and-a-half times that of +the basis cranii. Body of the premaxilla pointed and slightly decurved; its +length and breadth less than the basis cranii. The occipital plane slightly +declined backwards. Occipital condyle projecting slightly beyond the +paroccipital processes. Anterior and posterior lambdoidal ridges separated +by a very narrow interval in their middle region only. Width at squamosals +slightly more than double the length of the basis cranii. Mammillary +tuberosities not very prominent. Margin of tympanic cavity evenly curved. +Temporal fossae very large. The distance between the temporal ridges about +four-fifths the width of the cranium at the fossae. The posterior temporal +ridge confluent with the lambdoidal ridge. Post-temporal fossae very large. + +The inferior temporal ridge is strongly marked, and there is a pretympanic +process. The zygomatic process is well developed. Rostrum dilated towards +its anterior end, compressed and carinate beneath the large presphenoid +fossae. Mandible very slender. Posterior angular process small. Sternum +very convex, and with a very nearly straight anterior border between the +tuberosities for the coracoscapular ligaments. Costal processes short but +large, with distinct {196} coracoidal facets. The lateral processes are +long and distally expanded. The sternum is just as wide as it is long. +There are three costal articulations. The most notable character is the +enormous length of the toes, the middle one being longer than the +tarso-metatarsus. The ungual phalanges are peculiarly long, narrow and +curved, instead of being comparatively short and broad, as in most other +Moas. + +Type of the genus _Megalapteryx hectori_, Haast. + +Number of species 4. {197} + + + + MEGALAPTERYX HECTORI HAAST. + + _Megalapteryx hectori_ Haast, Trans. Zool. Soc. XII, p. 161 (1886); + Lydekker, Cat. Fossil B. Brit. Mus., p. 252. + +This form was described by Sir Julius von Haast as a gigantic _Apteryx_. +This error arose from the absence of the skull. There is, however, no doubt +now, since the skulls of _Megalapteryx_ are known, that although +sufficiently aberrant to form a distinct sub-family, the birds included in +this genus are _Dinornithidae_ and not _Apterygidae_. + +Habitat: Middle Island, New Zealand. + + + + MEGALAPTERYX HAMILTONI SPEC. NOV. + + Lydekker, Cat. Fossil Birds in Brit. Mus., p. 252, under _M. tenuipes_ + (1891). + +The type is a left femur, No. 32145 in the British Museum. It is smaller +and relatively narrower than the femur, of either _M. hectori_ or _M. +tenuipes_. This is most noticeable at the distal extremity. + +Habitat: North Island, New Zealand. (Type locality Waingongoro.) + +Named after Mr. A. Hamilton, who did so much in discovering deposits of +extinct New Zealand birds. {198} + + + + MEGALAPTERYX TENUIPES LYD. + + _Megalapteryx tenuipes_ Lydekker, Cat. Foss. Birds Brit. Mus. p. 251 + (1891). + +This species was described from the tibio-tarsus, which is longer and +relatively more slender than in _M. hectori_. Its distal width is about +one-ninth of its length, while in _M. hectori_ it is about one-seventh. The +length of the tibio-tarsus is approximately 0.405 mm. = 16 inches, and +width of distal extremity about 0.044 = 1.74 inches. Type specimens Nos. +49989 and 49990, British Museum. + +Habitat: Middle Island, New Zealand, and perhaps North Island. (Type +locality Lake Wakatipa, Queenstown, Otago.) + +Complete skeleton in the Tring Museum. + +Mr. Lydekker mentions also a right femur from the North Island, of the same +proportions as those of _M. tenuipes_ and 0.255 m. (= 10.1 inches) long. It +may probably belong to a different form, as we know _M. tenuipes_ otherwise +only from the Middle Island. {199} + + + + MEGALAPTERYX HUTTONII (OWEN). + + (PLATE 41.) + + _Dinornis huttonii_ Owen, Ext. Birds, N.Z., p. 430 (1879). + + _Dinornis didinus_ Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. XI, p. 257 (1883). + + _D. didiformis_ Haast, (non Owen 1844) Trans. N.Z. Inst. I, p. 83, Nos. + 5 & 6 (1869). + + _Mesopteryx didinus_ Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIV, p. 129 (1892). + +The synonymy of this form is somewhat confused, but I think it is clear +that _huttonii_ of Owen is its proper name. Professor Owen (Ext. B. p. 430) +says: + +"In the collection from the Glenmark Swamp, South Island, are bones that +scarcely differ, save in size, from the dimensions (? W.R.) of the type +bones of _Dinornis didiformis_ from the NORTH ISLAND. They are noted as of +a large variety of that species." Captain Hutton remarks: "The bones that I +have arranged under the name _D. didiformis_ belong probably to a new +species. The tibia is well marked and quite distinct, but the femur and +metatarsus, that I have associated with it, pass almost into _D. +casuarinus_, but are rather smaller. _D. casuarinus_ is undoubtedly a good +species, easily distinguished by its tibia." Possibly the _Dinornis_ of the +SOUTH ISLAND, with the tibia characteristic of _D. didiformis_ of the NORTH +ISLAND, may need to be noted for the convenience of naming the bones as +_Dinornis huttonii_. + +When describing his _D. didinus_, Professor Owen failed to recognise its +identity with his previously named _D. huttonii_, doubtless owing to the +leg bones being hidden by the dry integument. This being the case, it is +necessary to reinstate the name _huttonii_, as it has four years' priority +over _didinus_. + +Captain Hutton says that a few bones of this form have been obtained in the +North Island at Poverty Bay and Te Aute; but I am convinced he is in error +and that these bones are aberrant individual bones of _A. didiformis_ and +that _M. huttonii_ is confined to the South or rather Middle Island. The +plate of this species has been reconstructed by Mr. Lodge from the +mummified remains which form the type specimen of _Didornis didinus_, and +the feathers found in the alluvial sands of the CLUTHA RIVER. The type of +_Dinornis didinus_ was found at Queenstown by Mr. Squires. + +Habitat: Middle Island, New Zealand. + +Mr. C. W. Andrews, in his description of my complete skeleton of +_Megalapteryx tenuipes_ has shown that Owen's type specimens of his +_Dinornis didinus_ are certainly of a species of the genus _Megalapteryx_, +and closely {200} allied to _M. tenuipes_. Mr. Andrews, however, throws +some doubt as to whether the pelvis and femora, referred to this species by +Hutton, really belong to it. + +A complete egg which I consider must be of this species is preserved in the +Tring Museum. Its measurements are as follows:-- + + Large circumference, 21.4 inches = 535 mm. + Small " 17.5 " = 437.5 mm. + +This egg was dredged up on the Molyneux River, near Otago, during gold +dredging operations in 1901; a second perfect egg was dredged up a few +months before in the same river, and was referred by Dr. Benham to +_Pachyornis ponderosus_. + +{201} + + + + ANOMALOPTERYX REICHENBACH. + +The skull is narrow and vaulted, with a long, sharp and slightly deflected +beak. Breadth at the squamosals 1½ times the height at basi-temporal, which +has a constricted praemaxillary ridge, and the quadrate with a very small +pneumatic foramen. The mandible is V-shaped, with a slight inflection of +the angle, and a distinct postarticular process. The symphysis is very +narrow and pointed, with a long and narrow inferior ridge, not expanding +markedly at either extremity. The sternum is longer, flatter and narrower +than in _Dinornis_, having no distinct xiphisternal notch, three costal +articulations, long and narrow costal processes, slender lateral processes +which are often elongated, and usually no coracoidal facets. The pelvis is +wider and lower than in _Dinornis_, with the lower border of the +postacetabular portion of the ilium descending as a sharp ridge much below +the level of the sacral ribs, and without any distinct pectineal process. A +hallux is present. The tibio-tarsus and tarso-metatarsus are relatively +shorter and stouter than in _Dinornis_, the latter being shorter than the +femur, which is usually stouter and relatively shorter than in +_Megalapteryx_. The length of the tarso-metatarsus is less than half that +of the tibio-tarsus. The femur, besides being usually relatively shorter is +readily distinguished from that of _Dinornis_ by its more expanded +extremities, the rather longer neck, and the much larger and ill-defined +popliteal depression. + +The vertebrae are of the general type of those of _Pachyornis_, but the +anterior pneumatic foramen commences in the third dorsal. The phalangeals +are intermediate between those of _Dinornis_ and _Pachyornis_. Haast +considered that the coracoid was aborted and often absent in this genus, in +_Emeus_, and _Pachyornis_. As additional characters of the skull it may be +mentioned that there is a prominent supra-occipital protuberance, and a +depression on the squamosal above the quadrate; the par-occipital processes +are pointed, and the basi-occipital processes only slightly prominent; so +that the posterior profile of the basi-occipital is nearly straight. The +quadrate has a very short anterior process. + +All the species of the genus are small, in fact _parvus_ is the smallest +but one of the family. + +Type of the genus: _Anomalopteryx didiformis_ (Owen). + +Number of species: 4. {202} + + + + ANOMALOPTERYX DIDIFORMIS (OWEN.) + + _Dinornis didiformis_ Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. III, p. 242 (1844). + + _Anomalopteryx didiformis_ Reichenbach, Nat. Syst. der Vög. p. 30 + (1850). + + _A. didiformis_ Lydekker, Cat. Fossil B. Brit. Mus., p. 275. + +The present form is confined to the North Island. Owen's type was collected +by the Revd. Wm. Williams, and came from Poverty Bay. + +Habitat: North Island, New Zealand. + +Portion of skeleton in Tring Museum. + + + + ANOMALOPTERYX PARVUS (OWEN.) + + _Dinornis parvus_ Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. XI, pp. 233-256, pls. LI-LVII + (1883). + + _Anomalopteryx didiformis_ Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIV, p. 123 + (1892), part. + + _A. parva_ Lydekker, t.c., p. 278. + +This small form is confined to the Middle Island. The type, a skeleton in +almost complete condition, was dug up in a cave at Takaka, near Nelson, and +is now in the British Museum. A much less perfect skeleton is in my museum +at Tring. + +Habitat: Middle Island, New Zealand. + + + + ANOMALOPTERYX ANTIQUUS HUTT. + + _Avian Remains_ Forbes, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIII, p. 369 (1891). + + _Anomalopteryx antiquus_ Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIV, p. 124 (1892). + +_A. antiquus_ was named by Captain Hutton from the photographs of bones +described by Dr. Forbes in the above-quoted article. The evidence is very +slight on which to found a species, but I prefer to treat it as one, for +the bones were discovered in the Upper Miocene, a much older stratum than +most remains of _Dinornithidae_ occur in. + +Locality: Timaru, Middle Island, New Zealand. {203} + + + + ANOMALOPTERYX FORTIS HUTT. + + Anomalopteryx fortis Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXV, p. 9 (1893). + +This is the largest of the genus, and the type bones came from Glenmark. I +append comparative table of Measurements: + + --------------+-------------------+------------------+------------- + | Tarso-metatarsus. | Tibio-tarsus. | Femur. + --------------+-------------------+------------------+------------- + A. fortis | 8.0 inches. | 17.5 inches. | 9.8 inches. + A. didiformis | 6.3 " | 13.3 " | 8.0 " + A. parvus | 6.3 " | 13.7 " | 8.5 " + --------------+-------------------+------------------+------------- + +Locality of Type: Glenmark. + +Habitat: Middle Island, New Zealand. + +{205} + + + + CELA REICHENBACH. + +Skull convex, the temporal fossae very large. Breadth at the squamosals +1.6-1.7 times the height at the basi-temporal. Length from the +supra-occipital to the nasals rather less than the breadth at the +squamosals. Occipital condyle hidden by the supra-occipital. Ridge between +temporal fossae and supra-occipital narrow. Beak short, slightly compressed +and rounded at the tip, though more pointed than in _Anomalopteryx_. Lower +mandible nearly straight and rather slighter than in _Anomalopteryx_, +V-shaped. Sternum with coracoid pits faintly indicated or absent; length +less than breadth. Costal processes well developed, lateral processes +diverging at different angles. + +Pelvis broader in proportion than in _Dinornis_, the acetabula set more +forward. Tarso-metatarsus shorter than the femur, and less than half the +length of the tibio-tarsus. Hallux present in some species. The smallest +species of Moa is _Cela curtus_. + +Type of the genus: _Cela curtus_. + +Number of species: 5. + + + + CELA CURTUS (OWEN.) + + _Dinornis curtus_ Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. III, p. 325 (1846). + + _Cela curtus_ Reichenbach, Nat. Syst. der Vög. p. 30 (1850). + + _Cela curta_ Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIX, p. 550, pl. XLVII, Fig. B. + +This and the following are the two smallest species of _Moa_, having been +about the size of a large turkey. It also is the most abundant species at +Whangarei, and appears to have been most common in the North of the Island. +The type is from Poverty Bay. + +Habitat: North Island, New Zealand. {206} + + + + CELA OWENI (HAAST). + + _Dinornis oweni_ Haast, Trans. Zool. Soc. XII, p. 171, pl. XXXI, XXXII + (1886). + + _Cela curtus_ Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst., XXIV, p. 127 (1892), portion. + +Dr. von Haast (Sir Julius von Haast) took as his type of _Dinornis oweni_ +the almost complete skeleton collected by Mr. Cheeseman in a cave at +Patana, Whangarei, and now in the Auckland Museum. While referring my +readers to the original diagnosis for the specific characters, I wish to +specially draw attention to the fact that Dr. von Haast says that in the +collections he examined, made by Mr. Thorne and Mr. Cheeseman, there are +bones belonging to at least 20 skeletons of his _D. oweni_, and that some +were even smaller than the type, and the only difference was the constant +average difference due to sex. I draw special notice to this, as Captain +Hutton has united this form with _curtus_, saying Haast's type is only a +small individual of that species. The fact of bones of at least 20 +different individuals, showing the same characters and the same differences +from _curtus_, is quite sufficient evidence for me to consider Dr. von +Haast's _D. oweni_ as a distinct species. I append measurements of the leg +bones of the types of _Cela curtus_ and _C. oweni_:-- + + -------------+-------------------+----------------+--------------- + | Tarso-metatarsus. | Tibio-tarsus. | Femur. + -------------+-------------------+----------------+--------------- + _Cela curtus_| 5.0 inches | 11.25 inches | 5.65 inches + _Cela oweni_ | 4.4 " | 9.6 " | 6.5 " + -------------+-------------------+----------------+--------------- + +Locality: Whangarei. + +Habitat: North Island, New Zealand. + + + + CELA GERANOIDES (OWEN.) + + _Palapteryx geranoides_ Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. III, p. 345 (1848). + + _Cela geranoides_ Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIV, p. 126 (1892). + +This species is confined to the North Island. The type came from +Waingongoro. It is most commonly found in the South of the Island. + +Habitat: North Island, New Zealand. {207} + + + + CELA RHEIDES (OWEN). + + _Dinornis rheides_ Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. IV, p. 8 (1850--partim). + + _Syornis rheides_ Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIV, p. 131 (1892). + +This is a very difficult form to consider, as the type bones consisted of +those of three different forms. Whether Professor Owen, were he now alive, +would concur in Captain Hutton's treatment is very questionable, and I +doubt if it ought not to be united to _Emeus crassus_, while Haast united +it to _P. gravis_. I have kept it separate as no bones of a single +individual united are known, and it might prove sufficiently distinct if a +good skeleton were obtained. The type bones were sent from Waikawaite, +Middle Island, by Colonel Wakefield, in 1849. + +Habitat: Middle Island, New Zealand. + + + + CELA CASUARINUS (OWEN). + + _Dinornis casuarinus_ Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. III, p. 307 (1846). + + _Syornis casuarinus_ Reichenbach, Nat. Syst. der Vög, p. XXX (1850). + + _Meionornis casuarinus_ Haast, Trans. N.Z. Inst., VII, pp. 54-91 + (1875). + + _Syornis casuarinus_ Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst., XXIV, p. 133 (1892). + +_C. casuarinus_ is found in both Islands, and is abundant in the Middle +Island. + +The type came from Waikowaiti. + +Habitat: New Zealand. + +Portions of one skeleton and two almost complete skeletons in Tring Museum; +one of the latter from Kapua Swamps. + +{209} + + + + EMEUS REICHENBACH. + +The skull is very short and wide, with a blunt and slightly deflected +rostrum, and a very small pneumatic foramen to the quadrate. The mandible +is in the shape of a wide U, with a slightly inflected angle, and a large +post-articular process. The symphysis is very wide and deeply excavated, +with a broad and slightly prominent inferior ridge narrowing in front. The +sternum resembles that of _Anomalopteryx_, but the pelvis is much wider and +approaches that of _Pachyornis_. The tibio-tarsus and tarso-metatarsus are +relatively shorter and thicker than in _Anomalopteryx_, but less stout than +in _Pachyornis_; the distal extremity of the tibio-tarsus is not inflected. +A hallux is present. The length of the tarso-metatarsus is considerably +less than that of the femur, and than half that of the tibio-tarsus, its +width at the middle of the shaft being rather more than one-fourth of its +length. + +The vertebrae are of the type of _Anomalopteryx_. The species are larger +than most of those of _Cela_ and _Anomalopteryx_. Additional cranial +characters are that the skull usually has very broad and blunt paroccipital +processes; there is no distinct supraoccipital prominence, and no +well-marked depression upon the frontal aspect of the squamosal above the +head of the quadrate. The basi-occipital tubercles are prominent, and give +an arched posterior profile to this bone. The quadrate is elongated with a +long anterior bar; the cavity of the squamosal for the reception of its +head is inclined much more outwardly than in either of the other genera. + +Type of genus: _Emeus crassus_ (Owen). + +Number of species: 6. + + + + EMEUS CRASSUS (OWEN). + + _Dinornis crassus_ Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. III, p. 307 (1846--partim). + + _Emeus crassus_ Reichenbach, Nat. Syst. der Vög., p. XXX (1850). + + _Syornis crassus_ Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIV, p. 132 (1892). + +This species has led to much confusion, owing to Professor Owen having +associated with the real portions of _crassus_ in his possession bones of +_elephantopus_, _ponderosus_ and _struthioides_. The type came from +Waikouaiti. + +Habitat: Middle Island, New Zealand. + +Imperfect skeleton in Tring Museum. {210} + + + + EMEUS BOOTHI NOM. NOV. + + _Emeus_, Species [Alpha], Parker, Trans. Zool. Soc. XIII, p. 379 + (1895), pl. XVI. + +Easily distinguished by the shorter and narrower beak. Type specimen--the +skull found by Mr. R. S. Booth at Stag Point--now in Otago University +Museum, figured as above. + +Habitat: Middle Island, New Zealand. + + + + EMEUS GRAVIPES LYD. + + _Emeus gravipes_ Lydekker, Cat. Foss. Birds Brit. Mus., p. 298 (1891) + Nos. A95, on p. 299, to 47444d, on p. 300. + + _Dinornis gravis_ (portion) Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. VIII, p. 361 + (1872). + + _Euryapteryx gravis_ Haast, Ibis 1874, p. 213. + +The present species is smaller than _E. crassus_ and has the +tarso-metatarsus relatively wider. Length, 198 mm. = 7.8 inches; width at +middle of shaft, 51 mm. = 2 inches. + +Habitat: Middle Island, New Zealand. + + + + EMEUS HAASTI NOM. NOV. + + _Emeus_ species [Beta], Parker, Trans. Zool. Soc. XIII p. 379 (1895). + + _Emeus gravipes_ Lydekker, Cat. Foss. Birds Brit. Mus. p. 301 Nos. + 32017, 32016, a-e and c to 32044 e on p. 307 (1891). + +Sir J. von Haast united this form with _Dinornis gravis_, and the skull +which is the type of _E. haasti_ is put on a skeleton of _D. gravis_ in the +Canterbury Museum. The measurements of this species are much smaller than +those of the other species. + +Habitat: Middle Island, New Zealand. {211} + + + + EMEUS PARKERI NOM. NOV. + + _Emeus_ species [Gamma], Parker, Trans. Zool. Soc. XIII, p. 380 (1895). + +This species is at once distinguished from the other species of the genus +by having right-angled orbits. The type is a skull from Hamilton Swamp, +named _Euryapteryx gravis_, by Prof. Hutton, in the Otago Museum. + +Habitat: Middle Island, New Zealand. + + + + EMEUS EXILIS (HUTT.) + + _Dinornis didiformis_ Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. III, pl. 24 (1846), part. + + _Euryapteryx exilis_ Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIX, p. 552, pl. + XLVIII, Fig. C (1897). + +Differs from _E. crassus_ in the tibia being more convex on the anterior +surface. The skull, among other differences, has a very slight frontal +rising to the cranial roof, as opposed to the very conspicuous one in the +remaining species. The type is a nearly complete skeleton in the Wanganui +Museum. For full description see Hutton, l.c. + +Habitat: North Island, New Zealand. + +{213} + + + + PACHYORNIS LYDEKKER. + +The skull is either vaulted or flattened, with a sharp and narrow beak. The +paroccipital processes are shorter and more rounded, and the basi-occipital +tubercles more prominent than in _Anomalopteryx_, while the quadrate and +mandible resemble the same bones in that genus somewhat closely. The +sternum is flat and very broad and short, with no coracoidal facets, a very +small xiphisternal notch, broad and short costal processes, and widely +divergent lateral processes; while there are only two costal articulations. +The pelvis is extremely low and wide, with the anterior wall of the +acetabulum very deeply concave, the ventral surface of all the vertebrae +behind the true sacrals narrow and convex, and from which the very broad +sacral ribs ascend to join the ilium, of which the inferior postacetabular +border is very sharp, and descends far below the level of the ribs. There +is no pectineal process to the pubis. The tibio-tarsus is very short, with +the shaft curved outwards, the distal extremity markedly inflected, and the +fibular ridge much shorter than in the other genera. The fibular border +below the smooth space at the distal extremity of the fibular ridge is +extremely rough; and the distal extensor tubercle is very prominent, being +situated partly on the line of the upper half of the extensor groove, +instead of being altogether external to the same. + +The tarso-metatarsus is still shorter and wider than in _Emeus_, the width +at the middle of the shaft being usually rather more than one third of the +length. The third trochlea is more prominent than in the other genera, and +rises very abruptly from the shaft, the outer border of the anterior +surface usually expanding suddenly at the proximal extremity, and the outer +ridge of this surface being always more prominent than the inner, whereas +in the other genera the opposite condition obtains. The femur, as compared +with that of _Dinornis_, is very much shorter and thicker, with a longer +neck, and the head rising and projecting very considerably, the linea +aspera mainly forming a rough nodule near the distal end of the shaft, the +outer surface of the distal extremity more suddenly expanded, and the +popliteal depression larger, more open, and leading to the inner surface of +the shaft by a more distinct channel. The profile of the inner condyle is +wider antero-posteriorly, and more rounded, the anterior intertrochlear +surface being deeply channelled. + +The phalangeals of the pes are much shorter and stouter than in _Dinornis_, +the proximal surface of the terminal segments generally presenting a +trefoil-shaped contour. The length of the tarso-metatarsus is very much +{214} less than half that of the tibio-tarsus. In the vertebral column the +cervicals are short with very stout centra, the prezygopophyses in the +middle region being nearly horizontal and separated from one another by a +wide channel. The posterior face of the centra is tall and narrow, and the +neural spines of the last two vertebrae much inclined forward. In the +dorsals there is usually no anterior pneumatic foramen till the fourth (or +the last with a distinct haemal carina), this foramen being situated on the +line of the anterior border of the rib-facet. The third and fourth dorsals +are extremely compressed. Throughout the series also the neural spines and +transverse processes are comparatively long. Additional characters of the +skull are that the sphenoidal rostrum is expanded in a lance-like shape at +the anterior extremity, in a manner unlike that of any of the other genera. + +Then the supraoccipital never has a very strongly developed median +prominence, and the temporal fossae are comparatively short. The mandible +may be readily distinguished from that of the other genera by the low +position of the inner aperture of the dental canal, which pierces the bone +obliquely to join the small lateral vacuity. + +Type of the genus: _Pachyornis elephantopus_ (Owen). + +Number of species: 8. + + + + PACHYORNIS ELEPHANTOPUS (OWEN.) + + _Dinornis elephantopus_ Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. IV, p. 149 (1853). + + _Palapteryx elephantopus_ Haast, Ibis, Ser. 3, vol. IV, p. 212 (1874). + + _Euryapteryx elephantopus_ Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIV, p. 135 + (1892). + +Until Mr. Lydekker described _Pachyornis immanis_, and Mr. Andrews +_Aepyornis titan_, this was undoubtedly the most bulky and ponderous of all +known Ratitae, extinct and living. + +Type: Awamoa, near Oamanu. + +Habitat: Middle Island, New Zealand. + +Two imperfect skeletons in the Tring Museum; one from Kapua Swamps. {215} + + + + PACHYORNIS IMMANIS LYD. + + _Pachyornis immanis_ Lydekker, Cat. Foss. Birds Brit. Mus., p. 343 + (1891). + +This is the most bulky and largest member of the genus, and also of all +_Dinornithidae_. Its living parallel to-day is _Casuarius philipi_ +Rothschild, which, though by no means the tallest species of _Casuarius_, +is the most bulky, and has the shortest and stoutest legs--the +tarso-metatarsus is specially short and stout. + +The type tarso-metatarsus measures 228 mm. = 8.9 inches, and in width +(shaft) 84 mm. = 3.3 inches, while the type tarso-metatarsus of +_elephantopus_ measures 239 mm. = 9.4 inches and 65 mm. = 2.55 inches. + +The skull is much more depressed than in _elephantopus_ and with deeper +temporal fossae and a shorter post orbital region. + +Type: No. A168 British Museum. + +Habitat: Middle Island, New Zealand. + + + + PACHYORNIS ROTHSCHILDI LYD. + + _Pachyornis rothschildi_ Lydekker, P.Z.S. 1891, pp. 479-482, pl. + XXXVIII. + +The bones in the Tring Museum, which form the type of this species, +unfortunately have no history and their locality is unknown. It differs +from the other species of the genus by the slenderer proportions of the +tibio-tarsus, which is 22 inches long by 2.9 inches distal width, as +opposed to 24 inches by 4.2 in _elephantopus_ and 20 inches by 3.5 in +_ponderosus_, the two nearest in size. Femur: length 10.6 as opposed to +12.5 inches in _elephantopus_. {216} + + + + PACHYORNIS PONDEROSUS (HUTT.) + + _Euryapteryx ponderosus_ Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst., p. 137 (1892). + +This species is slightly smaller than _P. elephantopus_, the +tarso-metatarsus varying from 8.25 to 8.0 inches, as opposed to from 9.4 to +9.25 in _elephantopus_; the tibio-tarsus varies from 18.5 to 18.6, as +opposed to 24 to 24.1; femur, 10, as opposed to 13 to 11.8. + +The skull can be distinguished by the processes at the hinder angles of the +basi-sphenoid, which are higher and rounder in _ponderosus_, flatter and +more elongated in _elephantopus_. Type: Hamilton. + +Habitat: Middle Island, New Zealand. + +Cast of egg in Tring Museum, taken from specimen in Otago Museum, dredged +up in 1901 in the Molyneux River, also incomplete skeleton from Kapua +Swamps. + + + + PACHYORNIS INHABILIS HUTT. + + _Pachyornis inhabilis_ Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXV, p. 11 (1893). + +Differs from _ponderosus_ by having the great inward expansion at the +distal end of the tibio-tarsus. This expansion has induced some +ornithologists to separate the species of _Pachyornis_ into two +genera--_Euryapteryx_ and _Pachyornis_--but I do not think this expansion +of sufficient importance to warrant generic separation. + +Habitat: Middle Island, New Zealand. + + + + PACHYORNIS VALGUS (HUTT.) + + _Euryapteryx valgus_ Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXV, p. 12 (1893). + +This species is at once distinguishable from all others by the +extraordinary internal expansion of the distal end of the tibio-tarsus. The +tarso-metatarsus is 8.5 inches = 216 mm. in length and the proximal width +3.5 inches = 89 mm., and does not differ much from _crassus_ except in the +great proximal width, necessary to articulate with the distal internal +expansion described above. + +The type came from Enfield in New Zealand. + +Habitat: Middle Island, New Zealand. {217} + + + + PACHYORNIS PYGMAEUS (HUTT.) + + _Euryapteryx pygmaeus_ Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIV, p. 739 (1892). + +As implied by its name, this is the smallest species of _Pachyornis_, the +tarso-metatarsus only measuring 6 inches in length. The type came from +Takaka. + +Habitat: Middle Island, New Zealand. + + + + PACHYORNIS COMPACTA (HUTT.) + + _Euryapteryx compacta_ Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXV, p. 11 (1893). + +Approaches nearest to _pygmaeus_ in size, but can be at once distinguished +by the distal extremity of the tibio-tarsus not being expanded inwards. The +tarso-metatarsus has the trochleae considerably more expanded than in +_pygmaeus_. + +Type from Enfield in New Zealand. + +Habitat: Middle Island, New Zealand. + +{219} + + + + PALAEOCASUARIUS FORBES. + +Dr. Forbes founded this genus of _Dinornithidae_ on remains of Moas of +three distinct sizes as regards femora collected by him at Manitoto. Dr. +Forbes has kindly placed these bones at my disposal, and the following +summarises the results of my examination. I find that Dr. Forbes' original +idea as to the distinctness of _Palaeocasuarius_ is perfectly justified, as +not only are his characters of the tibio-tarsus, as opposed to those in the +other genera, correct, but the proportions between femur, tibio-tarsus and +tarso-metatarsus are quite different to those of other genera. I give the +proportions of the three bones in _Palaeocasuarius elegans_, _Megalapteryx +tenuipes_, and _Pachyornis elephantopus_, which are the three most nearly +allied genera: + + ------------------------+---------------+--------------+--------------- + | Pal. elegans. | M. tenuipes. | Pach. + | | | elephantopus. + ------------------------+---------------+--------------+--------------- + Femur, length | 10-5/8 inches | 11 inches | 12 inches + Width over condyles | 3½ " | 3½ " | 5 " + Tibio-tarsus, length | 16 " | 15½ " | 33 " + Width at distal end | 2 " | 2¼ " | 3½ " + Tarso-metatarsus, length| 7 " | 6 " | 9 " + Width at centre | 1½ " | 1¼ " | 2¼ " + ------------------------+---------------+--------------+--------------- + +The original diagnosis was as follows, being founded on the tibio-tarsus: +"The tibio-tarsus differs from that of all other genera in being straighter +and less twisted on itself, so that the position of the ridge forming the +inner wall of the groove for the tendons of the extensor muscles run along +the inner side of the bone as in _Casuarius_. As in the latter genus it +takes a marked turn inwards and backwards before joining the epicnemial +crest, while a line joining the centre point between the distal condyles +and the epicnemial ridge leaves a considerable space between it and the +wall of the groove. There is no intercondylar eminence in the intercondylar +channel, and the orifice of the extensor foramen opens more longitudinally +than in the other genera, and points downwards." + +Type of the genus: _Palaeocasuarius haasti_ Forbes. + +Number of species: 3. + +In the following descriptions of the three species I only rely on the +measurements of the femora, as not all the other leg bones of the three +species are available. {220} + + + + PALAEOCASUARIUS HAASTI FORBES. + + _Palaeocasuarius haasti_ Forbes, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIV, p. 189 (1892). + +Femur: length approximately 8.5 inches; width across head and great +trochanter 2.25 inches. Tarso-metatarsus: length 7 inches; width in centre +1.15 inches, at distal end 2.75 inches. + +Type from Manitoto in Liverpool Museum. + +This bird exceeded considerably the cassowary in size, is all the author +tells us of this bird. It is a pity that Dr. Forbes did not insist on the +publication in full of his paper, as proper descriptions of all the twelve +new species are wanting. + +Habitat: New Zealand. + + + + PALAEOCASUARIUS VELOX FORBES. + + _Palaeocasuarius velox_ Forbes, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIV, p. 189 (1892). + +Femur: length 9.5 inches; width across head and trochanter 2.75 inches, +across distal end 2.5 inches. Tarso-metatarsus: length 7 inches; width in +centre 1.5 inches, across distal end 3 inches. + +Type specimen from Manitoto in Liverpool Museum. + +Habitat: New Zealand. + + + + PALAEOCASUARIUS ELEGANS FORBES. + + _Palaeocasuarius elegans_ Forbes, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIV, p. 189 + (1892). + +Femur: length 10.75 inches; width across head and trochanter 3.25 inches, +across distal end 3.4 inches. Tarso-metatarsus: length 7.8 inches, width +over centre 1.75, over distal end about 3.3 inches. + +Type specimen from Manitoto in the Liverpool Museum. + +Habitat: New Zealand. + +{221} + + + + AEPYORNITHIDAE. + +The first notice we have from a scientific man of the existence on +Madagascar of large Struthious birds is the description by Isidore +Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire of two eggs and a few osseous remains, in the +Annales des Sciences naturelles III, Zoologie, vol. XIV (1850). These +important objects were sent to the describer by a colonist of Réunion, +Monsieur de Malavois, but were obtained from the natives in Madagascar by +Captain M. Abadie. A third egg arrived smashed. The name given on this +evidence was _Aepyornis maximus_. + +Since then some 40 eggs at least and a large number of odd bones have been +collected by Monsieur Grandidier, Messrs. Last and others, and Dr. Forsyth +Major, but only one practically complete, and one less complete skeleton of +a smaller species, named _Aepyornis hildebrandti_ by Dr. Burckhardt. + +A large number of species has been diagnosed on the evidence of these bones +and eggs by Professor Milne-Edwards, Mr. Dawson Rowley and Mr. Andrews, and +a second genus, _Mullerornis_, established. + +The following is the diagnosis of the family + + AEPYORNITHIDAE. + +Head less flattened than in the _Dinornithidae_, much longer and narrower. +Brain case much greater in volume. Occipital condyle strongly pedunculate. +Temporal fossae deep and narrow. The basisphenoid has on each side a well +marked pterygoidal apophysis. The lower mandible is straight and stout, +recalling somewhat that of _Rhea_, but the maxillary branches are higher +and stouter. The symphysis is long, contracted, and hollowed out in the +shape of a ladle. The sternum presents many affinities to that of +_Apteryx_. It is a thin plastron, flattened, and much widened. The +coracoidal articular surfaces similar to those of _Apteryx_. The +Coraco-scapulars are feeble, and have so faint an articular surface that +the humerus must have been rudimentary. Hallux absent, outer digit has +five, the middle digit four, and the inner digit three phalanges. + +There are three genera and twelve species. + +A striking character is that in the genus _Aepyornis_ the proximal +extremity of the tarso-metatarsus is larger than the distal extremity, a +feature not found in the majority of other birds. + +Monsieur Grandidier has expressly pointed out that _Aepyornis_ had only +three toes, I cannot, therefore, understand why Messrs. Lydekker and Evans +both state that the hallux is present. {222} + +In spite of the researches of Messrs. Grandidier, Last, and Forsyth Major +and the large collections sent home by them, the number of _Aepyornis_ +bones is infinitesimal compared with the vast masses of bones of the +_Dinornithidae_ contained in the museums. This paucity of material quite +prohibits us from making a critical study of the described species, so that +we are at present unable to say if too many or too few species have been +diagnosed. I am inclined, however, to think that if we ever get complete +skeletons of the larger forms, _Ae. grandidieri_ and _Ae. cursor_ will +prove to be sexes of one species, and also _Ae. titan_ and _Ae. maximus_. +For the present, however, the measurements are too different to allow of +their being united without further investigation. + +The three genera are as follows:-- + +AEPYORNIS T. GEOFF. + + _Aepyornis_ Geoffroy Saint Hilaire. + + _Epiornis_ Geoffroy Saint Hilaire. + + _Epyornis_ Auct. + +MULLERORNIS MILNE-EDWARDS & GRANDIDIER. + + _Mullerornis_ Milne-Edwards and Grandidier. + +FLACOURTIA ANDREWS. + + _Flacourtia_ Andrews. + + _Mullerornis_ Milne-Edwards and Grandidier (part). + +{223} + + + + AEPYORNIS GEOFF. + +Characters same as those of the family; but in opposition to _Mullerornis_ +the species are very heavy, ponderous, and clumsy, the bones being both +actually and comparatively much stouter. Differs from _Flacourtia_ in not +having an ossified boney bridge over lower end of groove for adductor of +outer digit. + +Type: _Aepyornis maximus_ Geoff. + +Number of species: 9. + + + + AEPYORNIS TITAN ANDR. + + _Aepyornis titan_ Andrews, Geol. Mag. 1895, p. 303. + +This appears to be the largest species of the genus, though _Ae. maximus_ +is considerably stouter. In the original description of _Ae. ingens_, +however, the tibio-tarsi referred to that species are really those of _Ae. +titan_:-- + + Smallest Femur. + + Length about 430 mm. + Circumference, narrowest point 280 " + Width, distal end 190 " + Width of shaft at narrowest part 97 " + + Largest Femur. + + Length 470 mm. + Circumference at narrowest point 280 " + Width, distal end 210 " + + Distal part of tibio-tarsus. + + Width at distal end 180 mm. + Width of shaft at narrowest point 77 " + Circumference of shaft at narrowest point 210 " + + Tarso-metatarsus. + + Length 480 mm. + Width at proximal end 190 " + Width at distal end 165 " + Width at narrowest point of shaft 80 " + Circumference at narrowest point of shaft 200 " + +{224} + +The skull, pelvis, and most vertebrae, as well as the sternum of this form +are unknown. + +Habitat: S. W. Madagascar. + +Three Femora, two tarsi-metatarsi, and two incomplete tibia-tarsi are in +the Tring Museum, collected by Last in the Antinosy country. + +There are two eggs of this species at Tring, the measurements of which are +as follows:-- + + No. 1, Antinosy Country, Last. + Large circumference 862.5 mm. + Small circumference 631.5 " + + No. 2 (traded). + Large circumference 883 mm. + Small circumference 763 " + +The egg mentioned by Mr. Lydekker in Cat. Foss. Birds B.M., page 214, No. +41847 is, judging from its size, undoubtedly an egg of this species, and I +quote the measurements, as they are very large:-- + + Largest circumference 921 mm. + Smallest circumference 768 " + +The egg purchased in 1854 in the Paris Museum measures:-- + + Large circumference 925 mm. + Small circumference 753 " + +In addition to these four eggs which are undoubtedly of _Ae. titan_, there +are the following which I consider to belong to that species:-- + + 1 Paris Museum, Mr. Armange. + 1 Hamburg. + 1 Messrs. Gilford, Orange, New Jersey. + 1 Rowley collection. + +These four eggs range from 900 mm. to 863.5 mm. in large circumference, and +770 mm. to 736 mm. in small circumference. {225} + + + + AEPYORNIS MAXIMUS GEOFF. + + _Aepyornis maximus_ I. Geoffrey St. Hilaire, Ann. Sci. Nat. sér. 3, + vol. XIV, p. 209 (1851). + + _Aepyornis ingens_ Milne-Edwards & Grandidier, C.R. CXVIII, pp. 122-127 + (1894). + +This is the stoutest and bulkiest species, though not so tall as _Ae. +titan_. All the largest eggs next to those of _Ae. titan_ must belong to +this species. It will be argued that I have no right to use the name +_maximus_ for this form, but the name of _maximus_ is based on one of the +eggs in the Paris Museum, and as these evidently belong to this form and +not to the form subsequently called _maximus_, I must apply to that the +name of _grandidieri_, given by Mr. Dawson Rowley in 1867 to a portion of +eggshell of the lesser form. + +The measurements of the limbs are as follows:-- + + _Femur._ + + Total length 440 mm. + Width at proximal end 190 " + Width at distal end 200 " + Circumference at narrowest part of shaft 265 " + + _Tibio-tarsus._ + + Total length 780 mm. + Width at proximal end 180 " + Width at distal end 160 " + Circumference at narrowest part of shaft 210 " + + _Tarso-metatarsus._ + + Total length 420 mm. + Width at proximal end 170 " + Width at distal end 160 " + Circumference at narrowest part of shaft 200 " + +The description of the foot in the diagnosis of the family is based on the +pes of this species. It is true that the two mounted skeletons in the +British and Tring Museums of _Aepyornis hildebrandti_ show a larger number +of phalanges; but as neither is composed of the bones of a single +individual it is more than likely that the articulator made a mistake. + +The dimensions of the type egg are as follows:-- + + Large diameter 340 mm. + Small diameter 225 " + Large circumference 850 " + Small circumference 710 " + +Habitat: S. W. Madagascar. + +There are about 16 eggs known of this form, varying from 854 mm. to 816 mm. +in large circumference, and from 743 mm. to 715 mm. in small circumference. +{226} + + + + AEPYORNIS GRANDIDIERI ROWLEY. + + _Aepyornis Maximus_ Auct. + + _Aepyornis grandidieri_ Rowley, P.Z.S. 1867, p. 892. + +This is the form which nearly all the bones, referred erroneously to +Geoffroy's _Ae. maximus_, belong. The original description of Dawson Rowley +was founded on a piece of eggshell, and is as follows:-- + +"The granulation is in a marked degree different from that of the other +pieces. The air pores which in the other specimens appear like a comet with +a tail are here only small indentations without any tail; the shell also is +only half the thickness, is much finer, and presents an aspect so diverse +that the difference is detected by the most careless observer, even when +the pieces are all mixed. These fragments belonged to the egg of much +smaller birds, the embryo of which required less strength in the shell. Yet +the colour, quality and locality of that shell clearly point to a bird of +the same family as _Aepyornis maximus_--in short, a smaller and more +delicate _Aepyornis_. For this species I propose the name of _Aepyornis +grandidieri_." + +The measurements of bones of the hind limb are as follows:-- + + _Femur._ + + Length 320 mm. + Width at distal end 190 " + + _Tibio-tarsus._ + + Length 640 mm. + +There are at Tring two eggs of this species. + + No. 1, traded. + + Length 283.0 mm. + Width 215.0 " + Large circumference 777.5 " + Small circumference 670.0 " + + No. 2 Ambondo, Ambovombé in the district of Fort Dauphin. + + Large circumference 775 mm. + Small circumference 662.5 " + +There are recorded of these eggs, besides the two mentioned above, eight +further specimens, varying from 810 mm. to 771.5 mm. in large +circumference, and 686 mm. to 654 mm. in small circumference. + +In addition to these there are in various collections about eight or nine +eggs whose species is doubtful. {227} + + + + AEPYORNIS CURSOR M.-E. & GRAND. + + _Aepyornis cursor_ Milne-Edwards & Grandidier, C.R. CXVIII, p. 124 + (1894). + +Original description as follows: _Ae. cursor_ is almost as large as _Ae. +grandidieri_ = _maximus_ auct., nec. Geoffroy, but is more slender. + + Length of tarso-metatarsus 380 mm. + Width at proximal end 140 " + Width at distal end 120 " + Circumference of shaft 155 " + Width of shaft 65 " + +Habitat: Madagascar. + + + + AEPYORNIS MEDIUS M.-E. & GRAND. + + _Aepyornis medius_ Milne-Edwards & Grandidier, Ann. Sci. Nat. ser. V, + vol. XII, p. 179 (1869). + + _Aepyornis medius_ Milne-Edwards & Grandidier, Rech. Faune. Orn. Et. + Masc. & Mad. (1866-73), p. 97, note 2. + +This form was founded on a femur found at Amboulitsate in W. Madagascar, +and is described as follows: "It presents the same general characters, and +evidently belongs to an _Aepyornis_, but to a different species, which we +will call _Aepyornis medius_. The femur in question is not only +distinguished by its lesser proportions but by the narrower external face +of the bone; which variation results in causing the whole area between the +trochanter and the base of the femoral neck to be much less depressed. The +intermuscular line, which marks the insertion surface of the deep portion +of the femoral triceps muscle, is hardly indicated, whereas it is very +pronounced in the larger femur. The posterior side is also more rounded, +and the distance which separates the popliteal depression from the proximal +extremity is larger; the shape of this large depression is, however, the +same as in the larger femur, and although the articular surfaces above it +do show some differences, we know that these characters are not very +reliable as they are subject to individual variations. + +Circumference of shaft 215 mm." + +Habitat: West Madagascar. {228} + + + + AEPYORNIS HILDEBRANDTI BURCKH. + + _Aepyornis hildebrandti_ Burckhardt, Pal. Abh. (VI) II, p. 127 (1893). + +I must refer my readers to Dr. Burckhardt's description, as it is too long +and too technical to be reproduced here, especially as it is not +comparative. I, however, give here some of his measurements:-- + + _Tibio-tarsus._ + + _A. grandidieri._ _A. hildebrandti._ + Length 640 mm. 480 mm. + Breadth at proximal end 190 " 130 " + Breadth at distal end 135 " 82 " + + _Tarso-metatarsus._ + + Length circa 375 mm. 275 mm. + Breadth at proximal end 145 " 103 " + Breadth at distal end 145 " 95 " + +The locality of the type is Sirabé. + +Habitat: Madagascar. + + + + AEPYORNIS LENTUS M.-E. & GRAND. + + _Aepyornis lentus_ Milne-Edwards & Grandidier, C.R. CXVIII, p. 124 + (1894). + +Original description as follows: "_Ae. lentus_ is remarkable from its short +and massive feet. + + Length of tarso-metatarsus 360 mm. + Width of proximal end 150 " + Circumference of shaft 170 " + Width of shaft 68 " " + +Habitat: Madagascar. {229} + + + + AEPYORNIS MULLERI M.-E. & GRAND. + + _Aepyornis mulleri_ Milne-Edwards & Grandidier, C.R. CXVII, pp. 124-125 + (1894). + +The original description commences: "The new species which we owe to the +researches of M. G. Muller, and which we shall name _Ae. mulleri_, is +smaller. Nevertheless, it is superior in size to _Ae. hildebrandti_, +described by M. Burckhardt, which also came from Antsirabé. We possess the +almost complete skeleton of this bird, the skull, mandible, vertebrae, +ribs, sternum, a part of the pelvis, the leg bones, and a few phalanges of +the pes; so that we can now exactly define the position and affinities of +the genus _Aepyornis_." Then follows the diagnosis of the family, which I +have given before. + +Habitat: Central Madagascar. + + + + AEPYORNIS MODESTUS M.-E. & GRAND. + + _Aepyornis modestus_ Milne-Edwards & Grandidier, Ann. Sci. Nat. (5) + XII, p. 189 (1869). + +Messrs. Milne-Edwards & Grandidier state at pages 180-181 that the bone (a +portion of a femur) which is the type of the above name, had a +shaft-circumference of 120 mm., while in _Ae. medius_ this circumference +was 215 mm., and in _Ae. grandidieri_ (= _maximus_ auct. nec. Geoffroy), it +was 270 mm. + +Type locality: Amboulitsate, in West Madagascar. + +{231} + + + + MULLERORNIS MILNE-EDWARDS & GRANDIDIER. + +Birds of medium size, not having the heavy and massive build of +_Aepyornis_. They appear to resemble more closely the _Casuaridae_. Known +only from leg bones. + +Number of species: 2. + + + + MULLERORNIS BETSILEI MILNE-EDW. & GRAND. + + _Mullerornis betsilei_ Milne-Edwards and Grandidier, Compt. Rend., + CXVIII, p. 125 (1894). + +Original description as follows:--"The leg bones are slender, the +tarso-metatarsus is not enlarged as in the preceding genus, and the section +through the shaft shows almost an isosceles triangle. The bone itself +having more the proportion of _Dromaius_. + + "Length of tibio-tarsus 390 mm. + Circumference of tibio-tarsus 90 " + Width of tibio-tarsus 30 " + Width of proximal end 75 " + Width of distal end 60 " + Length of tarso-metatarsus 310 " + Circumference of tarso-metatarsus 80 " + Width of shaft of tarso-metatarsus 27 " + Width of proximal end 70 " + +"_Mullerornis betsilei_ inhabited the same area as _Ae. mulleri_ but was +much rarer. (Translated.)" + +Habitat: Central Madagascar. {232} + + + + MULLERORNIS AGILIS MILNE-EDW. & GRAND. + + _Mullerornis agilis_ Milne-Edwards and Grandidier, Compt. Rend., + CXVIII, pp. 125-126 (1894). + +Original description as follows:--"_M. agilis_ inhabited the South-west +Coast; we only possess, of this species, one tibia, which is remarkable for +the manner in which the intermuscular bony ridges and the tendon-grooves +are marked. The exterior border of the bone above the lower articular +surface has developed into a very pronounced crista." (Translated.) + + "Length of tibio-tarsus 440 mm. + Circumference of tibio-tarsus 97 " + Width of tibio-tarsus 34 " + Width at proximal end 65 " + Width at distal end 75 " " + +Habitat: South-west Madagascar. + +{233} + + + + FLACOURTIA ANDREWS. + +Differs from _Mullerornis_ in having a completely ossified bony bridge over +the lower end of the groove for the adductor of the outer digit, in the +tarso-metatarsus. + +Number of species: 1. + + + + FLACOURTIA RUDIS (MILNE-EDW. & GRAND.) + + _Mullerornis rudis_ Milne-Edwards & Grandidier, Compt. Rend. CXVIII, p. + 126 (1894). + + _Flacourtia rudis_ Andrews, Nov. Zool. II, p. 25 (1895). + +Original description as follows:--"The third species _M. rudis_ (= _F. +rudis_) was discovered by M. Grevé in the fossiliferous beds of the West +Coast. The tibio-tarsus is of about the same length as in _M. betsilei_, +but is more massive. The tarso-metatarsus is remarkable on account of the +great enlargement of the distal extremity, and of which the digital +articular attachments are extremely large. Between the middle and outer +ones there is a bony opening for the passage of the adductor muscle of the +outer digit, which passage is not present in _Aepyornis_ (or _Mullerornis_, +W.R.)." (Translation.) + + Length of tibio-tarsus 400 mm. + Circumference of tibio-tarsus 100 " + Width of tibio-tarsus 35 " + Width of distal end 75 " + +Habitat: West Madagascar. + +{235} + + + + DROMAIUS PERONI NOM. NOV. + + (PLATE 40.) + + _Casoar de la Nouvelle Hollande_ Péron, Relat. Voy. Terr. Austr. I p. + 467, pl. XXXVI (1807). + + _Dromoius ater_ Vieillot, Gal. des Ois, pl. 226 (not text). + + _Dromaeus ater_ Blyth, Ibis 1862, p. 93. + +It is most unfortunate that the larger number of authors have neglected to +go carefully into the synonymy of this bird; if they had done so it would +not have been necessary, after 81 years, to reject the very appropriate +name of _ater_, and to rename the Emu of Kangaroo Island. Vieillot, in the +Nouveau Dictionnaire D'Histoire Naturelle X, page 212, distinctly states +that his _Dromaius ater_ was a name given to Latham's _Casuarius +novaehollandiae_, and makes no mention of Péron or of the Isle Decrès. + +The figures in Péron's work of the adult male and female are not good, but +those of the young and nestlings appear to me to be very accurate, and the +plate in the Galérie des Oiseaux is quite excellent. The latter and my own +are taken from the type specimen in the Paris Museum, while the plate in +Péron was done by Lessieur from a series of sketches from life made by +himself on Decrès Island and in the menagerie of the Jardin des Plantes. +The only known specimens of this extinct species are the mounted skin and +skeleton in Paris and the skeleton in the Florence Museum. All these are +what remain of the three living birds brought to Paris by Péron, and no +other authentic specimens exist anywhere. There is in the Museum at +Liverpool a full-grown, though immature Emu of the same size as _Dromaius +peronii_, but owing to its proportionally longer legs and very scanty +plumage it is not absolutely safe to identify it as a second mounted +specimen of _D. peronii_. I will recur to this lower down. + +Description of adult male (ex Cat. Birds Brit. Mus.): Similar to _D. +novaehollandiae_, but much smaller, and with feathers of the neck entirely +black; feathers of the body brown fulvous, with the apical half very dark +blackish brown; bill and feet blackish, naked skin of the sides of the neck +blue. Total length about 55 inches, tarsus 11.40, culmen 2.36. + +Immature in first plumage entirely sooty black. Nestling whitish with +longitudinal bands of rufous brown. In addition to Decrès or Kangaroo +Island, also Flinders, King Islands, and Tasmania had Emus living on them +{236} at the time of Péron's visit, and I believe, if authentic specimens +from these localities were in existence we should find that each of these +islands had had a distinct species or race of Emus. Taking this for +granted, and also taking into account that it is slightly different from +the type of _D. peronii_, I have come to the conclusion that the Liverpool +specimen is an immature, though full-grown individual from one of these +other islands; but it is not possible from this one rather poor specimen to +separate it from the Kangaroo Island species, especially as there is +absolutely no indication of the origin of this specimen. + +Habitat: Island of Decrès or Kangaroo Island. + +One stuffed specimen (Type) and one skeleton in Paris, one skeleton in +Florence, and one stuffed specimen in Liverpool (an species diversa?). Also +some leg-bones in Adelaide, Australia. + +Dr. H. O. Forbes, who kindly lent me the last-named specimen, was the first +to point out the differences of this bird from _D. novaehollandiae_. It is +certainly totally distinct from birds of similar age of either _D. +novaehollandiae_ or _D. n. irroratus_. {237} + + + + DROMAIUS MINOR (SPENCER). + + _Dromaeus minor_ Baldwin Spencer, Vict. Nat. XXIII, p. 140 (1906). + +As Mr. Bernard H. Woodward, of Perth, West Australia, was organising an +expedition to Kangaroo, Flinders, and King Islands (December, 1906), to +hunt for Emu remains on these islands, I had hoped to be the first to +describe what I felt sure would be two new species of _Dromaius_. I have, +however, been forestalled by Professor Baldwin Spencer in the case of King +Island, whence a collection of 17 femurs, 19 tibio-tarsi, 28 +tarso-metatarsi, and portions of 8 pelves, made by Messrs. Alex. Morton and +R. M. Johnston, T.S.O., formed the material for the description of a new +species. + +The diagnosis is as follows: "Smaller than _D. ater_ (= _D. peronii_ mihi). +Tibia not or only slightly exceeding 330 mm. in greatest length. +Tarso-metatarsus not exceeding 280 mm. in greatest length. Pelvis, length +not or only slightly exceeding 280 mm." + +_D. minor_ was a smaller but stouter bird than _D. peronii_. Comparative +dimensions:-- + + _D. peronii_. _D. minor_. + Tibio-tarsus 342 mm. 320-332 mm. + Tarso-metatarsus 290 " 277-287 " + Femur 180 " 170-180 " + Pelvis 340 " 274-280 " + Pelvis, front width 75 " 64 " + Pelvis, width behind acetabular cavity 92 " 78-86 " + +Habitat: King Island, Bass Strait. Now extinct. + + * * * * * + + +{239} + + INDEX. + PAGE + Aechmorhynchus, 119 + Aepyornis, 223 + Aepyornithidae, 221 + Aestrelata, 157 + agilis (Mullerornis), 232 + alba (Notornis), 144 + alba (Porphyrio), 143 + albicilla (Clitonyx), XI + albifacies (Sceloglaux), XI + albifrons (Miro), XI + Alca, 153 + Alectroenas, 163 + Alopochen, X + alphonsi (Astur), 83 + altus (Dinornis), 192 + Amazona, 57 + americana (Meleagris), XII + americanus (Siphonorhis), 43 + Anas, 103 + angustipluma (Chaetoptila), 29 + anna (Ciridops), 41 + Anomalopteryx, 201 + antiquus (Anomalopteryx), 202 + antipodum (Palaeocorax), 1 + Aphanapteryx, 131 + apicalis (Moho), 27 + Apterornis, 145 + Aptornis, 147 + Ara, 51 + Ardea, 111 + Astur, 83 + ater (Dromaeus), 235 + Athene, 75 + aucklandica (Nesonetta), XI + augusta (Amazona), XII + australis (Mergus), XI + australis (Miro), XI + + benedeni (Anas), IX + betsilei (Mullerornis), 231 + bifrons (Metapteryx), X + Biziura, 109 + bonasia (Aphanapteryx), 131 + boothi (Emeus), 210 + borbonica (Emberiza), 7 + borbonica (Pezophaps), 175 + borbonica (Phedina), XI + borbonicus (Fregilupus), 3 + borbonicus (Necropsittacus), 62 + borbonicus (Palaeornis), 67 + borbonicus (Trochocercus), XI + bouqueti (Amazona), XII + Bowdleria, 21 + brachyurus (Rhamphocinclus), XI + Branta, X + brewsteri (Tympanuchus), 181 + broeckii (Aphanapteryx), 131 + bruante (Foudia), 7 + Bubo, 71 + + Cabalus, 127 + caeruleus (Anadorhynchus), 54 + calcitrans (Cnemiornis), 97 + californianus (Pseudogryphus), XII + Camptolaimus, 105 + canadensis (Columba), 167 + cancellata (Aechmorhynchus), 119 + capensis (Upupa), 3 + Carbo, 87 + carribbaea (Aestrelata), 157 + carolinensis (Conurus), XII + Casuarius, X + {240} + casuarinus (Cela), 207 + Cela, 205 + Centrornis, 95 + Cereopsis, 99 + Chaetoptila, 29 + chathamensis (Palaeolimnas), 149 + chathamica (Gallinago), 121 + Chaunoproctus, 9 + Chenalopex, 93 + Chenopis, 91 + Cinclocerthia, XI + cincta (Pogonornis), XI + Circus, 81 + Ciridops, 41 + Clitonyx, XI + Cnemiornis, 97 + coerulescens (Apterornis), 145 + commersoni (Scops), 73 + compacta (Pachyornis), 217 + Conurus, 59 + cooki (Cyanorhamphus), XI + Coturnix, 183 + coudoni (Anser), X + crassus (Emeus), 209 + cucullatus (Didus), 172 + cupido (Tympanuchus), 181 + cursor (Aepyornis), 227 + curtus (Cela), 205 + Cyanorhamphus, 69 + + defossor (Aptornis), 148 + dentirostris (Geospiza), 12 + deppei (Psittirostra), 37 + diabolica (Aestrelata), 159 + Diaphorapteryx, 133 + Dididae, 171 + didiformis (Anomalopteryx), 202 + didiformis (Dinornis), 199 + didinus (Dinornis), 199 + Didus, 171 + dieffenbachii (Nesolimnas), 125 + dimidiata (Monarcha), XI + Dinornis, 191 + Dinornithidae, 185 + Drepanis, 31 + Dromaius, X, 235 + dromioides (Dinornis), 194 + duboisi (Ardea), 114 + duboisi (Mascarinus), 64 + duboisi (Nesoenas), 166 + + ecaudata (Pennula), 137 + echo (Palaeornis), 68 + Ectopistes, 167 + effluxus (Microtribonyx), X + elapsa (Anas), IX + elegans (Palaeocasuarius), 220 + elephantopus (Pachyornis), 214 + ellisi (Prosobonia), 118 + ellisianus (Hemignathus), 33 + Emeus, 209 + eques (Palaeornis), 67 + erythrocephala (Ara), 53 + Erythromachus, 135 + erythronotus (Cyanorhamphus), 69 + erythrotis (Cyanorhamphus), XI + erythrura (Ara), 54 + excelsus (Dinornis), 192 + exilis (Emeus), 211 + exsul (Palaeornis), 65 + + falconeri (Cygnus), X + ferreorostris (Chaunoproctus), 9 + finschi (Anas), 103 + firmus (Dinornis), 193 + Flacourtia, 233 + flaviceps (Telespiza), XI + {241} + Foudia, XI + forsteri (Cyanorhamphus), 69 + fortis (Anomalopteryx), 203 + franciae (Columba), 163 + francicus (Necropsittacus), 62 + Fregilupus, 3 + fuscatus (Psittacus), 70 + fusco-fulvus (Nesacanthis), 7 + + gallinacea (Progura), X + Gallinago, 121 + gigantea (Leguatia), 151 + giganteus (Dinornis), 193 + genibarbis (Myadestes), XI + Geospiza, 11, 12 + geranoides (Cela), 206 + gossei (Ara), 52 + gracilipes (Dromaius), X + gracilis (Cnemiornis), 98 + gracilis (Dinornis), 194 + grandidieri (Aepyornis), 226 + gravipes (Emeus), 210 + Grus, X + guadaloupensis (Ara), 54 + guildingi (Amazona), XII + gutturalis (Cinclocerthia), XI + + haasti (Emeus), 210 + haasti (Palaeocasuarius), 220 + habroptilus (Stringops), XII + haesitata (Aestrelata), 159 + hamiltoni (Circus), 81 + hamiltoni (Megalapteryx), 197 + Harpagornis, 85 + harrisi (Phalacrocorax), XII + hasitata (Aestrelata), 159 + hawkinsi (Diaphorapteryx), 133 + hectori (Megalapteryx), 197 + Hemignathus, 33 + Hemiphaga, 161 + herberti (Didus), 131 + Heterorhynchus, 35 + hildebrandti (Aepyornis), 228 + hochstetteri (Notornis), 142 + huttonii (Megalapteryx), 199 + Hypotaenidia, 123 + hypsibata (Branta), IX + + immanis (Pachyornis), 215 + impennis (Alca), 153 + imperialis (Aphanapteryx), 131 + ineptus (Didus), 172 + ingens (Dinornis), 193 + inhabilis (Pachyornis), 216 + insignis (Ocydromus), 129 + insularis (Xenicus), 23 + Ixocincla, XI + + jamaicensis (Aestrelata), 157 + + labati (Conurus), 59 + labradoria (Camptolaimus), 105 + lanaiensis (Hemignathus), XII + lautouri (Biziura), 109 + leguati (Bubo), 71 + leguati (Erythromachus), 135 + leguati (Necropsar), 6 + Leguatia, 151 + lentus (Aepyornis), 228 + leucopogon (Strigiceps), 30 + leucoptera (Prosobonia), 118 + Lithophaps, X + Lophopsittacus, 49 + Loxops, 39 + lucidus (Heterorhynchus), 35 + lyalli (Traversia), 23 + lydekkeri (Casuarius), X + lydekkeri (Prociconia), X + + mackintoshi (Porphyrio), X + {242} + macroura (Ectopistes), 167 + madagascariensis (Mascarinus), 64 + madagascariensis (Upupa), 3, 4 + magnirostris (Geospiza), 11 + major (Carbo), 88 + majori (Centrornis), 95 + mantelli (Notornis), 141 + martinicana (Amazona), 57 + martinicus (Ara), 53 + Mascarinus, 63 + mascarinus (Mascarinus), 64 + mauritiana (Ardea), 115 + mauritianus (Lophopsittacus), 49 + mauritianus (Sarcidiornis), 101 + maximus (Aepyornis), 225 + maximus (Dinornis), 192 + mayeri (Nesoenas), 165 + medius (Aepyornis), 227 + megacephala (Ardea), 111 + Megalapteryx, 195 + melanocephala (Anthornis), XII + melitensis (Columba), X + melitensis (Grus), X + melitensis (Strix), IX + melitensis (Vultur), IX + Metapteryx, X + meyeri (Columba), 165 + Microtribonyx, X + migratoria (Ectopistes), 167 + millsi (Pennula), 137 + minor (Cnemiornis), 98 + minor (Dromaius), 237 + minor (Ocydromus), 129 + minor (Pezophaps), 177 + Miro, XI, 15 + modestus (Aepyornis), 229 + modestus (Cabalus), 127 + Moho, 27 + Monarcha, XI + moorei (Harpagornis), 85 + moriorum (Palaeocorax), 1 + mulleri (Aepyornis), 229 + mülleri (Hypotaenidia), XI + Mullerornis, 231 + murina (Pyrrhula), XII + murivora (Athene), 75 + murivora (Strix), 75 + + nanus (Plotus), 89 + nazarenus (Didus), 177 + Necropsar, 5 + Necropsittacus, 61 + Nesoenas, 165 + Nesolimnas, 125 + Nestor, 45 + newelli (Puffinus), XI + newtoni (Foudia), XI + newtoni (Genyornis), X + newtoni (Palaeolimnas), 149, 150 + newtoni (Strix), 79 + nigra (Pomarea), 13 + nitidissima (Alectroenas), 163 + nobilis (Palaeopelargus), X + norfolcensis (Nestor), 47 + Notornis, 141 + novaezealandiae (Cereopsis), 99 + novaezealandiae (Coturnix), 183 + novaezealandiae (Dinornis), 194 + novaezealandiae (Psittacus), 69 + novaezealandiae (Thinornis), XII + + oahensis (Phaeornis), 19 + Ocydromus, 129 + Oestrelata, 157 + olivacea (Ixocincla), XI + olivacea (Psittirostra), 37 + {243} + otidiformis (Aptornis), 147 + oweni (Cela), 206 + Oxynotus, XI + + Pachyornis, 213 + pacifica (Drepanis), 31 + pacifica (Hypotaenidia), 123 + pacificus (Cyanorhamphus), 69 + pacificus (Pareudiastes), XII + Palaeocasuarius, 219 + Palaeocorax, 1 + Palaeolimnas, 149 + Pelaeopelargus, X + Palaeornis, 65 + papa (Fringilla), 9 + parkeri (Emeus), 211 + parvus (Anomalopteryx), 202 + patricius (Dromaius), X + Pelecanus, X + Pennula, 137 + peralata (Gallinula), X + peroni (Dromaius), 235 + perspicillatus (Carbo), 87 + perspicillatus (Phalacrocorax), 87 + Pezophaps, 177 + Phaeornis, 19 + pisana (Fulica), X + Platibis, X + plenus (Palapteryx), 194 + Plotus, 89 + Pogonornis, XI + Pomarea, 13 + ponderosus (Pachyornis), 216 + potens (Dinornis), 193 + primigenia (Grus), X + principalis (Campephilus), XII + prior (Fulica), X + prisca (Palaeolimnas), 150 + proavus (Grus), X + proavus (Pelecanus), IX + productus (Nestor), 45 + propinqua (Branta), IX + Prosobonia, 117 + Psittirostra, 37 + pugil (Alopochen), IX + purpurascens (Anodorhynchus), 55 + pusilla (Gallinago), XII + pygmaeus (Pachyornis), 217 + pygmaeus (Ocydromus), 127 + pyrrhetraea (Tringa), 118 + + queenslandiae (Dromaius), X + + Rhamphocinclus, XI + rheides (Cela), 207 + roberti (Tribonyx), 139 + robusta (Aythya), IX + robustus (Dinornis), 193 + rodericana (Alectroenas?), 164 + rodericana (Drymoeca), XI + rodericanus (Necropsar), 5 + rodricanus (Necropsittacus), 61 + rothschildi (Pachyornis), 215 + rudis (Flacourtia), 233 + rufa (Loxops), 39 + rufescens (Bowdleria), 21 + rufifacies (Sceloglaux), 77 + + sandviciensis (Nesochen), XII + sandwichensis (Pennula), 138 + Sarcidiornis, 101 + sauzieri (Strix), 80 + scaldii (Anser), IX + Sceloglaux, 77 + Scops, 73 + sibilans (Myadestes), XI + Siphonorhis, 43 + sirabensis (Chenalopex), 93 + {244} + solitarius (Didus), 175 + solitarius (Pezophaps), 177 + spadicea (Hemiphaga), 161 + subflavescens (Cyanorhamphus), 70 + subtenuis (Platibis), X + sumnerensis (Chenopsis), 91 + stanleyi (Notornis), 143 + strenuipes (Gallinula), X + strenuus (Dinornis), 194 + Strigiceps, 30 + Strix, 79 + struthioides (Dinornis), 194 + sylvestris (Ocydromus), XI + + tannaensis (Platycercus), 70 + tanagra (Turnagra), XI + teauteensis (Circus), 81 + tenuipes (Megalapteryx), 198 + terrestris (Cichlopasser), 17 + terrestris (Geocichla), 17 + terrestris (Turdus), 17 + theodori (Anas), 103 + titan (Aepyornis), 223 + torosus (Dinornis), 194 + traversi (Miro), 15 + Traversia, 23 + Tribonyx, 139 + tricolor (Ara), 51 + trifasciatus (Nesomimus), XII + Turnagra, XI + Turdus, 17 + turfa (Grus), X + Tympanuchus, 181 + typicus (Oxynotus), XI + + valgus (Pachyornis), 216 + validipennis (Dendrocygna), IX + validus (Dinornis), 193 + varia (Fregilupus), 3 + varia (Upupa), 3 + velox (Palaeocasuarius), 220 + versicolor (Amazona), XII + violaceus (Amazona), 57 + + ulietanus (Cyanorhamphus), 70 + ulnaris (Lithophaps), X + unicolor (Cyanorhamphus), XI + + wardi (Palaeornis), 66 + wilsoni (Pennula), 138 + wolstenholmei (Loxops), 39 + + zealandicus (Cyanorhamphus), 69 + + * * * * * + + + PLATES. + + * * * * * + +PLATE 1 + +[Illustration] + + PREGILUPUS VARIUS + (NATURAL SIZE) + + * * * * * + +PLATE 2 + +[Illustration] + + 1. FOUDIA BRUANTE + (NATURAL SIZE) + + 2. NECROPSAR RODERICANUS + (TWO-THIRDS NATURAL SIZE--_from description_) + + 3. NECROPSAR LEGUATI + (TWO-THIRDS NATURAL SIZE) + + * * * * * + +PLATE 3 + +[Illustration] + + 1. GEOSPIZA MAGNIROSTRIS + + 2. GEOSPIZA STRENUA + + 3. NESOENAS MEYERI + + 4. CHAUNOPROCTUS FERREIROSTRIS + + (ALL THREE-FOURTHS NATURAL SIZE--_from skins_) + + * * * * * + +PLATE 4 + +[Illustration] + + 1. HEMIGNATHUS ELLISIANUS + + 2. HETERORHYNCHUS LUCIDUS + + 3. PSITTIROSTRA PSITTACEA DEPPEI + + 4. CIRIDOPS ANNA + + (ALL FIVE-SIXTHS NATURAL SIZE--_from skins_: No. 3 _from type_) + + * * * * * + +PLATE 4A + +[Illustration] + + 1. MOHO APICALIS + (FOUR-FIFTHS NATURAL SIZE--_from skin_) + + 2. CHAETOPTILA ANGUSTIPLUMA + (FOUR-FIFTHS NATURAL SIZE--_from skin_) + + * * * * * + +PLATE 5 + +[Illustration] + + 1. MIRO TRAVERSI + (FOUR-FIFTHS NATURAL SIZE) + + 2 & 2A. TRAVERSIA LYALLI [male] [female] + (FOUR-FIFTHS NATURAL SIZE) + + 3. BOWDLERIA RUFESCENS + + * * * * * + +PLATE 5A + +[Illustration] + + SIPHONORHIS AMERICANA + (NATURAL SIZE) + + * * * * * + +PLATE 6 + +[Illustration] + + FIG. 1. NESTOR NORFOLCENSIS + _From the plate in the Bulletin of the Liverpool Museum_ + + FIG. 2. HEAD OF NESTOR PRODUCTUS + _From the specimen in the Tring Museum_ + (FIVE-SIXTHS NATURAL SIZE) + + * * * * * + +PLATE 7 + +[Illustration] + + LOPHOPSITTACUS MAURITIANUS + (ELEVEN TWENTY-NINETHS NATURAL SIZE--_from drawing and description_) + + * * * * * + +PLATE 8 + +[Illustration] + + NECROPSITTACUS BORBONICUS + (TWO-FIFTHS NATURAL SIZE--_from a description_) + + * * * * * + +PLATE 9 + +[Illustration] + + MASCARINUS MASCARINUS + (THREE-QUARTERS NATURAL SIZE) + + * * * * * + +PLATE 10 + +[Illustration] + + ARA TRICOLOR + (ELEVEN-THIRTEENTHS NATURAL SIZE--_from specimen in Liverpool Museum_) + + * * * * * + +PLATE 11 + +[Illustration] + + ARA GOSSEI + (FOUR-FIFTHS NATURAL SIZE--_from Gosse's description_) + + * * * * * + +PLATE 12 + +[Illustration] + + ARA ERYTHROCEPHALA + (SIX-TENTHS NATURAL SIZE--_from Gosse's description_) + + * * * * * + +PLATE 13 + +[Illustration] + + ANADORHYNCHUS PURPURASCENS + (TWO-FIFTHS NATURAL SIZE--_from a description_) + + * * * * * + +PLATE 14 + +[Illustration] + + ARA MARTINICUS + (TWO-FIFTHS NATURAL SIZE--_from description_) + + * * * * * + +PLATE 15 + +[Illustration] + + ARA ERYTHRURA + (ONE-HALF NATURAL SIZE--_from description_) + + * * * * * + +PLATE 16 + +[Illustration] + + CONURUS LABATI + (NATURAL SIZE--_from Labat's description_) + + * * * * * + +PLATE 17 + +[Illustration] + + AMAZONA VIOLACEUS + (TWO-THIRDS NATURAL SIZE--_from description_) + + * * * * * + +PLATE 18 + +[Illustration] + + AMAZONA MARTINICANA + (TWO-THIRDS NATURAL SIZE--_from Labat's description_) + + * * * * * + +PLATE 19 + +[Illustration] + + PALAEORNIS EXSUL + (THREE-QUARTERS NATURAL SIZE) + + * * * * * + +PLATE 20 + +[Illustration] + + PALAEORNIS WARDI + (THREE-QUARTERS NATURAL SIZE) + + * * * * * + +PLATE 21 + +[Illustration] + + HEMIPHAGA SPADICEA + (TWO-THIRDS NATURAL SIZE) + + * * * * * + +PLATE 22 + +[Illustration] + + ALECTROENAS NITIDISSIMA + (NATURAL SIZE) + + * * * * * + +PLATE 23 + +[Illustration] + + PEZOPHAPS SOLITARIA + (ABOUT ONE-THIRD NATURAL SIZE--_from descriptions and drawings_) + + * * * * * + +PLATE 24 + +[Illustration] + + DIDUS CUCULLATUS + (ONE-THIRD NATURAL SIZE--_from drawings_) + + * * * * * + +PLATE 24A + +[Illustration] + + 1, 2, 3. DIDUS CUCULLATUS (_see explanation_) + + * * * * * + +PLATE 24B + +[Illustration] + + 1-9. DIDUS CUCULLATUS + + * * * * * + +PLATE 24C + +[Illustration] + + 10-13. DIDUS CUCULLATUS + + * * * * * + +PLATE 25 + +[Illustration] + + DIDUS SOLITARIUS + (ONE-THIRD NATURAL SIZE--_from a Dutch picture taken from living bird in + Amsterdam, beak and wing restored_) + + * * * * * + +PLATE 25A + +[Illustration] + + DIDUS SOLITARIUS + (ONE-THIRD NATURAL SIZE--_from Dubois' description_) + + * * * * * + +PLATE 25B + +[Illustration] + + FIG. 1, 2, 3. PEZOPHAPS SOLITARIA + FIG. 4, 5, 7, 8. DIDUS SOLITARIUS + + * * * * * + +PLATE 26 + +[Illustration] + + 1. HYPOTAENIDIA PACIFICA + (TWO-THIRDS NATURAL SIZE--_from Forster's drawing in British Museum_) + + 2. PENNULA SANDWICHENSIS + (THREE-FIFTHS NATURAL SIZE--_from skin_) + + 3. PENNULA MILLSI + (THREE-FIFTHS NATURAL SIZE--_from skin_) + + * * * * * + +PLATE 27 + +[Illustration] + + NESOLIMNAS DIEFFENBACHI + (SEVEN-EIGHTHS NATURAL SIZE) + + * * * * * + +PLATE 28 + +[Illustration] + + 1. CABALUS MODESTUS + (NATURAL SIZE) + + 2. COTURNIX NOVAEZEALANDIAE + (SEVEN-EIGHTHS NATURAL SIZE) + + * * * * * + +PLATE 29 + +[Illustration] + + APHANAPTERYX BONASIA + (ONE-HALF NATURAL SIZE--_from a drawing_) + + * * * * * + +PLATE 30 + +[Illustration] + + ERYTHROMACHUS LEGUATI + (ONE-HALF NATURAL SIZE--_from a description and a tracing_) + + * * * * * + +PLATE 31 + +[Illustration] + + LEGUATIA GIGANTEA + (ONE-SIXTH NATURAL SIZE--_from description and drawings_) + + * * * * * + +PLATE 32 + +[Illustration] + + APTERORNIS COERULESCENS + (ONE-HALF NATURAL SIZE--_from descriptions_) + + * * * * * + +PLATE 33 + +[Illustration] + + NOTORNIS ALBA + (FIVE-NINETHS NATURAL SIZE) + + * * * * * + +PLATE 34 + +[Illustration] + + NOTORNIS HOCHSTETTERI + (ONE-HALF NATURAL SIZE) + + * * * * * + +PLATE 35 + +[Illustration] + + 1. AECHMORHYNCHUS CANCELLATUS + (NATURAL SIZE) + + 2. PROSOBONIA LEUCOPTERA + (NATURAL SIZE) + + * * * * * + +PLATE 36 + +[Illustration] + + CAMPTOLAEMUS LABRADORIUS + (ONE-HALF NATURAL SIZE--_from Nature_) + + * * * * * + +PLATE 37 + +[Illustration] + + AESTRELATA CARIBBAEA + (FIVE-SIXTHS NATURAL SIZE--_from stuffed specimen in Dublin Museum_) + + * * * * * + +PLATE 38 + +[Illustration] + + ALCA IMPENNIS + (FIVE-EIGHTHS NATURAL SIZE--_from stuffed specimen_) + + * * * * * + +PLATE 39 + +[Illustration] + + CARBO PERSPICILLATUS + (SEVEN-SIXTEENTHS NATURAL SIZE) + + * * * * * + +PLATE 40 + +[Illustration] + + DROMAIUS PERONI + (ONE-THIRD NATURAL SIZE--_from type specimen_) + + * * * * * + +PLATE 41 + +[Illustration] + + MEGALAPTERYX HUTTONI + (ONE-QUARTER NATURAL SIZE--_restored drawing from feathers and mummified + remains_) + + * * * * * + +PLATE 42 + +[Illustration] + + DINORNIS INGENS + (ONE-ELEVENTH NATURAL SIZE--_restoration from skeleton and feathers_) + + * * * * * + + +NOTES + +[1] "_Psittacus_ brachyurus fuscus, facie nigra, cauda albente. Habitat in +Mascarina. Rostrum incarnatum. Caput caerulescens." + +[2] See Findlay's South Pacific Ocean Directory, p. 642. + +[3] Ibis 1862, p. 214. + +[4] Proceedings of the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club, II, 1898, 17. + +[5] Wintle, Birds of Montreal, 1896, 51. + +[6] In collection of Dr. J. Dwight, Jr. + +[7] Minot, Birds of New England, 1895, 395. + +[8] Auk, XX, 1903, 66. + + * * * * * + + +Corrections made to printed original. + +Page xvii, entry 1674. In "et Bourbon", the original ampersand in the title +of the French work was incongruously expanded to "and" in the present work. +So also in the same title on Pages 3 & 64, an on page xviii, entry 1773, in +"et sur les hommes". + +Page xvii, entry 1707:--"Compagnons", printed as "Compagnos" in original. + +Page xviii, entry 1782 at "aux iles orientales":--"aux", printed as "aus" +in original. + +Page xix, entry 1830 (also on p. 184 and Plate 28). "Coturnix +novaezealandiae" retained as printed, but the correct spelling is +"novaezelandiae" as printed in the species heading. + +Page xx, entry 1861:--"1861", printed as "1681" in original. + +Page xx, entry 1868 (Millies):--"Verhandelingen", printed as +"Verhandlingen" in original. + +Page xxv, entry 1896 (Hartlaub) in "Ein Beitrag":--"Ein", printed as "En" +in original. + +Page xxv, entry 1902 (Henshaw):--first occurence of "Hawaiian" printed as +"Hawaian" in original. + +Page 3, in "Dauphine ou Madagascar":--"ou", printed as "on" in original. + +Page 15, in "disappeared from Warekauri":--"disappeared", printed as +"disapppeared" in original. + +Page 64, in "identified by himself with the Mascarine +Parrot":--"Mascarine", printed as "Marcarine" in original. + +Page 74. "13½ inches = 345 mm": this seems the most likely intention of the +erroneous conversion "13½ inches = 365 mm" of the original. + +Page 112-3, table. Width at distal extremity "13.5" printed "0135". Four +other entries similarly. + +Page 144, date for "Porphyrio melanotus var. alba":--"1844", printed as +"1144" in original. + +Page 167, authors for "Columba migratoria":--"Audubon", printed as +"Andubon" in original. + +Page 188, in "cervical vertebrae":--"cervical", printed as "cervicle" in +original. + +Page 191, in "profile of the inner condyle":--"condyle", printed as +"cordyle" in original. + +Page 215. "228 mm. = 8.9 inches": this seems the most likely intention of +the erroneous conversion "228 mm. = 9.9 inches" of the original. + +Page 216, in "24 to 24.1":--"24.1", printed as "21-1" in original. + +Page 217, synonymy of "Pachyornis pygmaeus":--"Euryapteryx", printed as +"Euryapterxy" in original. + +Page 237, Tarso-metatarsus upper limit:--"287", printed as "277" in +original. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Extinct Birds, by Walter Rothschild + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40000 *** |