54 JOURNAL OF A NATURALIST 
bird, which he had recently snared for a little tobacco. It 
was a most graceful creature: and as far as I am aware, an 
entirely new and undescribed species, Its general colour 
was dark, almost black; head grey, and without a. 
frontal shield; fore-neck and breast, ferruginous-red ; wings 
barred with white; bil sharp; feet and legs glossy olive; 
toes beautifully and largely festooned at the edges; the 
eyes light-coloured and very animated. The bird was very 
fierce, and never ceased attempting to. bite at every thing 
within its reach. I kept it until we landed, intending to 
preserve it; but it was late, and I had neither material at 
hand nor time to spare, and the animal too, looked. so very 
lovely, that I could not make up my mind to put it to death, 
so I let it go: it swam, and dived, and disappeared. From. 
its not possessing a frontal shield on the forehead (which is one 
of the principal generic marks of the Linnean genus Fulica),, 
it may possibly be hereafter considered as the type of a new. 
genus serving to connect the genera Fulica and Rallus. Not 
a doubt, however, in my opinion can exist, as to its being. 
naturally allied in habit and affinity to the former; I have 
therefore named it Fulica Nove Zelandie. In size, it was. 
somewhat less than our European species, F. atra. I gained 
not any botanical specimens this day, save the Myriophyllum. 
already mentioned, although I had every reason to believe 
that many new and interesting plants would doubtless be 
found in the dense and ever-humid forests on the immediate. 
banks of this noble river. Time, however, would not permit. 
my delaying for that purpose. | 
27th.—This morning, at an early hour, I recommenced | 
my voyage down the Waikato. I found the river to widen 
considerably, being in some places from three hundred to. 
five hundred yards in width, but very shallow. Its course, 
here, was not so sinuous and much more northerly than. 
those portions we passed over yesterday. The land is low on - 
either side, and, as I proceeded, several small and flat islands 
divided the river into channels. After paddling about twenty 
miles we beached. our canoe on a small island, in order to 
