326 On the existence of Strut hious Birds distinct from the Dodo. 



count given by Cauche of a tridactylous and apterous bird in Mau- 

 ritius, called Oiseau de Nazarette, be correct, we must believe in the 

 former existence of a fifth species of the same anomalous family. 



Nor need we be surprised at the supposition that the species allied 

 to the Dodo may have been thus numerous, when we recollect that 

 Prof. Owen has already shown that no less than five species of that 

 ornithic wonder, the Dinornis, inhabited New Zealand at a very 

 recent date, and were doubtless contemporaries of the still surviving 

 Apteryx. Still less should we wonder at the speedy extinction of 

 these birds after man took possession of the Mauritian archipelago. 

 Confined to very small islands, unable to escape from their enemies 

 by flight, and highly esteemed for food, they soon experienced the 

 same fate as that of the Dinornis, a fate which will shortly overtake 

 the unprotected Apteryx*. 



Having thus shown that there is good historical evidence of the 

 former existence of several Struthious or Didiform birds in the Mau- 

 ritian group of islands, we may inquire whether any actual remains 

 of these deceased species are still attainable. On this point I must 

 be content rather to excite inquiry than to supply information. Of 

 the Dodo, as is well known, we possess an entire head, and the feet 

 of two individuals ; but of the other birds above referred to, no relics 

 have yet been identified. M. Quoy, however, assured M. de Blain- 

 ville that the bones in the Paris Museum which! Cuvier supposed to 

 belong to the Dodo, were brought, not from Mauritius, but from 

 Rodriguez ; and it is therefore probable, as supposed by M. de Blain- 

 ville, that they may have belonged to the Solitaire of Leguat. There 

 are, too, certain bones from Rodriguez presented by Mr. Telfair to 

 this Society (Zool. Proceedings, Part I. p. 31) ; and in the Ander- 

 sonian Museum at Glasgow there are also some so-called " Dodo's 

 bones from Mauritius." All these materials should be submitted to 

 careful examination ; and we may feel confident that if Prof. Owen, 

 who has so skilfully demonstrated the affinities of the Dinornis from 

 a few fragments of the skeleton, were to take these materials in hand, 

 he would soon deduce some valuable results, whether positive or 

 negative, from the investigation. 



Much light also might probably be thrown on the subject if natu- 

 ralists residing in Mauritius, Bourbon and Rodriguez would endea- 

 vour to obtain further evidence. The alluvia of streams, the soil on 

 the floors of caverns, and even the ancient mounds of rubbish near 

 towns and villages, should be carefully searched, and every fragment 

 of bone preserved. We may hope that the success which has at- 

 tended such researches in New Zealand will stimulate the naturalists 

 of Mauritius to similar efforts, and that the Solitaires and Oiseaux 

 bleus will ere long, like the Dodo and the Dinornis, take their just 

 rank in our systems of ornithology. 



* It is probable that in 1693, when Leguat visited Mauritius, the Dodo 

 had been extinct a considerable time. He makes no mention of any such 

 bird, but remarks " L'lle etait autrefois toute remplie d'Oyes et de Canards 

 sauvages, de Poules d'eau, de Gelinottes, de Tortues de mer et de terre ; 

 mais tout cela est devenu fort rare)' showing that at that period, when the 

 Dutch had occupied Mauritius for nearly a century, civilization had made 

 great inroads on the fauna of the island. 



