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" Wings ludiraents ouly, consisting of a single joint or finger, about au inch in 

 length, and terminated by a small claw or spur. 



" Peet comped, short, strong, gallinaceous and tetradactyle ; the hinder or 

 subinterior toe very short. 



" Tail none. 



" Specific Character. 



" Ferruginous, grey Apteryx, with yellowish brown bill and legs. 



" The bird represented on the present plate constitutes a perfectly new genus, 

 which it is not easy to refer to any of the established ornithological orders. It 

 seems however to approach more nearly to the Struthious and the Gallinaceous 

 tribes than to any other, though the very different form of the beak implies a 

 different manner of life. The size of the bird is nearly that of a goose, and its length, 

 from the tip of the bill to the extremity of the body, about two feet and a half. 

 The bill, if measured from the corners of the mouth to the tip of the upper mandible, 

 is about six inches and three quarters in length ; but if measured from the 

 beginning of the forehead to the tip, about five inches and three quarters. The 

 general habit or appearance of the bird approaches to that of the Penguins ; while 

 the plumage bears a strong alliance to that of the brown or New Holland Cassowary. 

 The head is rather small, and the neck of moderate length ; the legs, which are 

 situated as in the Penguins, are sliort and strong, measuring about six inches from 

 the knee to the extremity of the middle claw. The feet have three toes in front, 

 and a very short hind or subinterior toe ; and all are furnished with very strong and 

 sharp claws; that of the middle toe measuring nearly an inch in length. The 

 whole structure of the feet is gallinaceous. There is no appearance of a tail, and 

 in place of wings (unless any art of deception has been practised, of which I cannot 

 discover the least appearance) can ouly be perceived a small single joint ou each 

 side, measuring about au inch in length, slightly fringed on its lower edge by a few 

 straggling plumes, and terminateel by a small and sharpish claw or spur, scarcely a 

 ([uarter of an inch iu length. The colour of the whole bird is ferruginous, the edges 

 of the feathers, which on all parts are of a lengthened and pointed shiii)e, being 

 of a more dusky cast, and thus giving the appearance of a mixture of brown 

 in the plumage. The bill and legs are of a yellowish brown colour, the bill paler 

 than the legs. 



" This curious bird is a native of New Zealand, from the south coast of which 

 it was brought by Captain Barcley of the I'rotddcnee, by whom, through the kind 

 interposition of my friend, W. Evans, Es(i., it was jtresented to myself. The second 

 plate represents, iu their natural size, the bill, wing, leg, and a feather of this bird.'' 



This description is preceded by a Latin translation, headed " Ajderi/x australis" 

 and accompanied by two plates, one representing the whole bird, the other the bill, 

 foot, wing, and a feather. The type sjiecimen from which this description was 

 made passed into the hands of the then Lord Stanley, afterwards thirteenth Lord 

 Derby, and is now preserved in the Liverpool Museum. Many naturalists, however, 

 for a long time doubted the actual existence of such an extraordinary creature. 

 Lesson, who afterwards was well acquainted with this bird, wrote in 1^28 : 

 on p. 210 of his Manuel iP Ornithologk : " L'Apteryx de M. Temminck ne serait-il 

 pas fonde sur les pieces de dronte (Dodo) conservdes au Museum de Londres ? " 

 In this same article Lesson also suggests that the Droute might have been the 



