Henry. — On Notornis majntelli. 53 



Art. XI. — On the Probable Origin of Notornis mantelli, 

 and its Extinction in Nero Zealand. 



By Richard Henry. 



Communicated by Sir James Hector. 



[Bead before the WelUngto7i Philosophical Society, 11th July, 1899.] 



Many readers will remember that the swamp-hen was men- 

 tioned m Cook's voyages at various places in the Pacific, and 

 every one knows that our bird is common in Australia under 

 a variety of names, of which swamp-hen is about the best, 

 because it is simple and accurately descriptive. Thus we may 

 assume that it is migratory, and in the case of the Notornis 

 (which is also a rail) may have a history parallel to that of 

 the wood-hen. Coming here long ago in search of the New 

 Zealand swamps — of which it may have had a hereditary 

 geographical knowledge — and becommg tired or storm-bound, 

 it dropped down in the West Coast bush, where seeds were 

 abundant before the advent of rats, and where there were no 

 enemies on the ground. The sparrow-hawk was probably 

 their worst enemy in New Zealand, because the swamp-hen 

 cannot turn and twist on the wing, but flies straight, and 

 offers a splendid mark for the swooping hawk. I have seen 

 them knock down several swamp-hens, and, ferret-like, some- 

 times only drink their blood. If those hawks were plentiful 

 it must have been a great inducement for the old swamp-hens 

 to stay in the scrub, until at last they were too lazy to fly, 

 especially those that had escaped a knock or two from the 

 hawks. Then, with mates of like experience, there is no 

 mystery about the founding of this notable family — a branch 

 of which exists in the white swamp-hen of Norfolk Island. 



A curious item was told me this morning by Mr. Nixon, of 

 H.M. Customs. About twenty years ago the "Gleaner" 

 (Captain Agnew) came into Greymouth with a strange bird 

 aboard, which turned out to be a New Zealand or Australian 

 swamp-hen, that came to the vessel for a rest four hundred 

 miles from the New Zealand coast, and was captured by the 

 crew. There is no doubt about this fact, notwithstanding 

 our habit of thinking that swamp-hens are poor fliers ; and 

 there need be as little mystery about the disappearance of 

 the Notornis when we come to know the facts. The rats at 

 my homestead will never allow a single grain of oats to ripen, 

 but eat it all in the soft stage, and they take about 70 per 

 cent, of the grass-seed. The native thrush and the kakapo 

 can shell oats nearly as well as a sparrow, though I know of 

 no such grain in the bush. This gives us a hint of what kind 



