340 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



wonderful birds the Dinornidce. or moas. Professor Marsh 

 claims to have been the first to notice and place on record 

 the finding of the fossil remains of " a carnivorous swimming 

 ostrich, " which he named Hesperornis regalis. 



In this paper I wish to draw the attention of our New 

 Zealand scientists to the evident possibility that in this coun- 

 try, which was the last harbour or retreat of many distinct 

 and peculiar varieties of those struthious birds (the moas), 

 seemingly descendants of those escaped alive to the mountain 

 regions of a large southern continent (now sunken below the 

 ocean wave, carrying with it the records of ages of reptilian 

 and avian life), there may exist records which, if available 

 to human research, would assist man to work out the pro- 

 blem of the succession of animal life. 



New Zealand was, as it were, the last great stronghold 

 of the moa. There were many kinds, each differing in size, 

 bulk, and the colour of the feathering, but each kind having 

 the struthious or bipinnate feathering on certain parts of the 

 body. This would lead us to infer that if at any time in the 

 existence of life on our world — no matter if it be in a far 

 country — there is proof that a swimming ostrich once lived 

 and propagated its kind, then we may reasonably expect to 

 meet with the signs of an aquatic moa in the land which was 

 their latest place of refuge ; for the moa lived almost down 

 to the time of European occupation, and I have myself seen 

 its bones lying on the surface of the ground in a fair state of 

 preservation. 



In New Zealand have been found the remains of a large 

 bird having anserine characteristics, a bone from which was 

 at first thought by Sir Eichard Owen to be that of a new 

 form of struthious bird, and of a genus "hitherto unknown 

 to science," for which he proposed the name of Cnemiornis 

 calcitrans. 



Some two years ago, when looking through Tregear's 

 " Maori - Polynesian Comparative Dictionary," I noticed the 

 Maori word " tarejJO," said to be " the name of Cnemiornis 

 calcitrans, a bird proljably now extinct." On lookmg up the 

 meaning of "calcitrans" ("kicking with the heel," a' truly 

 moa-like way of treating an opponent), I began to think that 

 this was a native word distinguishing one species of moa 

 from its congeners ; but, on referring to Sir Walter BuUer's 

 "New Zealand Birds" (page 26 of the introduction), I found 

 the following : " Following this came the discovery by Sir 

 James Hector of the remains of an extinct goose of very 

 large if not gigantic proportions, and undoubtedly flightless. 

 This proved to be the bird for a few detached bones of which 

 Professor Owen [as mentioned already] proposed the name of 

 Cnemiornis calcitrans. The first tolerably complete skeleton 



