Parker. — On a Crest of Feathers in certain Moas. 5 



to but smaller and less distinct than those of Mesopteryx, 

 species b, only reaching as far back as the anterior border of 

 the post-orbital process, and not extending on to the lacry- 

 mal. 



Another skull of Anomalopterj/x didiformis in Mr. Hamil- 

 ton's collection has no trace of the pits ; they are also absent 

 in a skull in the Otago University Museum probably referable 

 to D. torosus; and I have failed to find any trace of them in 

 the following species : Dinornis robustus, Owen; Emeus crassus, 

 Owen; Mcsopteryx casuarina, Owen; two undetermined 

 species of Mcsopteryx, one of which may be M. geranoides, 

 Owen; Pachyornis ponderosus, Hutton ; Pachyornis clcphan- 

 topus, Owen, and an undetermined species of the same genus. 



I think there can be no doubt that the rjresence f these 

 pits indicates that the moas in which they occur possessed a 

 crest of stiff feathers in the anterior frontal region. For some 

 time after coming to this conclusion I was unable to support it 

 by the analogy of any other bird : in most cases where a dis- 

 tinct crest of feathers occurs it is situated in the occipital 

 region, over the neck muscles, so that the feathers leave no 

 impression on the skull. But Mr. Hamilton drew my atten- 

 tion to the fact that the skull of the green woodpecker (Pic us 

 viridis) is pitted in a very similar manner to the moas just 

 described. On laying back the skin of the head in a stuffed 

 specimen of this bird I found that the skull presented paired 

 areas of shallow pits extending over the whole frontal region, 

 and corresponding with the bases of the stiff red feathers of 

 the crest which project through the skin. Similar pits occur 

 on the ulna of Ekdyptes, the wing- feathers of which are not 

 large enough to give rise to the distinct elevations of bone 

 found in birds with functional remiges. This evidence seems 

 to show that a subcutaneous bone acquires feather-pits when 

 the overlying feathers are larger and stiffer than the ordinary 

 contour-feathers, but not large enough to be called quills. 



The fact that certain individuals of a given species have a 

 crest, while others show no indication of that structure, may 

 perhaps be explained by supposing that the male alone was 

 crested. 



The following extract seems to show that the Maoris had 

 a tradition assigning a crest to the moa. Dr. G. A. Mantell, 

 in his "Petrifactions and their Teachings," says, on the au- 

 thority of his son, the Hon. Walter Mantell, that the natives 

 " stated that its head and tail were adorned with plumes of 

 magnificent feathers, which were worn and much prized by 

 their ancient chiefs as ornaments of distinction. " : 



* Trans. N.Z. Inst., vol. iv., p. 71. 



