MuBiE. — 0)1 HjihricUsm of Fowl and WoodJten. 343 



l)y him at Waikanae, and to another in the possession of Dr. 

 Hewson, at Otaki ; also that Dr. Hildebrand, of Wairarapa, 

 conceived he had several in a clutch from one hen. This 

 hylmdism was disputed by Capt. F. W. Hutton, of New 

 Zealand ("Ibis," 1874, p. 39), and certain English ornitho- 

 logists. Later on Sir W. Buller ("Trans. N.Z. Inst.," ix., 

 p. 341, 1876) supplemented his remarks by the further ob- 

 servations of Capt. Mair, of Tauranga, on his own account, 

 and who likewise adduced native testimony of the not-infre- 

 quent occurrence of the interbreeding of the weka and fowl ; 

 and, lastly, by a note from Mr. T. E. Young, of the Native 

 Department, supporting the hybrid theory. 



A belief in the said hybridism having thus been exten- 

 sively promulgated by independent witnesses, it is more 

 difficult to eradicate than to prevent the spread of the current 

 notion, except by a comprehensive specification of structural 

 data substantiating a contrary opinion. This is the wherefore 

 (^f the length of the present communication. 



Unfortunately for those persuaded of the intermixture of 

 race, direct proof of the illegitimate union of Gallus and 

 Oci/dwuius is wanting. Their evidence is mainly derived from 

 ])redominating resemblances in the offspring to the rail — such 

 as colour, wing-feather banding or pencilling, hairy feathering, 

 feeble development of wings and tail, form of head, body, and 

 legs, the peculiar furtive, prying, rail-like gait and nocturnal 

 habits, with the fact of the weka's freely associating with the 

 fowls in the Maori clearings. 



With respect to the special bird anatomized, it was ob- 

 tained by Dr. Lewis, the Medical Superintendent, Eotorua, 

 and sent to England as a typical example of the hybridity in 

 (juestion. Its history and habits agreed as above indicated. 

 I may here incidentally refer to my artist Mr. Berjeau's 

 chawing of the bird, given in Plate XXL, tig. 1, which it is to 

 be remembered is not taken from actual life, but may be looked 

 on as portraying in a general w^ay the descriptions given by 

 the several authorities above specified who have seen the 

 pseudo-hybrids running about the native villages. The 

 plumose feathering is from the dried skin after spirit preserva- 

 tion, the head likewise. The comb is represented lapping 

 towards the observer ; whether it was carried more erect during 

 life I cannot say. Captain Mair (I.e.) avers the females seen 

 by him were combless. 



I received from Sir Walter Buller a square tin canister, 

 soldered down and air-tight, containing the bird preserved in 

 strong spirit. I found the specimen in good condition for ana- 

 tomical examination, though not perfect in plumage. The 

 plumes of the primary and secondary w^ing-feathers and those 

 of the tail-feathers (retrices) had been broken away, but 



