236 Transactions. — Zoology. 



on with a guide to a digger's hut some three or four miles 

 further on. Whilst on the journey a torrent of rain descended, 

 and the rivers rose so rapidly that we were practically shut in 

 for two days. Fortunately, however, the cave I was anxious 

 to examine was accessible, being within a few hundred yards 

 of the hut, and about half-way up the steep slope of the side of 

 the gorge. Thick fern covered the face of the slope, but this 

 was of comparatively recent growth, as less than seven years 

 ago the whole gorge was thickly covered on both sides with a 

 dense bush, chiefly of Fagus. Chinese diggers, however, acci- 

 dentally caused a great fire, which denuded the whole face of 

 the country for miles, and now the only remains in this gully 

 are the blackened stumps and trunks of the larger trees. The 

 huge schist blocks which strew the slopes of the ravine form 

 admirable shelter-caves, and these are in many cases abso- 

 lutely dry. This dryness, and the fine dust resulting from the 

 disintegration of the rock, seem to favour the preservation of 

 animal remains. The cave was not large, say 6ft. in height at 

 entrance, the floor rising and the roof lowering till they meet 

 about 8ft. in. The floor also sloped towards the left side look- 

 ing into the cave. At the lowest part, where the floor joined 

 the wall, the fine dust was thickest, and here I found the 

 greater number of feathers. Together with the moa-feathers 

 were those of Ocydromus (weka), morepork (4£Ae«e),parroquet, 

 &c. Owls must have frequented the cave in considerable 

 numbers or for a long period, as there were numbers of the 

 pellets ejected by them. Under a large block near the entrance 

 I found a hollow space containing a number of feathers and a 

 dried rat ; the fur seemed somewhat mottled, grey and brown, 

 and the size of the animal much less than the black Polynesian 

 rat. 



I had been led to examine this interesting neighbourhood 

 in consequence of the finding of a very complete specimen of 

 the dried, leg of a small species of moa (known as Megal- 

 apteryx) by Mr. McLeod, a miner living in the neighbourhood. 

 The leg still retains the dried skin and muscle, and carries a 

 quantity of double-shafted feathers, mostly of a silky nature, 

 and tipped with a lighter shade of brown. It is remarkable 

 as coinciding with Professor Owen's specimen (assigned to 

 M. didinus) in having the metatarsus feathered. This ex- 

 tremely interesting specimen was found in the cave after the 

 fire had burned away the mass of creepers and shrubs which 

 had grown up over the entrance, and I have little doubt but 

 that the remainder of the body was burned at the same time. 

 The dried leg is now in my possession, and I am glad to say 

 that Dr. T. J. Parker, F.E.S., the Director of the Otago Uni- 

 versity Museum, has kindly consented to describe it in detail. 

 The only feather of a new type is one of a purple colour, 55mm. 



