11 



feather ; a line over each eye, cheeks and throat rufous ; 

 with two short hues on the cheeks and margin beneath, 

 black ; breast ferruginous wliite, each feather with a broad 

 irregular band of black, and tipped with white ; feathers 

 of the sides pale ferruginous marked with black, and a 

 white streak down the shaft ; abdomen wliite, with black 

 marks. 



Length, 85- inches ; bill from gape, 8 lines ; wings, 4f 

 inches. 



The female is similar to the male, but wants the rufous 

 throat. It is closely allied to the Cotnrni.v pecforalis of 

 Mr. Gould. MM. Quoy and Gaimard tell us that " II ha- 

 bite la bale Chouraki (riviere Tamisc de Cook), a la Nou- 

 velle-Zelande. Nous n' avons pas pu nous procurer un 

 seal male." Mr. Percy Earl informs me, that this bird is 

 termed by the natives Koreke, and that it is found, but not 

 in abundance, in the open fera lands on the South Island. 

 He never saw one on the North Island, although he does 

 not state positively that they do not exist there. The flesh 

 of this quail is of a delicate flavour. The egg is of a yel- 

 lowish white, irregularly spotted with umber brown. This 

 species was observed by Dr. Dieffenbach on the Northern 

 Island. 



Family, Strdthionid.e. 



Subfamily, Apferi/c/iiKe. 



Afteryx australis. 



Apteryx australis, Shmv, Nat. Misc. pi. 1057, 1058. 

 Gould's B. of Austr. pt. 11. pi. 



Dromiceius nova; Zealandia3, Less. Man. cT Orn. ii. 210. 



Chesnut brown, margined on the sides of each feather 

 with blackish brown ; head', fore part of neck and under 

 surface lighter, tinged with grey. 



Length of male, 2 feet 6 inches ; bill from gape, 6f 

 inches ; tarsi 3 inches. 



Length of female 2 feet; bill from gape, 5^ inches; tarsi 

 2 inches 8 lines. 



This singular bird (which is the Kivi or Kiwikiwi of the 

 natives) is scattered over various parts of New Zealand, es- 

 pecially those covered with extensive and dense beds of 

 ferns, which aflbrd it a place of concealment, when hunted 

 by the natives, who highly prize the feathers as an article 

 to decorate their persons. It runs with swiftness, and 

 sometimes hides itself in holes of rocks or hollow trees. Its 

 food is supposed to consist of snails, insects and worms, 

 which it mostly seeks for during the night ; the latter are 

 obtained by beating the earth with its foot, it seizes them 

 with its bill the instant they appear above the ground. The 

 nest is usually placed at the base of a hollow tree, or in 

 deep holes excavated in the ground. It is composed of 

 fern and grasses, but the number of eggs is unknown. 



Family, Charadrid.e. 



Subfamily, Charadriiiw. 



Charadrius virginianus. 



Charadrius virginianus, Pr. Bonap. 

 Charadrius maruioratus, Wagl. 



Charadrius xanthocheilus (Wagl.), Jard. 1^ Selbi/s III. 

 of Orn. pi. 85. 



Blackish brown, spotted with yellowish white or deep 

 yellow ; feathers of the head and nape margined with yel- 

 low ; greater wing-coverts and quills blackish brown, the 

 former margined, and the basal part of the .shafts of the lat- 

 ter, white ; under surface yellowish white, with the abdomen 

 varied with blackish brown bands ; fore part of the neck 

 and breast yellowish grey, with triangular spots and bands 

 of pale blackish brown; under tail-coverts yellowish white, 

 tinged with yellow; tail blackish brown, spotted with yel- 

 lowish white. 



Length, 10 inches. 



The native names of this bird are Tuturiwhata, Takihi- 

 kaki or Tuturuata. 



Charadrius obscurus. 

 Plate 9. 



Charadrius glareola, Forst. Desc. Anim. p. 109. Icon, 

 ined. 122. 



Dusky Plover, Lath. Syn. v. 211. 



Charadrius obscurus, Gmel. Si/st. Nat. i. 686. 



Blackish brown, with the feathers margined with rufous 

 grey, especially on the nape ; front, streak over each eye, 

 throat and abdomen rufous white ; breast and upper part of 

 abdomen rufous ; under tail-coverts white, slightly tinged 

 with rufous ; quills black, base of the inner ones and the 

 shafts of the others white ; tail blackish brown, with the 

 lateral feathers white. 



Length, 10 inches; bill fi-om gape, 1 inch 5 lines; wings 

 6w inches ; tarsi, 1 inch, 8 lines. 



"Habitat ad littora glareosainsulae australis Novas Zee- 

 landiai." Forsier. 



The young bird is of a lighter colour, especially on the 

 under surface, where it is white, slightly tinged with ru- 

 fous ; and the throat and sides of the breast spotted with 

 blackish brown. 



This is called, according to the drawing of Forster, Ha- 

 poho-era, by the natives of Dusky Bay. 



These birds, says Mr. Percy Earl, I never observed but 

 at Waikonati, and then only during the month of Septem- 

 ber. They are usually six or eight together, but are very 

 shy, and are very fat at that time, and of exquisite flavour. 

 He further marked, that this species is the Moakura of the 

 natives. 



Thinornis. 



Bill long, slender, scarcely swollen at the apex, which 

 is acute; the nostrils lateral, basal, placed in a nasal groove 

 that extends for two-thirds of the bill. Wings long, point- 

 ed, and with the first and second quills nearly equal and 

 longest. Tail long and rounded. Tarsi as long as, or 

 shorter than, the middle toe, and strong. Toes long, strong, 

 united at the base and margined on the sides, the hind toe 

 wanting. 



These birds difler from Hiaiictilii, in the length and 

 slenderncss of their bills, and in the strength and shortness 

 of their tarsi, and also in the strength of their toes. 



c 2 



