PRESSIROSTKES. 605 



The other family, ApterygidcB, is composed of one genus only, 

 A])teryx, a remarkable Avingless bird from New Zealand, with a 

 long Snipe- like bill, and the nostrils situated at the tip ; short 

 legs, and a short hind toe .with a strong claw. The wings are so 

 perfectly rudimentary that no trace of them is visible externally. 

 The diaphragm is perfect, the stomach slightly muscular, the 

 intestines moderately long, and there are moderately sized coeca. 

 The feathers want the supplementary plumes. The birds are 

 chiefly nocturnal, running rapidly, and they feed on insects. Three 

 species are known, A. cmstrcdis, A. Mantelli, and A. Oiveni. 



Fragments of some enormous birds have been discovered in 

 New Zealand ; and one of these, the il/oa, is supposed only 

 recently to have become extinct. The Q,gg of one was infinitely 

 larger than that of the Ostrich. Fossil remains of a gigantic 

 Ostrich are found in the Sewalik range of hills. 



Tribe — Pkessirostres, Cuvier. 



Cursores, apud Bonaparte (in part.) 



Tarsi elongated ; hind toe small or absent ; bill moderate or short, 

 thick, moderately depressed at the base, compressed on the sides. 



This tribe, as I recognise it, comprises Bustards, Plovers, and 

 Cranes ; in all the young run from the egg. The majority feed 

 chiefly on insects, a few on grain and vegetable diet. They may be 

 distinguished from the next tribe, the Longirostres, by their usually 

 shorter and thicker bill, more robust make, average greater size; and 

 in their habits they frequent the open dry plains more habitually 

 than banks of rivers, shores or marshes. A few are migratory, others 

 breed and remain here throughout the year. Several have a double 

 moult, and the change of plumage Avhich takes place, sometimes 

 in the male only, in others in both sexes, is usually to black, in 

 a few cases only to rufous, 'f'hey lay but few eggs, usually four, 

 sometimes two only, usually dark olive brown, blotched or plain. 

 The Cranes are usually classified next the Herons, by some, indeed, 

 in the same family, but their very different habits, the young 

 running as soon as hatched, and the similarity of their bills, and 

 general form to that of Bustards, all combine to remove them 

 far from the Herons and brino- them close to Bustards. 



