242 Mr. E. L. Layard's Ornithological Notes 



Mr. Webster writes as follows respecting the Kiwi : — " A 

 fortnight ago a native, out shooting Pigeons, discovered a Kiwi's 

 egg protruding out of a small hole at the root of a Kauri-tree ; 

 removing the egg, he put his arm, to the elbow, up the hole, and 

 got hold of the parent bird. The egg and the bird I have se- 

 cured. Does it not appear a strange position for the egg to be 

 in ? I have, in an enclosure, two male birds and the female 

 mentioned ; the latter is much the largest, and has the longer 

 bill. The three birds are very sociable together : they retire to 

 a dark box during the daytime, coming out punctually a little 

 after sundown, when they commence searching for worms. They 

 seem to possess the sense of smell very acutely, and never thrust 

 their long bills into the earth without getting a worm. My 

 birds are very tame, and were so from the first, feeding in my 

 presence, and picking up worms and pieces of meat thrown to 

 them. When satisfied, they retire to their box, and seldom appear 

 again until next evening. During rain they do not come out. 



"An old native, who professes to know something about them, 

 states that they lay but one egg at a time. The nest is merely 

 a hole scraped out by the bird, and generally about the roots of a 

 tree, where the ground is dry ; the egg is covered with leaves and 

 moss, the decomposition of which evolves heat sufficient to bring 

 forth the young. The process takes six mouths. When hatched, 

 the mother, by instinct, is at hand to attend to her offspring. 



" The egg is enormous in size, compared to the bird ; that 

 now in my possession weighs 16 ounces, and measures in girth 

 11 inches. 



"As far as I can learn, there is but this one species in our 

 district.'' 



The Kiwis (five in number) forwarded to me by Mr. Webster 

 proved to be Apteryx mantellii. 



The Kingfisher alluded to in my last {Halcyon vagans) is 

 common throughout the Northern Island; it fishes equally in 

 salt and fresh water, and devours also grasshoppers and Grylla 

 of all kinds, caterpillars, moths, and butterflies. 



The Korimaka [Anthornis melanura) is also plentiful, and goes 

 by the name of the " Bell-bird " among the colonists. At early 

 morning and in the evening, while riding through the forest. 



