from New Caledonia. 137 



of the Sydney Museum. The bill, legs, and feet in the living 

 specimen were of a reddish orange colour; in the stuffed specimen, 

 in its recent state, they were of a bright scarlet colour, evidently 

 varying from age or other causes. The irides are brown. The 

 bird appears to be very hardy, and, as I have been informed, is 

 not rare in its native country. Should it prove to be an acqui- 

 sition, no doubt specimens could be procured and sent to the 

 Zoological Gardens in the Regent's Park. It feeds upon insects, 

 mice, birds, and raw meat, which it usually devours entire ; it is 

 very ravenous for food, and often evinces some degree of pugnacity 

 when meddled with. It runs with great rapidity, compressing 

 the body and elongating the head and neck in a manner seen 

 to obtain among the Rails. In the same compartment in the 

 aviary is a living specimen of the New Zealand Rail, the Weha 

 of the natives [Ocydromus australis, Sparrm.). The actions of 

 these two birds are similar; and there is also a marked resem- 

 blance between them in the structure of the toes. They are 

 both fond of digging in the earth for worms and searching 

 about the grass for insects, snails, &c. ; but the New Caledonian 

 bird, when not disturbed, has a more stately walk than the Rails, 

 and in that respect approaches the Herons or Cranes. It 

 appears to me to form a link between the Gruida or Cranes and 

 the Rallida or Rails, which, however, will be more easily de- 

 cided when an opportunity occurs of examining its anatomy, 

 and more especially its osteological structure. No doubt before 

 long we shall be able to procure specimens for this purpose, -^hen 

 I will communicate with you again on the subject*. 



* This bird is the Rhinochetus jubafus, Verr. et Des Murs, described 

 and figured in the ' Revue et Magasin de Zoologie ' for last year (1860), 

 p. 440. pi. 21, from a single example preserved in the "Exposition des 

 produits des Colonies " at Paris. It has been referred by the describers 

 (MM. J. Verreaux and Des Murs) to the Herons [Ardeidas), but is cer- 

 tainly a strange and very interesting form, probably, as Dr. Bennett has 

 suggested, connecting the Rails with the Herons. As no details have been 

 given concerning its habits, Dr. Bennett's account of them is of great 

 interest, and we sincerely trust that he may be able to cany out his inten- 

 tion of sending living examples to England. At present the specimen in 

 Paris is the only one known, so that skins and skeletons of this bird would 

 be also much valued in this country. — Ed. 



VOL. III. L 



