168 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



moho — " the road or track of the moho (Notornis) — shows that 

 the Maori was well acquainted with this bird. 



Mr. Edward Tregear, in his Maori-Polynesian Dictionary, 

 gives — 



" Poua (myth.), a gigantic bird, said to have inhabited the 

 Chatham Islands. The last flock is reported to have been 

 drowned in the large lagoon called Te Whanga, they having 

 been driven into it by the natives. There is as yet no proof 

 of their having existed. The poua is probably related to 

 pouakai, which see." 



" Pouakai (myth.), a man-devouring bird of gigantic size, 

 supposed to inhabit the South Island (of New Zealand). One 

 of these birds was a source of terror to the fairies, called 

 Nuku-mai-tore, until Pungarehu smashed its beak with his 

 stone axe and killed it. See " Ancient History of the Maori," 

 by John "White, vol. ii., p. 33. For tradition of one being 

 killed by Te-hau-o-tawera, see A.H.M., iii., 194 ; also see 

 Stack, Trans. N.Z. Inst., x., 63." 



I hope my readers will agree with me that my argument 

 fairly proves that the poua was a swan, and that the finding 

 of thousands of the bones of this bird by Mr. Forbes at the 

 very spot pointed out as the place where the poua was most 

 readily killed verifies the same ; also, that the mehonui could 

 not be related to the parrots, but was most probably allied to 

 the Notornis, more especially on the strength of the term 

 "whaka-moho" (to approach stealthily), and of the word 

 "moho" also meaning in Maori "a stupid, a blockhead " — 

 possibly alluding to the ease with which the bird might be 

 caught. It is just possible that Aijhana2)teryx was the large 

 meho, and the coot, or waterhen, was the lesser meho. 

 What, then, was the name of the smaller rails — moe-riki {Ca- 

 haltis dicjjenhachii) and the one lately described by the Hon. 

 W. Eothschild? It is quite certain the smaller rails would be 

 active and hard to find, as they are found to be at this present 

 time, even setting aside the fact of their great rarity. Yet 

 Mr. Forbes found the bones of A2')hanaptcryx, a large rail, of a 

 coot {Fulica), of the woodhen \Ocydromus), and of Dieffen- 

 bach's rail (Cabahis) at the same refuse-heap, which would 

 give us three rails, including the woodhen. This would give 

 three species to compete for the two names, " meho-nui " and 

 " meho-riki." 



Although this paper has been written in haste, and under 

 difficulties, I hope that a fair amount of proof is given to 

 show the great probability that the great bird poua was the 

 extinct swan. 



