43 
“Fresh Light from the Ancient Monuments, etc.; G. J. Romanes— 
“Mental Evolution in Man—The Human Faculty”; Boyp Dawxk1ns 
—‘Early Man in Britain,” “Cave Hunting”, Wairz— Anthro- 
pology” ; A. Bary—‘“ Logic”; W. Skears—“Etymological English 
Dictionary” and “Icelandic Dictionary.” And the works of Mrs. 
Zevia Norratt, Horatio Hatz, D. G. Brinton, Buuex, Beueman, 
Bore, Darwiy, Hacxet, Lussock, George A. Smita, Rawinson, 
Bupesr, WILKINSON, and other writers. 
WEDNESDAY, MAY [5th, 1889. 
BIRDS AND THEIR MIGRATIONS. 
Rev. H. D. GORDON, M.A. 
The birds of a country are its history written on wings, and some- 
times the record is laid up in the rocks. M. Milne Edwardes thought 
that there was evidence to show that Madagascar and New Zealand 
were formerly uniied, since three species of (Epyornis found in 
Madagascar bore a close resemblance to the Moa or Dinornis of New 
Zealand, and to the Apteryxes, or wingJess birds ; just as the Emu, 
found in Australia alone, was the Cassiowary of south-east Africa. 
Wallace shewed that there; were no indigenous mammals in New 
Zealand, the explanation probably being that the space intervening 
between Africa and New Zealand and Australia was submerged before 
the mammals had time to get down to the south Jatiiudes. To this 
theory of separation and absence of mammalia, the birds of New 
Zealand bore their testimony, as there was a wonderful preponderance 
of wingless birds in New Zealand. Jn a country where there were no 
indigenous mammalia, and consequently few birds of prey, the species 
that habitually sought their food on the ground had no inducements 
to take wing, and, from long disuse, continued. perhaps, ‘brough 
countless generations, they lost their faculty of flight. Turning to 
another branch of the subject, Mr. Gordon said one of the most 
teresting facts relating to the birds of the world was ihe 
tendency to whiteness in the birds of New Zealand, and an 
opposite tendency, namely, to blackness, in the birds of India. 
Birds imported into New Zealand grew white. The law of assimilation 
of environment seemed to hold widely. The dark burut spaces of 
the earth near the tropics would seem to favour darker 1aces of birds 
and men, whilst the comparative absence of deeper colour in the north 
and the presence of snowy heights would seem to produce fairer haired 
men and fairer feathered birds. But an important variant in this 
matter was that the bird was less stationary than the map. In fact, 
all birds migrated to a certain extent, and within a circle of greater or 
less diameter. ‘Ihe flight lines of some birds were put at 10,000 miles, 
