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XVII. On a new Species of the Genus Apteryx. By John Gould, F.R.S., F.L.S. 8fc. 



Communicated June 8tb, 1847. 



The acquisition of a new species of Apteryx forms one of the most interesting addi- 

 tions to ornithology that has occurred for some years, inasmuch as our knowledge of 

 this remarkable form has hitherto been derived from the single species which has been 

 so elaborately illustrated by Prof. Owen and Mr. Yarrell in the present and preceding 

 volumes of these Transactions. Sufficient information has moreover been transmitted 

 to me by Mr. Frederick Strange of Sydney, to induce a strong belief in my mind of the 

 existence of a third and much larger species in the southern part of New Zealand, 

 where it is known to the sealers who annually visit that coast under the name ot the 

 "Fireman," and is said to be about three feet in height. This belief is still further 

 strengthened by the circumstance of a very large egg of some unknown bird having 

 been lately transmitted from New Zealand to this country, which is now the property 

 of T. B. Wilson, Esq., of Philadelphia. The egg in question is said to be that of the 

 Kiwi, and was procured at great risk in the Waikato county; but although my friend 

 Prof. Owen considers it not impossible that it may be the egg of that bird, its great 

 size (five inches by three inches and a quarter), which exceeds that of the Swan, favours 

 the supposition that it belongs to a bird of much larger dimensions. 



A single specimen of the new species, which forms the subject of Plate LVIL, was 

 sent to me in the beginning of 1847 by Mr. Strange of Sydney, but unfortunately, how- 

 ever, it was unaccompanied by any information. It formed part of a small collection 

 of New Zealand birds, all of which had, I believe, been procured on the Middle Island. 



The specimen appears to be fully adult, and is about the same size as the Apteryx 

 Australis, from which it is rendered conspicuously diflFerent by the irregular transverse 

 barring of the entire plumage, which, with its extreme density and hair-like appearance, 

 more closely resembles the covering of a mammal than that of a bird ; it also diflers 

 in having a shorter, more slender, and more curved biU, and in the structure of the 

 feathers, which are much broader throughout, especially at the tip, and of a loose and 

 decomposed texture. I propose to characterize this new species under the name ot 

 Apteryx Owenii, feeling assured that it can only be considered as a just compliment to 

 Professor Owen, who has so ably investigated the group to which it is believed to 

 pertain. 



Apteryx Owenii. Ch. sp. Ap. corpore superiore fusco et fulvo transcersim radiato; 

 plumis singulis, ad basim argenteo-fuscis, in medio saturatius fuscis, deinde faaad 



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