FEATHERED GIANTS 139 



earth — flourished thousands upon thousands 

 of years ago. As for birds, some of the giants 

 among them are still Uving, some existed long 

 geologic periods ago, and a few have so re- 

 cently vanished from the scene that their 

 memory still lingers amid the haze of tradition. 

 The best known among these, as well as the 

 most recent in point of time, are the JNIoas of 

 New Zealand, first brought to notice by the 

 Rev. W. Colenso, later on Bishop of New 

 Zealand, one of the many missionaries to 

 whom Science is under obligations. Early in 

 1838, Bishop Colenso, while on a missionary 

 visit to the East Cape region, heard from the 

 natives of Waiapu tales of a monstrous bird, 

 called Moa, having the head of a man, that 

 inhabited the mountain -side some eighty miles 

 away. This mighty bird, the last of his race, 

 was said to be attended by two equally huge 

 lizards that kept guard while he slept, and on 

 the approach of man wakened the JNIoa, who 

 immediately rushed upon the intruders and 

 trampled them to death. None of the INIaoris 

 had seen this bird, but they had seen and 

 somewhat irreverently used for making parts 



