234 EXTINCT MONSTERS. 



species it is even 39 in. ! The next bone below (cannon bone) 

 is sometimes more than half the length of the leg-bone (tibia). 



A skeleton in one of the glass cases has a height of about 

 lo^ ft., and it is concluded that the largest birds did not stand 

 less than 12 ft., and possibly were 14 ft. high ! 



Dinornis parvus (the dwarf Moa) was only three feet high. 



In 1882 the trustees obtained, from a cave in Otago, the head, 

 neck, two legs, and feet of a Moa (D. didinus), having the skin, 

 still preserved in a dried state, covering the bones, and some 

 i&N feathers of a reddish hue still attached to the leg (Table case 12). 

 The rings of the windpipe may be seen /;/ situ, the sclerotic plates 

 of the eye, and the sheaths of the claws. One foot also shows 

 the hind claw still attached. 



From traditions and other circumstances it is supposed that the 

 present natives of New Zealand came there not more than about 

 six hundred years ago, and there is reason to believe that the 

 ancient Maoris, when they landed, feasted on ]\Ioa-birds as long 

 as any remained. Their extermination probably only dates back 

 to about the period at which the islands were thrice visited by 

 Captain Cook, 17 69-1 7 78. The Moa-bird is mixed up with their 

 songs and stories, and they even have a tradition of caravans 

 being attacked by them. Still, some people believe that they were 

 killed off" by the race which inhabited New Zealand before the 

 Maoris came. But they must have been there up to a time not 

 far removed from the present. It is even said that the " runs " 

 made by them were visible on the sides of the hills up to a few 

 years ago ; and possibly they may still be visible. The charred 

 bones and egg-shells have been found mixed with charcoal where 

 the native ovens were formerly made, and their eggs are said to 

 have been found in Maori graves. Mr. Hutton considers that in 

 the North Island they were exterminated three or four centuries 

 ago, while in the South Island they may have lingered a century 

 longer. 



The nearest ally of the Moa is the small Apteryx, or Kiwi, of 



