28 THE ANIMALS OP NEW ZEALAND 



and South American, the last being- the weakest. But our birds 

 show only three elements, namely, Antarctic, Melanesian, and 

 Australian. 



During isolation, some of the animals, notably the short- 

 tailed bat, the huia, the thrush, the kakapo, the rails, and the 

 extinct moas, altered a great deal, while others, such as the 

 fern bird, the warbler, the tits, and the swamp hen, altered 

 very slowlj^; but there was a tendency in all towards losing 

 their powers of flight. Albinoism is noticeable among the 

 land-birds, but it does not remain constant. Melanism, or 

 dark-coloured plumage, is very pronounced. Many of the birds 

 during the long isolation have gradually changed until some of 

 them have taken on almost a jet black plumage. There are 

 the huia, the tui, two robins, a fantail, the red-bill, the black 

 stilt, and a black penguin. This is a long list of black or dark- 

 coloured birds, considering the smallness of the total number 

 in the fauna. We merely point out this fact in passing, and 

 offer no theorv as to the cause. 



The Change. 



So the fauna, retaining its peculiarities, and developing its 

 wonderful specialisations, grew up side by side with the flora, 

 which is hardly less remarkable. They walked hand-in-hand, 

 and were indivisible. The trees and shrubs yielded their fruits, 

 and the birds rested in peaceful valleys and filled the land from 

 end to end. 



About 500 years ago, the Maoris came as the heralds of the 

 change. They may have exterminated the moas, hunting and 

 killing the great birds and eating the eggs. The white heron 

 nearly succumbed in the North Island. A dog and a rat were 

 introduced by the Maoris, but the former was excessively lazy 

 and the latter timid and harmless, so neither had much effect on 

 the fauna. The dog has disappeared entirely, but the rat is 

 still with us. Though different kinds of birds were caught and 

 snared by the Maoris, very little damage, on the whole, was done 

 by them. 



