88 



THE ANIMALS OF NEW ZEALAND 



Genus Heteraloclia. 

 Bill nearly straight in the male, very long and curved in the 

 female. Nostrils partly covered with feathers. Tip of the wing 

 formed bj^ fifth to seventh quills. Tarsi scutellated, much longer 

 than the middle toe. New Zealand only. 



Huia ; male and female. 



The Huia. 



Heteraloch a acutirostris. 

 Greenish black, with a band of wliite at the end of the tail. 



Bill 



white, wattles orange. Eye dark brown. Length of the wdng, 8 in.; 



of the tarsus, 3 in. Egg — Greyish white, with a few spots of purple 



and brown; length 1.8 in. Found only in the mountains between 

 Wellington and Hawke's Bay. 



The huias are among the remarkable birds that make the fauna 

 of Now Zealaud specially Interesting. Their most striking 

 peculiarity to a naturalist lies in the difference between the bills 

 of. the male and the female. The male's bill is straight, while the 

 female's is strikingly curved, and has a considerable advantage 

 in regard to length. 



