350 THE ANIMALS OF NEW ZEALAND 



opinion held by Professor Ilnxley and Professor A. Newton, that 

 New Zeahmd should be kept as a distinct region. 



There is much evidence to prove that New Zealand was at some 

 former time, probably in the early Eocene Period, connected by 

 a land-ridge w4th New Caledonia and New Guinea; and there is 

 ample evidence to show that the Tasman Sea, which separates 

 New Zealand from Australia, has been in existence during the 

 w^hole of the Tertiary Era. 



It is highly probable that the ancestor of many of the New 

 Zealand birds came along this land-ridge from New Guinea. 



The saddle-back and the huia, for instance, are starlings, 

 allied to calornis, of India, the Malay Archipelago, New Guinea, 

 and northern Australia. The New Zealand thrush is much 

 modified, and its nearest ally is ]\Iyiophoneus, of India and Java. 

 The fern-bird is found in Southern Africa, wnth a near ally in 

 Madagascar. The New Zealand wrens are related to the pittas 

 of India, the JNIalay Archipelago, New Guinea, and Northern 

 Australia. The wood pigeon has its nearest relatives in the fruit- 

 pigeons of India, the ]\Ialay Archipelago, Polynesia, North 

 Australia, and New Caledonia. The kaka is a remarkable form, 

 connecting the macaws, of South America, with the true parrots 

 of Africa ; but, as it formerly occurred in Norfolk Island, we may 

 assume that it came to New Zealand from the north. The wood- 

 hen, also, has a close relation in Lord Howe Island. And the blue 

 duck has some connections in the Moluccas. 



There is further evidence in the fact, that, at the present 

 day our migratory birds still come to us from the north. 



On the other hand, we know^ that the white-eye crossed over 

 the Tasman Sea in 1856. It appeared first in the south of New 

 Zealand and worked its way north. It is highly probable that 

 the redbill, the shoveller, and the ancestors of the paradise duck 

 did the same at some earlier period, for they are not found in 

 New Guinea or in New Caledonia. 



But, in many cases, it is difficult to decide from which direction 

 the first birds came. 



There are two possible explanations of the cause of the 

 connection between New Zealand birds and Australian birds. 



