ROOM II. FOSSIL APTERYX ; ALBATROSS. 129 



Mr. Gould observes, so exclusively is the latter bird confined 

 to that isolated spot, and so rare, that many persons who 

 have resided in Norfolk Island many years, assured him its 

 occurrence there was totally unknown, although the distance 

 from one island to the other is not more than three or four 

 miles : l recent accounts state that this species has now 

 become extinct. 



Among the bones discovered by Mr. Walter Mantell at 

 Waingongoro are portions of a skull, and two examples of 

 the bony part of the upper beak of a Parrot, which closely 

 resemble in size and structure those of the genus Nestor. 



The beak, by its deep, subcompressed, curved, and pointed 

 form, its seeming solidity, pierced by small subcircular nos- 

 trils close to its base, attests the family character of Psitta- 

 cidse ; whilst the proportional length as compared with the 

 depth, the narrow upper surface, where it suddenly expands 

 above the nostrils to join the cranium, the absence of the 

 notch on the under border, the very narrow elongated tri- 

 angular palatal surface, with the medium linear notch at its 

 base, all demonstrate that in this characteristic part of the 

 skull, the New Zealand bird represented by it most resembled 

 the living species of Nestor. 2 



FOSSIL APTERYX; ALBATROSS; PENGUIN. In the last col- 

 lection received from my son there are fossil bones of two 

 species of Apteryx; those of the largest equal in size the 

 homologous elements in the Ap. Auslralis; the lesser bones 

 accord with the corresponding parts of the skeleton of Ap. 

 Owenii; but until more perfect examples of crania and other 

 characteristic bones are obtained, the specific identity of the 

 ancient and existing birds cannot be determined. The fact, 

 however, that the living type of tetradactyle struthious birds, 

 known only in New Zealand, was coeval with the stupendous 

 brevipennate Moa, is highly interesting. 



Albatross. Part of a cranium with the upper mandible, 

 not distinguishable from the beak of the yellow-billed Alba- 

 tross (Diamodea chlororhyncus) of the Pacific Ocean, and 

 portions of other bones, dug up at Waikouaiti, prove that this 

 powerful and rapacious bird of flight inhabited the seas and 



1 " Birds of Australia." 



2 "Zoological Transactions," vol. iii. p. 371, PL LIII.,figs. 11, 12, 13. 



K 



