228 EXTINCT MONSTERS 



Now, it is a remarkable fact that remains of another giant bird 

 and its eggs have been found on the opposite side of the great 

 Indian Ocean, namely, in the island of Madagascar, the existence 

 of which was first revealed by its eggs, found sunk in the swamps, 

 but of which some imperfect bones were afterwards discovered. 

 One of these eggs was so enormous that its diameter was nearly 

 fourteen inches, and was reckoned to be as big as three ostrich 

 eggs, or 148 hen's eggs ! This means a cubic content of more 

 than two gallons ! The natives search for the eggs by probing 

 in the soft mud of the swamps with long iron rods. A large 

 specimen of an egg of this bird will fetch a good price. 

 What the dimensions of ^Epyornis were it is impossible to say, 

 and it would be unsafe to venture a calculation from the size of 

 the egg. 1 The reader who wishes to see some of the remains 

 of this huge bird may be referred to the Natural History 

 Museum. In Wall case No. II., Gallery 2, may be seen a 

 tibia and plaster casts of other bones; also two entire eggs, 

 many broken pieces, and one plaster cast of an egg found in 

 certain surface deposits in Madagascar. In the same case may 

 be seen bones of the Dodo from the Isle of Mauritius. 



It will thus.be seen that we have three distinct groups of giant 

 land birds the Moas, the Dromornis, and the ^Epyornis, 

 occupying areas at present widely separated by the ocean. 



This raises the difficult but very interesting question, how they 

 got there; and the same applies to their living ancestors. The 

 ostrich proper, Struthio camelus, inhabits Africa and Arabia ; 

 but there is evidence from history to show that it formerly 

 existed in Beluchistan and Central Asia. And, going still further 



1 From the size of a femur and tibia of .ffipyornis preserved in the Paris 

 Museum, it could not have been less in stature than the Dinornis maximus of 

 New Zealand. 



