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MANUAL OF ZOOLOGY. 



the Galeated Cassowary, other species have been described 

 from the Malayan Archipelago and North Australia, at least 

 nine species being now known to exist in all. 



The second section of the Cursorial birds is that, of the Ap- 

 terygidcz, comprising only the singular "Kiwis" (Apteryx] of 

 New Zealand. The beak in the Apteryx is long, slender, and 

 slightly curved, the tip being obtuse, and the nostrils placed 

 at the extremity of the upper mandible. The legs are com- 

 paratively short, and there is a rudimentary hind-toe or hallux, 

 forming a kind of spur, furnished with a claw (fig. 329, C and 

 D). The wings are entirely rudimentary, and are quite con- 

 cealed by the feathers, each terminating in a sharp claw. The 

 feathers are long and narrow, and the tail is short and incon- 

 spicuous. The species of Apteryx are wholly confined to New 

 Zealand, and are nocturnal in their habits, living upon insects 

 and worms. Four species have been described, of which A. 

 australis (fig. 330) is the best known. 



As regards the distribution of the Cursores in time, it seems 



Fig. 330. Apteryx australis. (Gould.) 



probable that some of the footprints of the Connecticut Trias 

 (if ornithic at all) have been produced by birds belonging to 

 this group. Leaving these doubtful instances out of sight, the 

 Eocene Tertiary has yielded the first certain traces of Cursorial 

 birds (the Dasornis of the London Clay). The most interesting 



