GALLINACE^E. 345 



lar form, which has been recently obtained from New 

 Zealand, the Apteryx* Australis. It seems to con- 

 nect the present Order with the succeeding, for it 

 has the long, curved beak of an Ibis, and the notch- 

 ed toes of a Phalarope. The wings are quite con- 

 cealed, terminating in a single claw. It excavates 

 deep holes in the earth in the form of a chamber, 

 in which it constructs its nest of dry grass and fern, 

 and takes refuge when hunted. 



A letter from the Rev. W. Yate, accompanying a 

 preserved skin, was read before the Zoological So- 

 ciety, May 12th, 1835. He writes, "About six 

 weeks ago I had one of these birds in my possession, 

 the second I have seen in the land. I kept it nearly 

 a fortnight ; and in my absence it died. . . . Its 

 food is long earthworms ; it strikes with its bill on 

 the ground, and seems to know by the sound where 

 its prey lies. It then thrusts its bill into the ground, 

 draws up the worm, and swallows it whole and alive. 

 They kick very hard, and their legs are remarkably 

 strong for the size of the bird."-)- 



* A, without, and fr'^v^ ptcrysc, a wing, 

 t Proc. Zool. Soc., 1835, p. 61. 



