118 



NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. 



intestinal arrangement of the kagu and that of the sun-bitterns is that in the latter the 

 caeca are nearly rudimentary, while well developed in the former. As to external 

 characters it will suffice to mention the long pending nape crest, and the peculiar 

 scroll-like membrane overhanging the openings of the nostrils, the use of which, ac- 

 cording to Dr. Murie, .seems to be to close the openings when the bird, as is its habit, 

 digs into the soft soil for its food, thus preventing foreign matters from entering the 



nostrils. The manner of clos- 

 ing these lids he describes as 

 follows : " As the nostril ap- 

 proaches the ground and is 

 touched, its anterior part, 

 having a plough-share for- 

 mation or scroll-like contour, 

 sends the earth upwards over 

 it. The springy, semi-elastic 

 lid, from in front to behind, 

 is pressed down and inwards, 

 finally completely closing the 

 aperture as the beak is thrust 

 deep into the earth in search 

 of its living prey." I may 

 acid that the nostrils of Eu- 

 rypyga are simple, without 

 any closing membrane. 



During their stay on New 

 Caledonia, Messrs. Layards, 

 father and son, made inter- 

 esting studies into the his- 

 tory of this singular bird, the 

 color of which is gray, lighter 

 beneath, and with cross marks 

 of brown, black, and gray on 

 the wing- and tail-feathers, 

 recalling a similar style of col- 

 oration in Eurypyga, while the iris is orange, and feet and bill orange-scarlet. From 

 their account we make the following extract : 



" In former times it seems to have been generally distributed all over the island, 

 but it has now nearly disappeared from the neighborhood of the more settled and 

 inhabited parts. It is usually caught by the natives with dogs, among rocks and 

 stones in precipitous ravines in the mountains. In habit it is strictly nocturnal, lying 

 concealed and asleep during the day in its rocky retreats ; but as soon as night comes, 

 and especially in wet weather or during heavy dews, the ' kagou,' as it is called by the 

 natives, sallies forth in search of worms, slugs, snails, and such like, on which it feeds. 

 It runs with great rapidity, but has the habit of remaining during the day in one 

 position for a considerable length of time, like the herons. Swainson would have 

 undoubtedly made this bird a link between them and the rails. 



" All our endeavors to procure the eggs of this bird or reliable information on its 

 nidification have proved futile or contradictory. The majority of the natives have 



FIG. 56. Skeleton of Rhynochetos jubatus. 



