﻿532 
  Mr. 
  H. 
  O. 
  Forbes 
  on 
  the 
  Birds 
  

  

  become 
  very 
  scarce. 
  The 
  natives 
  call 
  the 
  bird 
  Meriki, 
  and 
  

   catch 
  it 
  with 
  nooses. 
  I 
  often 
  heard 
  its 
  short 
  shrill 
  voice 
  in 
  

   the 
  bush, 
  and 
  after 
  much 
  trouble 
  obtained 
  a 
  living 
  specimen 
  " 
  

   — 
  which 
  has 
  proved 
  to 
  be 
  the 
  last 
  of 
  its 
  race. 
  The 
  abund- 
  

   ance 
  of 
  its 
  remains 
  in 
  the 
  Wharekauri 
  sand-hills 
  indicates 
  

   that 
  it 
  must 
  have 
  once 
  been 
  very 
  numerous. 
  

  

  This 
  Crake 
  lived 
  on 
  Wharekauri, 
  but 
  its 
  remains, 
  though 
  

   not 
  uncommon 
  there, 
  have 
  not 
  yet 
  been 
  found 
  elsewhere. 
  

  

  33. 
  Cabalus 
  modestus. 
  (Plate 
  XIV. 
  fig. 
  4, 
  egg.) 
  

  

  Cabalus 
  modesUis, 
  Buller, 
  op. 
  cit. 
  ii. 
  p. 
  123. 
  

  

  Cabalus 
  diejfenbachii 
  (young), 
  H. 
  O. 
  Forbes, 
  Bull. 
  Brit. 
  

   Orn. 
  Club, 
  i. 
  p. 
  xx 
  (1892). 
  

  

  Cabalus 
  modestus, 
  H. 
  O. 
  Forbes_, 
  Bull. 
  Brit. 
  Orn. 
  Club, 
  i. 
  

   p. 
  xlvi 
  (1893). 
  

  

  This 
  has 
  been 
  so 
  rare 
  a 
  bird 
  that 
  up 
  till 
  November 
  1892 
  

   only 
  two 
  specimens 
  were 
  known 
  — 
  the 
  type, 
  which 
  has 
  totally 
  

   disappeared 
  for 
  years, 
  and 
  the 
  example 
  I 
  received 
  at 
  that 
  

   date 
  from 
  my 
  correspondent, 
  Mr. 
  Hawkins. 
  The 
  plumage 
  of 
  

   this 
  latter 
  bird 
  was 
  so 
  remarkable 
  that, 
  notwithstanding 
  the 
  

   opinion 
  of 
  Count 
  Salvadori 
  to 
  the 
  contrary, 
  I 
  could 
  not 
  but 
  

   believe 
  that 
  it 
  was 
  a 
  young 
  bird, 
  and 
  the 
  young 
  of 
  Cabalus 
  

   dieffenbachi. 
  It 
  was 
  only 
  on 
  the 
  receipt 
  of 
  further 
  speci- 
  

   mens 
  that 
  I 
  was 
  convinced 
  that 
  this 
  distinguished 
  ornitho- 
  

   logist 
  was 
  quite 
  right 
  and 
  that 
  they 
  were 
  adult 
  birds. 
  

   They 
  possess 
  " 
  in 
  their 
  adult 
  plumage 
  the 
  exact 
  dress 
  

   which 
  might 
  have 
  been 
  expected 
  to 
  characterize 
  the 
  young 
  

   of 
  C. 
  dieffenbacbii" 
  *. 
  "The 
  young 
  ones,^^ 
  writes 
  Mr. 
  Haw- 
  

   kins, 
  "are 
  always 
  the 
  same 
  colour 
  as 
  the 
  old. 
  They 
  nest 
  in 
  

   holes 
  in 
  the 
  ground, 
  and 
  when 
  the 
  young 
  are 
  hatched 
  they 
  

   get 
  into 
  fallen 
  hollow 
  trees. 
  They 
  live 
  on 
  insects, 
  principally 
  

   the 
  sand-hoppers 
  [Crustacea 
  Amphipoda], 
  which 
  travel 
  into 
  

   the 
  bush 
  here 
  a 
  long 
  way. 
  There 
  is 
  no 
  sand 
  at 
  all 
  on 
  the 
  

   island 
  [Mangare] 
  where 
  the 
  birds 
  are.^^ 
  

  

  The 
  egg 
  of 
  this 
  bird, 
  of 
  which 
  only 
  one 
  specimen 
  has 
  as 
  

   yet 
  been 
  discovered, 
  is 
  nearly 
  white, 
  but 
  its 
  Ralline 
  character 
  

   is 
  indicated 
  by 
  a 
  faint 
  double 
  spotting 
  of 
  grey 
  and 
  rufous. 
  It 
  

   measures, 
  axis 
  1'45, 
  and 
  in 
  diameter 
  I'l. 
  

  

  * 
  R. 
  B. 
  Shari)e, 
  Ball. 
  Brit. 
  Orn. 
  Club, 
  i. 
  p. 
  xlvi. 
  

  

  