A Reference List of the Birds of Neiv Zealand. 207 



One of the present writers spent almost the whole year 1908 

 upon Sunday Island, and had the opportunity of hearing all 

 the stories relative to the mythical mound-builder. There can 

 be no doubt that nothing definite whatever can be arrived at 

 regarding this mound-builder, and the assumption that it 

 might have been a Megapode has not even a basis. It could 

 certainly not have been Megapodius pritchardi, as that bird 

 does not build a mound. Lister (Proc. Zool. Soc. 1911, 

 p. 7-J9 et seq.) has given a detailed history of the genus 

 Megapodius in the Pacific, and, independently confirming the 

 present writer's conclusions as to the improbability of such a 

 form occurring at the Kermadecs, wrote : ''It therefore seems 

 to me that we have no good evidence that the genus 

 Megapodius formerly inhabited the Kermadec Islands, and 

 absolutely none that M. pritcliardi lived there.'' The italics 

 are ours. 



We might note that Buller included a sentence to the 

 effect (p. 40) that the Pigeon formerly inhabiting the 

 Kermadecs could be accepted as identical with the New 

 Zealand bird. The stories regarding the Pigeon are even 

 more mythical than those regarding the " Mound-builder,'' 

 and are absolutely unworthy of inclusion in any scientific 

 work. 



Family PHASIANID^. 

 Genus COTURNIX. 



ro/M7'n?>Bonnaterre, Tabl. Encycl. Method., Ornith. vol. i, 

 1791, p. Ixxxvii. 



Type (by tautonymy) : C. coturnia; (Linne). 



Cotiirnix novsezealandiae Quoy & Gaimard. New Zealand 

 Quail. 

 Coturnia' noveezealandicp Quoy & Gaimard, Voy. de PAstrol., 

 Zool. vol. i. 1830, p. 242 : Baie Chouraki, North Island. 



Synonym : — 



C'utt(r7ii.v noctezeaUindice Buller, Suppl. vol. i. p. 34. 



Range : — Formerly both Islands. Now extinct. 



