34 The Zoologist — January, 1866. 



had been feeding in this manner every day for some weeks. — James Shorlo ; Dor- 

 chester, December 9, 1865. 



Discovert/ of a Moa's Egg at the Kai Koras. — There is at the present time being 

 exhibited at Messrs. Bethune and Humter's stores, for the benefit of the curious, p.n 

 object of no less interest than the egg of a moa, another relic of the rara avis of New 

 Zealand, The egg is of itself an object of no common interest to ordinary people, but 

 it must be still more so to those who watch narrowly the development of natural history 

 in its relations to this colony, and the circumstances connected with the finding are 

 calculated to lend a slill grealer, not to say a romantic, interest to it. It appears, from 

 what we learn from Captain Davidson, of the schooner " Ruby," which trades between 

 this port and the Kai Koras, that a man in Mr. Fyflfe's employment at the latter place 

 was dijiging the loiindation of a house, and when on the side of a small mound he 

 suddenly came upon the egg in quesiion, and the skeleton of a man, supposed, of 

 course, to be a Maori. The body had evidently beeu buried in a sitting posture, and 

 the egg must have been placed in the hands, as when found the arms were extended 

 in such a manner as to bring it immediately opposite the mouth of the deceased. This, 

 it is assumed, was in accordance with the Maori custom, and was done for the purpose 

 of giving the individual who was buried an opporluuiiy of sustaining himself if he 

 required sustenance. Uelween the legs of the skeleton were found numerous tools, cut 

 from green stone, including a spear, axe, and several implements, which would lead to 

 the belief that the man to whom ihe bones belonged must have been, in some way or 

 other, connected wiih the wood trade— ihat is to say, if carpenters, cabinet-makers, Sec, 

 flourished in his lime. All the bones were in excellent preservation, one arm and hand 

 being entirely wiihoul blemish. The skull bore evidence of the proprietor having, at i 

 some time or the other, received some hard knocks, probably in the battle-field white 

 taking his part in some of tliose terrific encounters which are supposed to have taken 

 place in ancient times. Unfortunately, before the man who was digging discovered 

 the natural treasure, the implonient he was using canje in contact with the shell and 

 broke a small piece out of the side of it, but the fragments have been carefully pre- 

 served, and might readily be fitted into the aperture. The egg itself is about ten inches 

 in length and seven inches in breadth, the .shell being of a dirty brownish colour, and 

 rather better than the thickness of a shilling coin. The inside is perfectly clear and 

 free from all traces of decayed matter. From what Captain Davidson tells us, we 

 should suppose that the ground where this relic was discovered must have been used as 

 a cemetery at some distant perioil of the past, as Mr. Fyffe had previously found some 

 interesting Maori emblems about the same place, but none of the natives about there 

 — and some of them we are informed have arrived at very mature ages — have the 

 slightest recollection of even having heard, as a matter of history, that any of their 

 ancestors had found a final resting-jdace in that particular locality. — Wellington 

 Paper. [This c^q was sold by Mr. J. C. Stevens ou the 24th of November for £120. 

 — E. Netuman]. 



Occurrence of the Stone Curlew or Great Plover at the Land's End.—Jt is singular 

 but quite true that this species has never, to my knowledge, occurred in Cornwall in 

 the summer season : at that lime the bird is entirely unknown to uf, being neither 

 heard nor seen, although year after year specimens are procured in the depth of winter. 

 I had a specimen, in high conditiDU, sent in from the Land's End yesterday. The 

 niigratorial movement of this species is no doubt similar to other species that come 



