Birds. 7 919] 
small circumference 293 inches; weight avoirdupois 8 tbs. 114 oz. 
nearly. Contrast these with the following, taken from ostrich eggs in my 
cabinets :—Smooth North-African ostrich [egg]: major axis 6} inches ; 
minor axis 5 inches; great circumference 182 inches; less circum- 
ference 17 inches. A rough South-African ostrich [egg] has major axis 
5% inches; minor axis 5 inches; great circumference 172 inches; less 
circumference 163 inches. The former of these was picked out asa 
-very large egg, but the axes of the Aipyornis give nevertheless a pro- 
portion of nearly two to one. Are, we, then, to make the former double 
the altitude of the ostrich, viz. 14 or 16 feet? This question has been 
dealt with by M. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, from whose writings I derive 
chiefly my knowledge of the bird and its bones. He is of opinion that 
we cannot go that length. With the Paris eggs came the lower por- 
tion of the metatarsal of the left leg, found in the same locality with at 
least one of the eggs. This, he says, indicates a bird with shorter legs 
in proportion than the ostrich, yet with a much thicker body, and he 
puts the height of the Madagascar bird at between three métres and 
four métres, 7.e. 9 feet 10°11237 inches and 13 feet 1°48316 inches, and 
leans to the belief that it slightly exceeded the New Zealand species in 
altitude. He computes the contents of his eggs at about 83 litres, 
z.e. about 7 quarts ] pint, and equal to those of six ostriches, seventeen 
emeus, or one hundred and forty-eight hens, a statement which 
Professor Owen confirms, but justly says, that eggs of birds are not 
always in proportion to the size of the species which lay them. It is 
true this is most strikingly the case in Apteryx Mantelli or kiwi, the 
fresh egg of which, as stated by Dr. Sclater, weighs 143 0z., while the 
living bird is 60 0z., so that the egg is nearly equal to one-fourth of 
the bird. * * * 
The first Paris egg [of Hpyornis maximus] was discovered in 1850 
by M. Abadie, captain of a merchant vessel, in harbour at Madagascar, 
on the S.W. coast of the island. This was perforated at the end, and 
used by a native for domestic purposes. Soon after another perfect 
specimen of nearly equal volume, taken from the bed of a torrent, in 
the remains of a small landslip (parm les débris un éboulement) came 
to light from the N.W. extremity. Later, a third [egg] and some bones 
were discovered in a recent formation. This last egg was unfortunately 
smashed on the voyage to Paris, where the three were sent by 
M. Malavois, a French gentleman of the Island of Réunion or Bourbon, 
who received them from Madagascar. My egg was found at Manan- 
zari on the east coast (this is not Mananhari farther north on the same 
side) at a depth of forty-five feet in a hill of ferruginous clay, “ dans le 
