The Zoologist — April, 1870. 2105 



me of llie moa as a bird well liiiowii to tlieir ancestors. They spoke of the moa in 

 exactly the same manner as tbey did of the kakapo, the kiwi, the weka, an extinct 

 kind of rail, in districts where all these birds had disappeared. Allusions to the moa 

 are to be found in their poems, sometimes together with allusions to birds siill in 

 existence in some parts of the island. From these circumstances, and from former 

 frequent conversatious with old natives, I have never entertained the slightest doubt 

 that the moa was found by the ancestors of the present New Zealand race when they 

 first occupied the islands, and tliat by degrees the moa was destroyed and disappeared, 

 as have several other wingless birds from different parts of New Zealand." The 

 circumstance that Dr. Haast found in these cooking places only flint and obsidian, 

 and no implements of warfare and the chase, goes far to prove that they could not be 

 formed by the Maories, who were, comparatively speaking, a highly civilized race 

 when they first look possession of New Zealand, having at that time magnificent 

 boats, elaborate carvings, &c., &c. These could hardly have perished, as the same 

 dryness of soil which has preserved so admirably even the gelatinous tendons of the 

 moa would also have prevented the decay of any kind of any hardwood implements 

 that were deposited with (Item.— ' Field.' 



Green Sandpiper at Haskelon. — A green sandpiper was shot by a gentleman, as 

 it rose from a small brook on some marshy meadows, at Haskelon : its occurrence is 

 somewhat rare in this part of Suffolk. — E. C. Moor; Great Beatings, Woodbridye, 

 Suffolk, December 27, 1869. 



Spurioinged Goose in Wiltshire. — A gentleman who resides at the Manor Farm, 

 Upavon, and not, as erroneously stated, at " Charlton Farm," or " Nelheravon," had 

 noticed from his window a large strange-looking bird beside a pond near the home- 

 stead, in company with his lame geese. Surprised to see bow amicable it was with his 

 own birds, and curious to ascertain what it could be, he went oui, hoping to get a 

 closer view of it, wheu suddenly it took wing, alighting again in a meadow not far off. 

 Seeing enough to convince him that the bird was very wild and very peculiar in 

 appearance, and not wishing to lose it altogether, he returned for his gun, and 

 succeeded in shooting it. Fortunately it was sent for preservation to a " naturalist" 

 living in Devizes, and to him I am indebted for the following account: — "This bird," 

 he writes, " was in excellent plumage and in very good condition, and was, I believe, 

 a two-year old biril, or its back plumage would have been of a black hue, whereas it 

 was mottled with gray : when walking its gait was very upright, more so ihan our tame 

 geese, and its legs are longer. The spur upon its wings is about three-eighths of an 

 inch long ; and I found, upon examining the contents of its stomach, that it had been 

 feeding upon corn and vegetable substances. It weighed four pounds one ounce, was 

 twenty-seven inches in length, and four feet two inches in breadth. According to the 

 instructions received, I stuffed it in an upright position, just as it had been seen when 

 alive." — Henri/ Moses, in ^ Sciencf Gossip^ for March, 1870. 



Ruddy Shieldrake near Tralee, Counly Kerry. — I mentioned (Zool. S. S. 2019) 

 the occurrence of a ruddy shieldrake in the Counly Kerry. Now, owing to the kind 

 attention of Mr. J. C. Neligan, of Tralee, the owner of the bird, I can record for future 

 use the particulars of its capture and habits, as observed in the County Kerry, which 

 have been sent me by that gentleman. It was shot on the 17th of August, 1869, on a 

 lake about ten miles to the west of Tralee: this lake is close to the sea, and only 

 separated from it by some low narrow sand-banks. "Towards the end of last March," 

 SECOND SERIES — VOL- V. X 



