3984 The Zoologist— May, 1874. 



proportion to the size of the bird, but longer time is given for its 

 elimination and deposition; Gallns,Perdix,or Coturnix raaj' be cited 

 as examples, the prolificacy of these genera being evidenced by the 

 production of from twelve to fifteen eggs, but the formation of these 

 spreads over many days. The inquiries which suggest themselves 

 are as follows : — To what extent (if any) do the gizzard-stones affect 

 the supply of necessary calcareous material for the wants of the 

 female? Are the fragments of stone in the gizzard of the female 

 greater previously to the breeding season than at other periods of 

 the year? It must not be forgotten that the difficulty of ob- 

 taining the lime supply can only be fairly estimated by personal 

 acquaintance with the habitat of the kiwi. 



The feather of the Apteryx, as distinguished from the emu, 

 exhibits the peculiarity of not possessing an accessory plume ; the 

 barrel is very short in reference to the shafi, and its diameter small. 

 Taxidermists allege that the plumage of the kiwi is loosely attached 

 to the skin and readily drops out, and a reason to account for the 

 ease with which the quill parts from its sac might probably be found 

 in the drying up of certain secretions after death. In dissecting 

 specimens we found that the quills of the feathers over some por- 

 tions of the trunk were deeply scaled in the skin, so much so that 

 we believe the bird would instantly feel the contact of external 

 objects that might touch the spinal and femoral plumage. The 

 thick tough skin which envelopes and protects this night toiler, 

 working amidst the humid mosses of the bush, is rendered more 

 com])letely defensive by being thus endowed with a keen sense of 

 touch, for by the slightest displacement of its feathers the retiring 

 cautiousness of the bird is at once awakened, and it is enabled to 

 shrink from danger. 



Dogs readily follow the scent of the Apteryx ; those belonging 

 to miners and prospectors destroy great numbers, far more than 

 either they or their owners consume. We have observed that some 

 kiwi-hunting dogs become so dainty that they content themselves 

 with tearing off the head for the sake of consuming the brains, 

 leaving the rest of the carcase untouched. Dogs that have lost 

 their masters and have gradually entered upon a wild life are on 

 the increase on some parts of the coast. Several were heard of up 

 the Wanganui river as being in ])acks, but no attempt had been 

 made to destroy and stamp out this beginning of a serious nuisance 

 to the settler. Bushmen do not dislike the flesh of the kiwi, nor is 



