1865. | EXHIBITION OF THE EGG OF A DINORNIS, 617 
4. DENDROCHELIDON CORONATA. 
Hirundo coronata, Tickell. 
Macropteryx longipennis, Jerdon. 
Dendrochelidon schisticolor, Bp. Consp. p. 66. 
D. coronata, Gould, B. Asia, pt. xi. pl. 2. 
Hab. Continental India and Ceylon. 
5. DENDROCHELIDON COMATA. 
Cypselus comatus, Temm. 
Dendrochelidon comata, Gould, B. Asia, pt. xi. pl. 6. 
Hab. Borneo, Sumatra, and Philippines (Mus. Lugd.); Siam 
(Finlayson). 
November 14, 1865. 
John Gould, Esq., F.R.S., V.P., in the Chair. 
Mr. 8. Stevens exhibited a nearly perfect egg of a Dinornis, sup- 
posed to be that ef D. ingens, Owen, which had been placed in his 
hands for sale, and read the following extract from a newspaper 
published at Wellington, New Zealand, on the subject :— 
«There is at the present time being exhibited at Messrs. Bethune 
and Hunter’s stores, for the benefit of the curious, an object of no 
less interest than the egg of a Moa. 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. Fyffe’s 
employment at the latter place was digging the foundation of a 
house, when on the side of a small mound he suddenly came upon 
the egg in question, and the skeleton of a man, supposed of course 
to be a Maori. The body had evidently been 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 op- 
portunity of sustaining himself if he thought proper, or if, in the 
course of things, he required sustenance. Between the legs of the 
skeleton were found numerous tools, cut from greenstone, includin 
a spear, axe, and several implements, which would lead to the belief 
that the man to whom the bones belonged must have been, in some 
way or other, connected with the wood trade—that is to say, if car- 
penters, cabinetmakers, &c., flourished in his time. All the bones 
were in excellent preservation, one arm and hand being entirely 
without blemish. The skull bore evidence of its proprietor having, 
at some time or the other, received some hard knocks, probably in 
the battle-field while taking his part in some of those terrific en- 
