436 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



classification and nomenclature have been revised, and a far 

 more complete history has been given of each species than was 

 possible before, seeing that the author has for a further period of 

 fourteen years, enjoyed favourable opportunities for becoming 

 better acquainted with the subject. 



In regard to classification, he has departed considerably from 

 the system followed in his first edition, but this he considered 

 inevitable in order to keep pace with the progress of ornitholo- 

 gical science. 



The feature that first strikes the ornithologist in New 

 Zealand, is the comparatively large number of apterous birds, or 

 species in which the anterior limbs are so feebly developed as to 

 be absolutely useless for purposes of flight. Conspicuous 

 amongst these are the four species of Apteryx, the various kinds 

 of Ocydromus, and the remarkable Ocydromine form, Cabalus, 

 from the Chatham Islands ; then the huge brevipinnate Eail, 

 Notornis ; a small flightless Duck, Nesonetta aucklandica, confined 

 to the Auckland Islands ; and finally the well-known Ground 

 Parrot, Strmgops habroptilus, in which the sternum is almost 

 devoid of a keel. " The explanation in all these cases," says 

 Sir Walter Buller, " is sufficiently obvious. In a country like 

 New Zealand, where there have been no indigenous mammalia, 

 and consequently (?) few birds of prey, species that habitually 

 seek their food on the ground have no inducement to take wing, 

 and from long disuse, continued perhaps through countless 

 generations, lose the carinate character of the sternum, and with 

 it the faculty of flight ; for without the keel on the breastbone to 

 give attachment to the great pectoral muscles, the wings, however 

 ample they may be in their outward development, are practically 

 useless for purposes of flight." 



Another remarkable feature in connection with the carinate 

 birds of New Zealand, is the number of endemic genera and 

 species. Out of a total of 181 species no less than 93 are 

 strictly endemic ; and even among the most widely distributed 

 orders, there are genera restricted in their range to the New 

 Zealand rivers or coasts, or to the outlying islands. Thus among 

 the Limicolse there are two strictly peculiar genera, Thinornis 

 and Anarhynchus, and among the Anseres two more, namely 

 Hymenolasmus and Nesonetta. 



The absence of Woodpeckers might have been expected, as 



