22 



THE OOLOGIST. 



the Turkey Buzzards and Carrion Crows, 

 disgorge their food, to enable them to fly 

 off. The species is more nocturnal in its 

 habits than any other Hawk found in the 

 United States. 



M. Temminck says that this species fre- 

 quents the north of Europe in autumn and 

 winter, and it is at times seen in Holland. 

 My friend Mr. Yarrell states, that, "al- 

 though it has now been killed once or oft- 

 ener in almost every county in England, it 

 has rarely been known to breed there, and 

 is usvmlly obtained in the spring or autumn, 

 when changing its latitude from south to 

 ■ north, or vice versa." 



The number of meadow mice which this 

 species destroys ought, one might think, to 

 ensure it the protection of every husband- 

 man ; but so far is this from being the case, 

 that in America it is shot on all occasions, 

 simply because its presence frightens Mal- 

 lards and other Ducks, which would alight 

 on the ponds, along the shores of Avhic'i the 

 wily gunner is concealed ; and in England 

 it is caught in traps'as well as shot, perhaps 

 for no better reason than because it is a 

 Hawk. But so scarce is it in the latter 

 country, that I never could procure one in 

 the flesh there. 



My friend Mr. Swaiuson considered our 

 bird in its immature plumage, in which he 

 has figured it in the Fauna Boreali- Amer- 

 icana, as the true Falco lagopus ; and Dr. 

 Richardson, in the same work, speaks of it 

 as follows : — " A specimen of this bird, in 

 most perfect plumage, was killed in the 

 month of September, by Mr. Drummond, 

 on the Smoking river, one of the upper 

 branches of the Peace river. It arrives in 

 the Fur Countries in April or May, and, 

 having reared its young, retires southward 

 early in October. It winters on the banks 

 of the Delaware and Schuylkill, returning 

 to the north in the spring. It is by no 

 means an uncommon bird in the districts 

 through which the expedition travelled, but, 

 being very shy, only, one specimen was pro- 

 cured. A pair were seen at their nest, 

 built of sticks, on a lofty tree, standing on 

 a low, moist, alluvial point of land, almost 



encircled by a bend of the Saskatchewan. 

 They sailed round the spot in a wide cir- 

 cle, occasionally settling on the top of a 

 tree, but were too wary to allow us to come 

 within gunshot ; so that, after spending 

 much time in vain, we were fain to relin- 

 quish the chase. In the softness and ful- 

 ness of its plumage, its feathered legs, and 

 habits, this bird bears some resemblance to 

 the Owls. It flies slowly, sits for a long 

 time on the bough of a tree watching for 

 mice, frogs, &c., and is often seen skim- 

 ming over swampy pieces of ground, and 

 hunting for its prey by the subdued day- 

 light, which illuminates even the midnight 

 hours in the high parallels of latitude." 



Nothing is known respecting their prop- 

 agation in the United States, and I must 

 pass over this subject. They leave us in 

 the beginning of March, and betake them- 

 selves to more northern countries ; yet not 

 one did either myself, or my youthful and 

 enterprising party, observe on my late ram- 

 bles in Labrador. 



* * * * , * 



John J. Audubon. 



The Apteryx ; Kivi Kivi. 



Apteryx australis. 



BY F. .1. DAVIS. 



HIS, according to my idea, is the most 

 curious, and by no means the least 

 interesting of the feathered ti'ibe. Its 

 plumage consists of long, lancet-shaped 

 feathers, whitjh increase in length from the 

 neck downward and have a loose web. The 

 body is compact, neck short and thick, feet 

 comparatively short and four toed. They 

 have no tail and only rudimentary wings. 

 The species I am now describing has a 

 plumage of grayish brown, darkest on the 

 back ; the face is covei'ed with hairs. This 

 species is thirty inches long, of which the 

 bill, from tip to base mea»ures six inches. 



