214 Essays. 
the eagle, are all directed to certain points and confined within limits, 
invisible, indeed, to the natural eye, yet as impassable and as exclusive as a 
wall of brass. ‘Hither shalt thou come, but no further’ with safety or 
comfort to thyself! This command, although not pronounced, is a part of 
the natural instinct of every animal in a state of nature.” * 
Some few birds are said to be cosmopolite, while many are common to 
several continents and extend their range over half the globe; but the vast 
majority of species are circumscribed in their range by narrow geographical 
limits, beyond which they seldom or never ‘wander. 
New Zealand affords a striking example of this fact; for, if we except the 
sea birds and some of the waders, our ornithology is strictly and exclusively 
local. Hardly a single species is common to any other country, while many 
of the genera are peculiar to our fauna. At the same time, the zoological 
peculiarities of the great natural division to which New Zealand belongs are 
strongly manifest. These distinguishing features of Australasian zoology 
are the total absence of large quadrupeds, the paucity of the smaller, and 
the vast preponderance of the class Aves; while the latter is characterized 
by the high development of the families Meliphagide and Psittacide and the 
entire absence of Picide, or true woodpeckers. In this respect the orni- 
thology of this region presents a striking contrast to that of Europe, the fauna 
of which does not contain a single species of parrot, while the woodpeckers are 
comparatively numerous ; and turning to the meliphagous genera, we find 
that the peculiar organization restricted in Africa, America, and India to the 
smallest birds in creation, is here developed to so high a degree that it com- 
prises about one-sixth of the Australian perchers and includes many birds of 
appreciable size. 
Any one at all acquainted with the zoology of New Zealand cannot have 
failed to remark these general characteristic features of the Australasian 
division, while it is equally apparent that New Zealand and the adjacent 
islands form together a distinct section, possessing an exclusive fauna, and 
marked by strong peculiarities. | 
The first published list of birds of this country was drawn up by G. R. 
Gray, Esq., of the British Museum, and appeared in 1843 in the Appendix 
to Dr. Dieffenbach’s Travels. This list contained the names of eighty-four 
recorded species, but many of these were of doubtful authority, and were 
afterwards expunged. 
Subsequently, in “The Voyage of H.M.SS. Erebus and Terror," the 
same naturalist produced a more complete list, embracing the birds of New 
Zealand and the neighbouring islands, accompanied by short specific 
* Introduction to “ Birds of Western Africa.” Nat. Lib, 
