Travers.— Notes on the Extinction of the Moa. 63 
mination of the Moa, and the southern race have gone to the North Island 
to obtain the much coveted obsidian, without fear of being devoured by the 
more savage tribes inhabiting it.” 
With reference to the name “‘ Moa” as used by the Maoris, Dr. Haast 
says—* 
‘‘T have been told that the present race inhabiting New Zealand must 
have been cotemporaneous with the Dinornis, because the word Moa forms 
part of the designation of several localities in New Zealand, but this occur- 
rence might be explained in several ways. In the first instance, it is very 
possible that the word Moa in those names is only the alteration of another 
word in course of time, because words having the same, or nearly the same 
sound, are not unfrequent in the Maori language, such as moa, a bed in a 
garden, a certain stone; moana, sea; mod-ia, to be early; moe, sleep or 
dream; moho, a bird; mou, for thee; or, moua, the back of the neck; or 
that the natives used the expression to designate localities where Moa bones 
were principally found. Another explanation might be given by pointing 
out that the word Moa is used in connection with other birds. Thus I may 
quote from the Rev. Richard Taylor’s ‘A Leaf from the Natural History of 
New Zealand,’ Wellington, 1848, the following expressions :—‘ Moa kerua, 
a black bird with red bill and feet, a water hen ; Moa koru, very small rail ; 
Moeriki, rail of the Chatham Islands.’ And may we not therefore conclude 
that if the Maoris had known anything of the Dinornis, the present repre- 
sentative of the genus, which, in appearance, form, and plumage, most 
probably closely resembles some of the extinct gigantic forms, would have 
in preference been named by them Moa-iti, or some similar appellation, 
instead of calling the Apteryx Owenii, Kiwi, from its peculiar call; and the 
Apteryx Australis, Tokoeka and Roa? The fact that they added instead, to 
the names of birds resembling somewhat the domestic fowl, the prefix moa, 
might be taken as an additional confirmation of the probability that the 
theories advanced by me are correct. And how can we reconcile the 
difference in the statements concerning the plumage, which, according to 
one account, consisted of magnificent plumes on the head and tail, whilst, 
according to the other, it resembled that of the Apteryx? Another point of 
importance must strike the observer, concerning Maori nomenclature. If 
the present race had known anything of the Dinornis, should we not expect 
that several and very distinct names would have been preserved to us for 
the different species? We may safely presume that the Moa-hunting races 
had different names for the huge Dinornis giganteus, robustus, and for Palap- 
« «Trans, N. Z. Inst.,” Vol. IV., p. 92. 
