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gave a portrait of it in the Supplement to his ' Birds of Australia,' executed in his usual masterly 

 style ; and other figures, of less note, have appeared at various times. The coloured drawing of 

 this bird in the * Student' for 1870, as well as the woodcut in the 'Field,' although in other 

 respects excellent pictures, possess a fault in common — namely, in having the tail broad and fan- 

 like, instead of being compressed, narrow, and inclined inwards. This, as I have been informed, 

 was owing to the damaged condition of the tail in the particular bird from which both of these 



figures were taken. 



The attitude selected by our artist is adapted from a sketch taken from life, and furnished 



by Dr. Hector. 



The egg of the Kakapo, of which there is a figure (from the pencil of Mr. Wolf) in the 

 'Proceedings' of the Zoological Society for 1852, is broadly ovato-conical in form, and of pure 

 whiteness till discoloured in the process of incubation. A specimen in the Canterbury Museum, 

 much stained and slightly damaged, measures 2 inches in length by 1-4 in its greatest breadth. 

 The surface of the shell is smooth, but without any gloss or polish ; and on close inspection it is 

 found to be finely granulate. 





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