359 





of a "white horn-colour; tarsi in front and toes whitish or flesh-coloured; the edges of the metatarsal 

 scutella margined with pale hrown, hind part of tarsi and soles darker, and the claws blackish brown. 

 In this bird the feathers of the back were far less rigid than in the full-grown bird ; the rudimentary 

 wings were furnished with a delicate sharp-pointed spur of an arched form, half an inch in length, 

 brown in its basal portion and yellowish towards the tip. The tubes of the quills Avere extremely 

 small, narrow, and flexible, the feathery shaft being far more ample in proportion than in the adult 

 bird. 



In another example of the young bird (in a more advanced condition, judging by the greater strength 



of the quills) the tarsi and toes were of a dark greyish-brown colour. 



Younger state. In the very young bird the plumage is soft and flufiy, and of a uniform dull rufous brown, 

 with the tips of the shafts and the produced hair-like filaments black ; paler or greyer on the head and 

 throat. 



General Remarks. Although the head of the Apteryx is small, the neck is large and muscular. There is also 

 a great development of muscle on the thighs ; and the feet are strong and powerful, and armed with 

 sharp claws. (In the adult female, of which the general measurements are given above, the circum- 

 ference of the tibia in its largest part was 6*25 inches, of the tarsal joint 3-25, and of the tarsus 2.)^ 

 The bill is broad at the base, then tapering, gently arched, and very much produced, with a shght 

 enlargement at the tip. The tongue is short and flattened, very thin, but rigid in its anterior portion, 

 with an even width of "2 of an inch, and rounded at the extremity. The wings are rudimentary, and 

 are entirely concealed by the plumage of the body : in a bird of the largest size the humerus measures 

 only 2 inches, and the cubitus 1*25. At the extremity of the latter there is a slender claw or spur, like 

 a twisted piece of wire in appearance, bluish-black in colour, and varying in length from half an inch to 

 I-l, being generally more largely developed in the female. The tubes of the quills in a full-grown 

 specimen are 1*25 of an inch in length, and -1 of an inch in diameter in their thickest part. In the fully 

 adult bird the scales covering the tarsi and toes are closely set with overlapping edges, and are perfectly 

 smooth ; in the young they are soft and detached, presenting a reticulated surface. The feathers are 

 lanceolate and composed externally of long disunited barbs or filaments ; the downy portion towards the 

 roots is very largely developed, and far exceeds in extent the exposed or hairy portion. They are desti- 

 tute of the accessory plumule so highly developed in some of the struthious birds, for example in the 

 Emu and Cassowary ; but the basal or concealed portion of each feather is very fine and silky. Beyond 

 the extremity of the barbs the shaft becomes more rigid, and on the upper and hind parts of the body it is 

 produced to a sharp point. The development of this structure to such an extent as to render the 

 plumage stiff and harsh to the touch is the character which separates the present species from its near 

 ally Apteryx australis. The fore part of the head and sides of the face are beset with .straggling hairs 

 or feelers, varying in length from 1 to 6 inches, and perfectly black. 



» 



A FULL and complete history of the remarkable wingless birds which, even to the present day, 

 form the most distinctive feature in the avifauna of New Zealand', would necessarily fill a volume. 

 As, however, the osteology and anatomy of these singular forms have already been exhaustively 



Memoirs 



do not propose to touch on this part of the subject, but rather to confine myself to some account 

 of their life-history ; and as the habits of the several species of Apteryx at present known to us 



I 



