Vlll PREFACE. 



alive, killed and eaten, and its skin brought to England, and exhibited 

 at a meeting of the Zoological Society. The interesting exhibition 

 having taken place after .the volume for the current year was complete, 

 it seems the more necessary for me to adopt this plan of making it 

 known to my readers. The bird was described as fossil by Owen, 

 under the name of Notornis Mantellii, and was taken alive in Dusky 

 Bay, in the Middle Island of New Zealand. Dr. Mantell read a most 

 interesting account of its capture, forwarded to him, together with the 

 specimen, by his son, Mr. Walter Mantell, so honorably known among 

 naturalists for his successful labours in the Paleontology of New 

 Zealand. It appears that the recent tracks of the bird's feet were 

 seen in the snow which at that time covered the island, by a party of 

 sailors who landed in Dusky Bay. They were accompanied by dogs, 

 which, being put on the scent, soon came in sight of the bird, and 

 finally ran it down. When caught by the dogs it screamed most 

 violently, but was not so much hurt but that it lived some time after 

 its capture. When dead it was eaten, and its flesh thought to be de- 

 licious. Its size is that of a large fowl ; in figure it much resembles 

 the rail family, especially the genus Porphyrio, remarkable for its 

 strong beak : it however differs from Porphyrio in its much shorter 

 and stronger legs and toes ; its shorter and much more feeble wings, 

 which are remarkable for the abbreviation of the quill-feathers ; 

 and its tail exhibits other important discrepancies. The gene- 

 ral colour of the plumage is nearly black, with beautiful and brilliant 

 metallic reflections of blue and green. The beak is large, compressed 

 laterally, very strong, and of a red colour. Mr. Gould read a technical 

 description of the bird, which retains the name of Notornis Mantellii. 

 It may be supposed that great interest was excited by the actual pre- 

 sence of a recent specimen of a bird previously set down as being 

 long since extinct. The impression made on my own mind by this 

 disclosure is, that we have been too hasty in our conclusions as to 

 the fossil nature of the New-Zealand bones : is it not possible, is it 

 not even probable, that the bones of Notornis, described as fossil, were 

 those of comparatively recent birds ? In the present instance a 

 naturalist was at hand to rescue the skin from destruction ; but this 



