BIRDS OF NEW ZEALAND. - 9 



Tliis bird, whose sex I unfortunately cannot give with certainty, is evidently 

 much less robust than A. haastii ; and the phalanges of the foot are much 

 smaller, the scutella also, and consequently more numerous. 



In Apteryx haastii the bill is a dirty ivory in colour, the feet and legs 

 dark brown-black, claws horn- colour. 



The adult male is like the female, but smaller, the light spot in the 

 feather is narrower than in the female ; hence the whole bird looks darker 

 than she does, and the plumage affords a decidedly sexual difference, which 

 is constant and strongly observable in both adult and young. 



There are two other specimens of this Apteryx in the Canterbury 

 Museum ; and these six are all at present known ; the fifth one of my series 

 was said to have been destroyed by the dogs. 



It appears to me, on reading Dr. Buller's description of the two birds 

 now in New Zealand, that the lighter one is a female and the darker a male. 

 He says, "They are supposed to be females. If they are males it may 

 reasonably be inferred that the female of this species is considerably larger 

 than Apteryx australis." It is, however, clear that they are certainly not 

 both of the same sex. 



The dimensions given by Dr. Buller of the largest bird are as follows: — 

 " Total length 25-5 inches ; bill, along the ridge 4-75, along the edge of the 

 lower mandible 5*4 ; tarsus 275 ; middle toe and claw 3-1 ; hallux or hind 

 tarsal claw "75. " He remarks, "The form appears to be an intermediate 

 one, combining in some degree the distinguishing characters of both," i. e. 

 Apteryx australis and A. owenii. This is in some respects the case ; but the 

 characters are well marked and distinct: no suspicion of hybridism can 

 attach to Apteryx haastii ; it appears a conspicuously well-marked species. 



Perhaps Apteryx haastii may fairly be allowed, from its size and beauty, 

 to stand at the head of the others. Though the anatomy of Apteryx attests 

 its relation to the Struthious group, yet the female is larger than the male ; 

 while in Struthio camelus, on the contrary, the male slightly exceeds the 

 female. A reason for this may be found in the enormous size of the tgg of 



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