THE MASCARENE ISLANDS. 129 



Dodos have therefore existed at successive periods in the venerable reposi- 

 tories of Oxford University." 



In Strickland's work (p. 18) we find a facsimile of a Do Do taken from 

 the Voyages of Pieter van den Broecke, " contained in the ' Beginende Voort- 

 gangh der Vereen. Nederl. Geoctr. Oostind. Compagnie/ vol, ii. numb. xvi. 

 p. 102." Thevenot (^Relations de divers Voyages Curieux,' publ. 1696) has 

 a reversed copy of this entire plate ; and I have here introduced it. 



Strickland conjectures that both the birds draw^n '^ w^ere sketched during 

 his (Van den Broecke's) visit to the Mauritius (mentioned in page 68), which 

 lasted from April 19th to May 23rd, 1617." Again, "What bird Van den 

 Broecke's other figure may be intended to represent, or from what country 

 it came, must be left to conjecture." This was a riddle to Strickland, w^ho 

 died before the discovery of the picture of Aphanapteryx brcecMi (Schleg.) — 

 "an aberrant form of the Rallidae." 



There is, however, no need to dwell long upon a bird which has attracted 

 so much observation as to have become almost hackneyed, though little except 

 its portrait is known to us. To Herr Georg von Frauenfeld is the credit due 

 of announcing the most interesting discovery of the Aphanapteryx painted in 

 oil on parchment, in the private library of the late Emperor Francis of Austria 

 Qcf. Ibis, 1868, U.S. vol. iv. pp. 480-482). 



But the point I am coming to is the difference which exists between the 

 " Hen " of Herbert (which, by the kind permission of Mrs. Strickland, I have 

 copied from 'The Dodo and its kindred/ p. 21, and placed below Thevenot's 

 plate) and the companion of the Do Do in the Plate. I think that any one 

 who observes the beaks of those two birds must agree that they represent 

 different species. 



Strickland says (p. 21) :— "Sir T. Herbert also gives a figure of what 

 he calls ' a Hen,' which is very probably intended for the same bird which 



VOL. II. T 



