Order STRTJTHIONES.] [Fam. APTEEYGID^E. 



APTEEYX MANTELLI. 



(NORTH-ISLAND KIWI.) 



Apteryx australis, Gould, B. of Austr. vi. pi. 2 (1848, nee Shaw). 

 Apteryx mantelli, Bartlett, P. Z. S. 1850, p. 275. 



Native names. — Kiwi and Kiwi-parure. 



Ad. rufescens : dorsi plumis rufescentibus ad basin pallidioribus, utrinque nigro marginatis, quasi striatis, 

 scapis plumarum productis, duris : pileo et collo postico nigricanti-brunneis, plumis ad basin grisescen- 

 tibus : fronte et facie laterali clarius grisescentibus, ilia pallidiore : gutture sordide brunnescente : 

 corpore reliquo subtus grisescenti-brunneo, plumis medialiter pallidioribus, quasi striolatis : corporis 

 lateribus dorso concoloribus : rostro albicanti-corneo : pedibus saturate brunneis : iride nigra. 



Adult. Head, neck, and fore part of breast dark greyisb brown, the produced filaments of the feathers 

 black, inclining to grey towards the base of the bill ; general plumage of the upper parts dark rufous 

 streaked with blackish brown ; lower part of breast, abdomen, and inner side of thighs pale greyish 

 brown. The streaky appearance of the upper surface is produced by each feather having the centre 

 pale rufous-brown, darker towards the tip, and the long hair-like filaments on both sides black ; the 

 fluffy basal portion of the feather is of a uniform light grey. The long straggling hairs or feelers which 

 beset the fore part of the head and angles of the mouth are jet-black. Irides black ; bill clear white 

 horn-colour ; tarsi and toes dark brown ; claws the same, that of the middle toe whitish towards the 

 base. 



Male. Extreme length, following the curvature of the back 23 inches ; bill, along the ridge 4 - 25, along the 

 edge of lower mandible 4'85 ; tarsus 2"75 ; inner toe and claw 2"25 ; middle toe and claw 2"9 ; outer 

 toe and claw 2'1 ; hallux or hind tarsal claw - 5. 



Female. Extreme length, following the curvature of the body, 27'5 inches; bill along the ridge 6, along the 

 edge of lower madible 6'6 ; tarsus 3'5 ; inner toe and claw 2'6 ; middle toe and claw 3*4 ; outer toe and 

 claw 2"2 ; hallux or hind tarsal claw "75. 



Obs. As will be at once apparent from the above measurements, the male is considerably smaller than the 

 female. It is moreover usually of a brighter rufous, inclining to chestnut-brown, although the tone of the 

 . colouring in different examples is somewhat variable. 



Young male. A young male which I received from the Upper Wanganui in October 1870, had the general 

 tints of the plumage lighter than in the adult female, but not so bright as in ordinary examples of 

 the adult male ; the sides of the head whitish grey, with a dark ear-spot ; the bill 3 inches long and 



