Order STRUTHIONES.] [Fam. APTERYGID.E. 



APTERYX OWENI. 



(LITTLE GREY KIWI.) 



Apteryx owenii, Gould, P. Z. S. 1847, p. 94. 



Native name. — Kiwi-pukupuku. 



Ad. griseus, brunneo et fulvescente alterne transfasciatus, dorsi plumis etiam subterminaliter nigro trans- 

 fasciatis : subtus pallidior, clarius grisescens, plumis albido et brunneo alterne fasciatim transnotatis : 

 pileo guttureque clare griseis, facie laterali paullo saturatiore : rostro saturate corneo : pedibus pallide 

 brunneis, unguibus corneis : iride nigra. 



Adult. Head, throat, and fore neck dull yellowish brown, darker on the nape ; general plumage of the 

 body light yellowish brown mottled all over, and obscurely banded in a wavy manner with blackish 

 brown ; the rigid hair-like points of the feathers bright fulvous ; underparts paler, the plumage of the 

 abdomen becoming light fulvous obscurely barred with brown. Each feather examined separately has 

 the main portion, which is concealed by the outer plumage, glossy greyish brown, becoming paler 

 towards the root; above this, where the barbs are disunited, it is crossed by an irregular bar of 

 fulvous or yellowish brown, beyond 'which again it is blackish brown tipped with shining fulvous : on 

 the feathers of the underparts and sides of the body there are generally two of these transverse bands. 

 It is the blending together of these markings that produces the peculiar mottled and wavy ap- 

 pearance described above. Irides black ; bill dark horn-colour ; legs and feet pale brown, the claws 

 horn-coloured, with transparent tips. 



Male. Total length, following the curvature of the back, 175 inches; bill, along the ridge 2'85, along the 

 edge of lower mandible 34; tarsus 175 ; middle toe and claw 24; hallux or hind tarsal claw *4. 



Female. Total length, following the curvature of the back, 20 inches; bill, along the ridge 3 - 5, along the 

 edge of lower mandible 4; tarsus 2"5 ; middle toe and claw 3; hallux, or hind tarsal claw, '5. 



Obs. Independently of the marked difference in size between the sexes, there is a considerable amount of 

 individual variation ; and adult specimens are sometimes met with of so small a size as even to suggest 

 the existence of another species. I have remarked this more particularly with examples received from 

 the southern portions of the South Island. 



The ground-tints of the plumage vary slightly in different birds. As a rule, however, the male is 

 of a somewhat darker shade than the female, and the plumage has a more banded or rayed character, 

 while the tips of the feathers on the upper parts are of a brighter fulvous. 



