369 



Young. Dull greyish brown, obscurely mottled ; vertex, sides of the head, and throat greyish white ; the 

 light tips of the feathers very conspicuous, having the appearance of small pencilled lines on a darker 

 ground, the produced hair-like filaments being entirely black. 



Very young state. A chick of this species, in the possession of G. Dawson Rowley, Esq., at Brighton, is of 

 a uniform yellowish-brown colour, with the tips of the feathers lighter. Dr. J. F. Knox has favoured 

 me with the following notes on a still younger specimen, obtained at Nelson in November 1858 : — 

 " Kiwi chick : just escaped from the egg, or rather, in all probability, taken from the egg. Weighed 

 exactly 2 ounces; bill straight, soft, and measuring T25 inch in length; feathers few in number; wings 

 exceedingly small, and no claw observable." 



Varieties. The following is the description of a specimen in the Canterbury Museum, exhibiting a tendency 

 to albinism : — On the left side, just above the thigh, there is a broad irregular patch of the purest white ; 

 and there is a similar but more rounded patch on the inner side of each thigh, and another smaller one 

 near the rump ; on the right side there are also a few white feathers ; and on the sides of the head 

 above the eyes, as well as on the throat, there are patches of dull greyish-white blending with the 

 surrounding dark grey plumage. 



In the Sydney Museum there is a more perfect albino, the whole of the plumage being greyish 

 white, very obscurely streaked with brown. 



Remarks. In this species the bill is straighter than in Apteryx mantelli ; and the facial hairs or feelers are 

 much shorter, seldom exceeding 2 - 5 inches in length. In the rudimentary wing the forearm measures 

 scarcely more than one inch; the terminal claw is about • 5 of an inch in length, horn- coloured, slightly 

 curved, and sharp-pointed; the quills are equal and regular, the tube being - 75 of an inch in length; 

 and the webs, which are perfectly soft, are light brown in colour, crossed by two broad bars of pale 

 fulvous. In the young, or in birds of the first year, the wing-quills are very feebly developed. The 

 tarsi are proportionally longer and more slender than in Apteryx mantelli ; and they are covered ante- 

 riorly with closely-set scales of a rounded form. The claws are long, slender, and sharp-pointed, 

 sometimes with the tip incurvate; the hind claw is slender, only slightly arched, and with sharp edges. 

 The plumage is soft and yielding to the hand when passed along it ; but in a reverse direction or against 

 the grain it is slightly rigid, although it wants the stiffened shafts which give to the feathers of Apteryx 

 mantelli their distinguishing character. On raising the plumage with the hand and viewing it laterally 

 it has very much the appearance of the thick fur on the back of a tabby cat. The general effect on the 

 surface bears a close resemblance to the fur of the small Australian marsupial, Lagorchestes fasciatus, 

 both in colour and in the peculiar character of the wavy markings. 



The Grey Kiwi is distributed over a great portion of the South Island, and in some of the 

 remote districts is still very abundant. It does not occur, however, in any part of the North 

 Island. 



It frequents the woods, and, being (like its congeners) nocturnal in its habits, must be sought 

 for in prostrate hollow trunks, natural holes or caverns among the roots of the large forest- trees, 

 and clefts or fissures in the rocks. It breeds in these localities ; and Dr. Haast informs me that 

 he has sometimes taken its nest from under a dense tussock or from the cavity formed by an 

 overhanging stone on the slope of a wooded hill. 



