292 



VERTEBEATK ANIMALS. 



Australia. In size it nearly equala the African Ostrich, standing 

 from five to seven feet in height, and it is not uncommonly kept as 

 a domestic pet. The Cassowaries are found in the Malayan Archi- 

 pelago, North Australia, and New Guinea. The best known is the 

 Galeated Cassowary which was fir.st brought alive to Europe by the 

 Dutch. It stands about five feet in height, and possesses a singular 

 horny crest upon the head. The last group of the living Cursorial 

 Birds is the curious genus Apteryoc of New Zealand. In the species 

 of this remarkable genus (fig. 207) the beak ia extremely long and 

 slender, and the nostrils are placed at the extremity of the upper 



Fig. 207. — The Apt&ryx australis of New Zealand, showing the hair-like feathers, 

 and the rudimentary great toe on the back of the foot. 



mandible. The leg.s are comparatively short, and there is a rudi- 

 mentary hind-toe, provided with a claw. The feathers of the gen- 

 eral plumage are long and hair-like, and the wings are altogether 

 rudimentar}'. 



It is worth noting that in New Zealand are found the remains of 

 a number of gigantic Cursorial Birds which are now extinct, but 

 which seem to have been in existence when the island was first in- 

 habited by man. They are known to the Maories as " Moas," and 

 the principal genus is Dinornis. 



In very many respects the various Birds which are here included 



