AVES 287 



gently pulls it out of its hole, using a curious wriggling motion. The 

 name "kiwi" was suggested by their loud, whistling note. The nest, 

 if such it may be called, is an enlarged chamber at the end of the 

 tunnel-like burrow and is made by the female. The male, however, 

 with true ratite chivalry, assumes the main responsibility of incubat- 

 ing the two large eggs. 



Extinct Ratite 



The Moas (Dinornithiformes). — -When British explorers first oc- 

 cupied New Zealand nearly seventy years ago the skeletons of gigan- 

 tic wingless birds were found scattered about the plains. These 

 skeletal remains were in such a good state of preservation that it 

 seems probable that there were living moas less than five hundred 

 years ago. It may well be that the last of these birds were extermin- 

 ated by the Maoris. Dinornis was in general appearance not unlike 

 the ostrich, but was very much more heavily built in the legs and had 

 either no wing bones at all or at best the merest rudiments of wings. 

 The birds were somewhat taller than the ostrich, with head and neck 

 much like those of the latter. 



The Elephant Birds {Mpyornithes) . — These birds probably were 

 living in Madagascar less than two centuries ago. They are believed 

 to have furnished the factual foundation for the mythical "Rocs" of 

 Sinbad the Sailor. They were out of accord with these birds of 

 oriental fiction in that they were incapable of flight and were much 

 less gigantic in size, being only about seven feet in height, though of 

 massive build. The eggs were surprisingly large in size, some of those 

 which are still used by the natives as receptacles, measuring thirteen 

 by nine inches and having a capacity of two gallons. This is the 

 largest egg on record, though doubtless some of the extinct giant 

 reptiles had larger ones. No doubt this fine bird was hunted out of 

 existence by the native tribes of Madagascar. Possibly the collecting 

 of their eggs was more destructive to the species than was the slaugh- 

 ter of adults. 



Appendix to the Ratite 



The Tinamous {Crypturiformes) .—The systematic relations of 

 this interesting group of birds is in dispute, some authorities placing 

 them near the ostriches among the ratite birds, and others classing 

 them as an aberrant family of the order Galliformes, among the cari- 



