the Kiwis subsist. I do not understand how they can find any nourishment without cracking the 

 seeds, but the fact remains that they do, for I have found these seeds in the stomachs of several 

 that I have opened. The grass producing this seed grows in great abundance up to a level 

 of 2,000 feet above the sea." The seeds sent proved to be those of Gahnia procera; they are 

 red-coloured, and of the size of small wheat. 



I reproduce here, on a small scale, a beautiful crayon - drawing made for me by Mr. Keule- 

 mans, representing a group of these birds, feeding, in the evening, on one of the flats in Stewart 

 Island so well described by Mr. Marklund. The small distant figure, on the left of the sketch, 

 shows their mode of probing in the earth for worms, and the principal figure, in the foreground, 

 exhibits the Kiwi in its most characteristic attitude. 



KIWIS ON THEIR FEEDING GROUND. 



A pair which passed through my hands, in December, 1892, gave the following measure- 

 ments : — 



Male. — Extreme length, following curvature of the back 30'5 inches, to end of outstretched 

 legs 36'5 in. ; bill, along the ridge 5'5 in., along the edge of lower mandible 5'5 in. ; from anterior 

 margin of cere to extreme point of upper mandible, 4'5 in. ; wing, 2 in. ; tarsus, 3'5 in. ; middle 

 toe and claw, 3'5 in. ; hallux, 1 in. ; largest circumference of foot, 4 in. The rudimentary wings 

 furnished at the extremity with a long, slightly-curved, greyish-black claw; that on the right 

 wing 0"75 in. in length ; that on the left wing 0*25 in. shorter and less curved, 

 exactly 6 lb. 



Female. — Extreme length, following curvature of the back 33 in., to end of outstretched legs 

 43 in. ; bill, along the ridge 7'75 in., along the edge of lower mandible 7*75 in. ; wing, 2 in. ; 

 tarsus, 3'5 in. ; middle toe and claw, 3' 75 in. ; hallux, 1 in. ; greatest circumference of foot, 

 4'25 in. The claw or spur on the rudimentary wings 0*50 in. in length, more curved than that of 

 the male bird, sharply pointed, and of a dark-grey colour. Bill greyish-brown, shading into 



Weight 



