black on the culmen, especially in its apical portion, the tip being whitish horn-colour. Tarsi and 

 toes dark bluish-grey ; claws paler. Weighed 6J lb. 



The plumage of these individual birds is certainly very similar to that of Apteryx australis. 

 The male presents more chestnut in the colouring, and the lanceolate markings on the upper 

 surface are more distinct than in the other sex. This richer appearance is due to the feathers 

 having chestnut tips, pointed with black. The bill and feet are likewise darker, and more 

 uniform in colour, with lighter claws. In the male bird the tarsi, towards their distal extremities 

 and the phalangeal joints, are scutellate, but in the female these parts are entirely covered by 

 rounded scales. This goes to confirm the view already advanced by me that this character, 

 to which so much importance has been given by some naturalists, has really no specific value. 



Towards the end of 1890, I purchased from Mr. Bills, of Dunedin, two adult pairs which had 

 been in captivity about six months. I had an enclosure made for them in a secluded part of my 

 garden, at Wellington Terrace, and this they shared with the bird which afterwards became the 

 type of Mr. Kothschild's Apteryx occidentalis. A small house was built in one corner of the 

 enclosure, and well bedded with straw. To this place the birds always retired by day, huddling 

 together to sleep like so many little pigs in a farm yard. I fed them habitually on bullock's 

 heart, minced up small by the butcher, the daily allowance being half a heart for the five birds. 

 They soon became accustomed to their new quarters and seemed quite at home there. About 

 nine o'clock every night they screamed for a few seconds, alternately or in chorus, and then as a 

 rule remained silent till near daybreak. About the first week in September, a change was 

 apparent. The four birds paired and exhibited a considerable amount of excitement. Their cries 

 at night became more vociferous, and in the evening, before leaving their retreat, or when 

 retiring to it, as they did from time to time, they kept up a constant purring or low whimpering- 

 sound. The males, hitherto so docile, became savage and aggressive, rushing at any one who 

 dared to enter their enclosure, kicking vigorously and growling in evident displeasure. I 

 watched them carefully till the 16th October, on which day I introduced a cask with an aperture 

 at the end and well stuffed with straw, in the hope that they would adopt it for nesting in. I 

 noticed that one of the males immediately explored it, burying himself in the straw, and 

 apparently determining the fitness of the cask as a breeding place. Towards the end of October, 

 the female birds appeared to get impatient of restraint and made persistent attacks on the wire 

 netting covering their enclosed place ; so much so, indeed, that one of them had the base of the 

 bill stripped and injured. To put an end to this, I enclosed a portion of the garden adjoining 

 their yard and gave them access to this at night. This seemed to satisfy them and they settled 

 down quietly to the new condition of things. On the 17th January, I turned into the small 

 enclosure two young Oyster-catchers (Hoematopus unicolor). Hearing the young birds piping 

 vigorously in the evening, I went down and found that the Kiwis had killed one of them outright, 

 and were worrying the other. The defunct Oyster-catcher had its right wing completely broken 

 and its body much bruised, evidently from a downward blow of the Kiwi's powerful foot. When 

 I entered the yard I found the Kiwis in a highly excited state and running at one another with a 

 loud grunting note. They immediately attacked my legs and manifested generally a very unquiet 

 spirit. 



Having about this time to leave Wellington for several months, I was compelled reluctantly 

 to ship the birds to England, and thus my observations on their habits were brought to an end, 

 without any definite result. 



The accomplished editor of the ' Ibis ' (Dr. P. L. Sclater) recognised the distinctness of 

 A. lawryi at first sight, for he says {op. cit. 1893, p. 128): — "Four specimens were brought to 

 Wellington alive, and then shipped to Europe. These are, no doubt, the birds belonging to 

 Mr. Walter Eothschild, which were placed under the care of Mr. Doggett, of Cambridge, where 



