XX 



INTRODUCTION. 



rudiments, as in the case of the Kiwi ? The obvious answer is that, allowing the necessary time 

 — in how many generations it is impossible to say — the same results would naturally come about. 

 How long it may have taken for the Kiwi to become practically wingless since the process 

 of degeneration commenced, we have no means of even guessing. But our pestilent civilisation 

 has, of course, put a stop to all that; and within measurable time the Kakapo will disappear 

 altogether — passing out of existence, in full possession of its wings, but feeble in their quills, and 

 crippled by the atrophy of their muscular mechanism. 



This incidental reference to the Kakapo and its protective colouring leads me into another 

 very interesting field of observation — namely, the gradual adaptation, by natural selection of 

 course, of certain species to their habitual environment by the acquisition of protective colours. 

 The olive-green Bell-bird is almost invisible to the eye as it clings to the leafy climbing ' tawhiwhi ' 

 (Metrosideros scande?is), and inserts its brush-tongue into the corolla of the crimson flower ; 

 the grey-and-white Ground-pipit eludes the most practised eye as it perches on a dry log, or 

 nestles b}^ the wayside ; the Bronze-winged Cuckoo so harmonises with its surroundings as it 

 rests silently on a low bough that you may be within a yard of it without detecting its presence ; 

 the Dottrel and the Godwit squat on the sands without being seen ; the Wry-billed Plover 

 hides itself among the loose pebbles and shingles of its own grey colour ; the green Parrakeets are 

 undistinguishable from the bright evergreen vegetation among which they feed ; the Kaka, but 

 for its discordant cry, would generally be safe from observation in the midst of the brown 

 branches among which it loves to climb and explore for insects ; the Bifieman, the smallest 

 of our native birds, is quite invisible as it clings to the lichen-covered bark ; and the Bush- 

 wren hops in safety among the moss and vegetation of the forest to which its own colours 

 so closely assimilate. And so one might go on selecting examples almost without end, in 

 illustration of the well-known law to which I have referred, as being almost universal in its 

 application and effects. 



Leaving birds, however, for one moment, let us consider the remarkable correlation of colour 

 with its surroundings in the case of many of our lizards. The beautiful Green Lizard (Naultinus 

 elegans) so exactly harmonises with the 'manuka' bushes on which it is usually found that it 

 requires a very practised eye to distinguish it. The protective resemblance is rendered more 

 complete by the leaf-shaped markings of yellow on the back and sides ; and it is pretty clear that 

 this particular character has been acquired by natural selection, or descent with modification for 

 protective purposes, inasmuch as the young of this species is of a uniform green colour. These 

 remarks apply with even stronger force to my Naultinus pulcherrimus, from Nelson, although 

 being a somewhat rare species, it is perhaps less noticeable. Here the irregular white markings, 

 intermingled with the yellow and green, coupled with the animal's peculiar habit of curling up 

 its tail in the form of a " Catherine's wheel," render the deception absolutely perfect. In this 

 case also the young is of an almost uniform green colour, varied only with leaf -like markings of a 

 darker green on the back. Then, again, as I have previously pointed out, the markings on the 

 back of my Naultinus sylvestris (discovered by Mr. Annabell at Wanganui) so exactly resemble 

 the minute yellow lichens which cover stems of dead wood in the forests as to render it at 

 all times perfectly safe from detection in such situations. Naultinus sulphureus — whether we 

 regard it as a distinct species or only a pronounced local variety — is admirably adapted by 

 its uniform yellow colour to the sulphur deposits of Botorua, where alone it has been met with. 

 But to come to the common species : where could we find a more beautiful adaptation of 

 colouring to the natural surroundings than in the case of our common Tree-lizard {Naultinus 

 pacificus), the shades and markings of which present an almost endless variety; or in that of the 

 variable Mocoa ornata and Mocoa zealandica, inhabiting our stony places and roadside vege- 

 tation ? A case even more remarkable still is that of our wonderful Sphenodon punetatum, or 



