3606 Birds. 



that so interesting a genus as Apteryx may not be passing away as 

 might be feared ; for I hear that a Maori chief, lately in London, said 

 that he possessed several, living in an inclosed piece of ground in 

 New Zealand ; and as he promised to send specimens of their eggs to 

 one of our energetic collectors, it is probable that they breed in semi- 

 confinement. 



Having on the night of the 18th instant seen the Kiwi-kiwi in the 

 Zoological Gardens under very favourable circumstances, I am indu- 

 ced to think that such readers of the ' Zoologist ' as have not been 

 equally fortunate, may be interested by reading an account of its 

 proceedings on that occasion. I must first of all bear witness to the 

 extremely minute accuracy of the details of this bird's appearance and 

 behaviour given by Mr. Wolley, to which I have already alluded, and 

 must take it for granted that the readers of the ' Zoologist ' have al- 

 ready studied it as it deserves. Mr. Wolley has anticipated, in many 

 instances almost in the very words, what I should have said on the 

 subject, and it will be difficult for me to avoid repeating his expres- 

 sions in some cases. 



Having therefore, on the aforesaid evening, the pleasure of being 

 accompanied by Mr. Wolley, my brother and myself arrived at the 

 Gardens shortly after 8 o'clock ; and after having witnessed the put- 

 ting to bed of the two chimpanzees, seen the hippopotamus take his 

 farewell bath for the night, and watched the young elephant washing 

 down a few wisps of hay with an evening draught afforded him by his 

 mother, we arrived opposite the Kiwi's cage in the ostrich-house a 

 little before 9, that building being tenanted as formerly described by 

 Mr. Wolley, and the furniture of the apartment being the same now as 

 then, with the exception of a pot of water introduced at that gentleman's 

 suggestion, being the first to which the bird had had access probably 

 since leaving New Zealand, certainly since his residence in England. 

 On taking up our position daylight was rapidly failing, and as dark- 

 ness increased, there began to reign a silence broken only by a few 

 faint guttural sounds from the cage of the Weka (Ocydromus fuscus) , 

 or a slight rustling of the straw in those of the ostriches, or the wheels 

 of a departing cab conveying visitors from the Gardens. Our atten- 

 tion was however soon excited by a succession of loud snaps from the 

 box containing the Apteryx, followed by an occasional blow against 

 its sides, and a good deal of sniffling ; these noises lasted a few mi- 

 nutes, and then, from behind the curtain, the principal actor in the 

 exhibition we had come to see stepped forth, slowly and with high 

 deliberate action, his body elongated, his beak depressed. The pot 



