Birds. 3609 



crossways in his throat, certain husky sounds suggested a difficulty of 

 deglutition : this continued for perhaps ten minutes, when the Apte- 

 ryx, sniffling as he went, and stopping once to scratch his scurfy beak 

 with his ponderous toe, retired again to his bed-room. 



Mr. Wolley now proposed that we should come to a closer acquain- 

 tance with the Kiwi, and compel him to exhibit his mode of defence, 

 as the fifth and last act of the entertainment. This we were quite 

 willing to do, and accordingly entered his apartment, and let down the 

 side of the sleeping-box, which had at its bottom a bed of bran about 

 three inches deep ; this act excited the New Zealander's indignation, 

 and he instantly reared himself up with his back against one corner 

 of the box, and struck out fiercely in the manner which has been so 

 graphically described by Mr. Wolley : and having referred to that ad- 

 mirable account, I can say no more of his mode of defence without 

 danger of repetition ; though, for myself, I was hardly prepared from 

 it to feel the sound pat that the bird inflicted with the sole of his foot. 

 We continued to engage him in combat for some minutes, and during 

 that time he once uttered a curious kind of sound, which Mr. Wolley says 

 was the growl or grunt peculiar to him, but as it took me by surprise, 

 and was of momentary duration only, I can in no way describe it, and 

 it was, unfortunately, not repeated a second time. After having satis- 

 fied ourselves that the Kiwi-kiwi would permit no liberties to be taken 

 with him without resenting them, we retired, leaving him to pass the 

 rest of the night in peace. 



Mr. Wolley has already in the l Zoologist ' so admirably described 

 the gait of the Apteryx, and its appearance when moving, that I will 

 not say more on the subject, except to remark that when the bird "pi- 

 rouetted," * after the manner above stated, one could not help seeing 

 in it a ludicrous resemblance to what is called a "dancing" bear, and 

 the appearance of the bird stretching itself out at full length, almost 

 made one yawn. I believe I am right in saving that no hitherto un- 

 noticed peculiarity of habit in this bird has been lately observed by 

 his keepers, but since the occasion of his lying on his side, which Mr. 

 Wolley records, he has been seen several times in that attitude. The 

 Kiwi would now (July) appear to be moulting, for a great number of 

 his hair-like feathers were to be discovered among the bran in his box, 



* I did not intend to have used this word, but I can find none othev that so 

 well expresses my meaning. The curious action I have above described had no- 

 thing in it analogous to the "strut" of a gallinaceous bird. The Apteryx merely 

 gave himself a thoroughly good stretch, and in doing so he turned round once or 

 twice. 



x. 2q 



