128 



THE WONDERS OF GEOLOGY. Lect. IF. 



use of man, of those forests and rivers which once afforded 

 them food and protection. They recede with the aborigines 

 before the tide of civilization. 



Before we proceed further in this argument, it will be 

 interesting to notice a few of the links which connect the 

 present "chain of being" with the past; — in other words, 

 those species which are on the point of extinction, and 

 others which have disappeared within a comparatively 

 recent period. 



5. The Apteryx (wingless bird) of New Zealand. — 

 The Apteryx, a bird peculiar to New Zealand, and belong- 

 ing to a very limited group, of which the Ostrich is a well- 

 known type, appears to be rapidly approaching extinction. 

 It is of the size of a small turkey, of a chestnut-brown 

 colour, the feathers being long, lanceolate, and hair-like, as 

 in the Emu, but each plume has but a single shaft. It has 

 a slightly-curved bill, with the nasal apertures at the apex, 



Lign 16. — The Apteryx of New Zealand. 



not at the base, as in birds with a similar conformation of 

 beak, which is adapted for respiration while immersed in 

 mud or water. It has no visible wings ; and in the skeleton 

 the bones of the arm are but very little developed. Its 

 habits are nocturnal, and it feeds on worms and insects. 



