86 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



of the " Lesser Emea, not half the size of the above, and a 

 distinct species." Since Bullock's day no more Black Emeus 

 seem to have been sent to Europe, and for many years this 

 interesting dwarf remained practically forgotten. At length 

 ornithologists realized that D. ater was a perfectly distinct bird 

 from any of its congeners, but the discovery came too late. In 

 the interval a squatter had taken possession of Kangaroo Island, 

 and this man, whose wanton waste of animal life cannot be too 

 severely condemned, barbarously exterminated both Kangaroos 

 and Emeus; so that the little " casoar " of Baudin and Peron 

 disappeared utterly from the face of the earth. 



A census of the few relics left to us will complete this obituary 

 notice. I have included all the specimens — a scanty list at best 

 — of which I have been able to find any record whatever. They 

 are as follows : — 



1. A stuffed specimen — possibly the only one now in existence 

 — is preserved in the Natural History Museum of the Jardin des 

 Plantes. It was one of the three individuals brought home by 

 Captain Baudin, and, independent of its known history, has 

 evidently had a long post-mortem existence as a museum speci- 

 men, for it has been provided with the old-fashioned circular 

 glass eyes formerly used with rare impartiality for bird and beast, 

 carnivore and herbivore, by the old taxidermists. On account 

 of the rarity of the Black Emeu in museums some naturalists 

 still appear to cling to the idea that it is identical with the 

 common species, just as some authorities once believed that the 

 South African Blaauwbok was only an immature or dwarf Roan 

 Antelope. This specimen, however, was not set up till 1822, 

 and after all it will be granted that eighteen years gives the 

 feeblest menagerie specimen ample time to become adult ; besides, 

 if really feeble, it would probably not have survived for so long ! 

 It is indeed evident that when the bird died it was in excellent 

 plumage, and this mounted specimen to-day shows no signs of 

 disease. We may reasonably conclude that it is an excellent 

 typical specimen of the average size, and in every way a good 

 representative example of D. ater. I am inclined to think 

 that this bird was a female. It is satisfactory to note in the 

 looseness of the plumage (see illustration) a confirmation of 

 Latham's account, for he drew attention to the fact that in 



