Birds. 



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round the foot hud, I imagined, collected the soil around it hy degrees, which had 

 afterwards caked and hardened. — H. Stevenson ; Norwich. 



Moa on the Western Coast of Neiv Zealand. — There were no wild animals indigenous 

 to the country seen ; hut of birds there was a great variety, but none took to wing, with 

 the exception of wild pigeons. All the rest appeared to burrow in the ground. There 

 was one bird about the size of the common domestic fowl, but in plumage superior to 

 the king parrot of New South Wales. Another description, but of a more dusky colour, 

 stood about three feet high, and appeared to have peculiar imitative abilities, and 

 apparently amused himself in mocking the men when talking together at their camp. 

 With the exception of the pigeon, all the birds came out at night. The Maoris 

 informed the party that if one of these birds was shut up in a dark room by himself it 

 would make a noise exactly like six or seven men in earnest conversation. And, lastly, 

 they saw a bird, or something like what the " moa" is said to be. This bird they con- 

 sider stands about nine feet high. It made its appearance at the camp one night, and 

 thrust its head over the fire, but only remained a very short time. The dogs gave 

 chase, and they heard it for some time making its way through the timber. The 

 impression left by its foot was about eight inches in length, and about four in width, 

 and pointed in the form of a toe at each end, and from appearances, the leg bone must 

 be situate about the centre of the foot ; in places where the soil was soft and spongy 

 its feet had sunk in some six inches. They baited some large eel-hooks, having strong 

 lines, attached, with portions of the bodies of wild pigeons, which bait it must have 

 taken, as the lines were found broken and some goodly sized logs capsized, with which 

 they formed a sort of trap. They consider this bird very much like the emu of Aus- 

 tralia. This party, after obtaining a supply of provisions on Saturday, started on 

 another expedition to the same quarter the following day. They are very sanguine of 

 making a capture of this extraordinary bird this trip. Although you may consider this 

 story rather romantic and improbale, it is nevertheless txwe.— Correspondent of the 

 * Otago Times.' 



Spotted Crakes in the Hackney Marshes. — Two specimens of the spotted crake (a 

 male and female) were shot in Hackney Marshes, by Mr. R. M. Presland, on the 7th 

 of October. A third by Mr. J. A. Clark in the same locality on the 26th ; and a fourth, 

 by the same gentleman, at Ley ton, on the 28th. — Thomas Huckett. 



Little Ring Plover at Stilly, with a glance at the Autumnal Visit of Migratory 

 Birds at the Islands. — It is many years since you recorded the occurrence of this 

 rare little dotterell, and I believe the last capture was reported by Mr. Grantham, 

 at or near Brighton. I have just examined a beautiful specimen sent over by 

 my nephew, who is on a visit to Mr. Smith, for the woodcock and snipe shooting 

 there, and I think a transcript of his letter will be an interesting way of communi- 

 cating the fact of the occurrence of this bird, as well as of affording a sketch of a 

 sportsman's appreciation of the interesting scenes which every now and then occur at 

 those Islands : — " We were of course much delighted to hear that the little bird sent 

 to you by the last packet was a veritable redbreasted flycatcher. This steamer will 

 bring you something very nearly as good, as I think there is no doubt of its being the 

 little ringed plover, of which I believe only one or two specimens have been killed in 

 England. I was looking out for warblers, &c., when I saw a small bird sitting on the 

 mud by the Abbey (Trescoe) Pond. I saw immediately that it was something rare. 

 It rose, and its note was a single sharp whistle, not like that of the common ringed 

 plover, and shorter in duration. Its flight was remarkably stint-like, which it also 



