ABOUT THE APTERYX. 
283 
attention to yet another of the short-winged or struthious birds — the 
apteryx or kivi, which is confined to New Zealand. He is specially 
interesting, from the extremely rudimentary character of his wings 
(whence his scientific name, "the wingless"), and from his close kinship 
with the now extinct gigantic bird of New Zealand, the moa, one 
species of which must have equalled, or nearly equalled, the giraffe in 
height. His native name is an imitation of the bird's cry. Three 
species are recognized by naturalists: the apteryx Australia, or kivi, 
which has almost died out; Mantell's apterj'-x, also called kivi by 
the natives, which differs from the former in his darker plumage and in 
the possession of long silky hair on his head ; and Owen's apteryx, 
which is of stronger build than either of the others. In all important 
respects these species so closely resemble one another, that tlie follow- 
ing description will apply to all : — 
They are nocturnal birds, says Hochstetter, which during the day 
remain hidden in holes excavated in the earth, or, by preference, under 
the roots of the great trees, whence they issue only at night in quest of 
food. They live upon insects, larvae, worms, and the seeds of various 
plants. They go in pairs ; and run and leap with surprising rapidity. 
Next to man, their most formidable enemies are the dog and the cat. 
The natives attract them by imitating their cry, dazzle them by the 
light of their torches, and capture them by hand, or by stunning them 
with a stick. This persecution has been so long maintained that the 
race has dwindled greatly in numbers, and the survivors have retired 
to the less accessible districts of the island. 
The female lays but one egg. Her mode of incubation is a subject 
of dispute. Some authorities affirm that she and her mate sit upon it 
alternately ; others that she partly buries it, and then digging a trench 
close at hand, brings the warmth of her body to bear only on one side, 
and for about a third of its length. Mr. Webster writes that some years 
ago a native found the egg of an apteryx under the roots of a small 
tree, and after taking possession of it drew out the mother-bird 
herself " The New Zealanders," he adds, " assert that she never 
lays more than one egg, in a cavity which she digs in a dry soil 
under a tree's roots. The egg is covered with leaves and moss; the 
