234 
EXTINCT MONSTERS. 
species it is even 39 in. ! The next bone below (cannon bone) 
is sometimes more than half the length of the leg-bone (tibia). 
A skeleton in one of the glass cases has a height of about 
10^ ft., and it is concluded that the largest birds did not stand 
less than 12 ft., and possibly were 14 ft. high ! 
Dinornis parvus (the dwarf Moa) was only three feet high. 
In 1882 the trustees obtained, from a cave in Otago, the head, 
neck, two legs, and feet of a Moa (D. didinus), having the skin, 
still preserved in a dried state, covering the bones, and some 
few feathers of a reddish hue still attached to the leg (Table case 12). 
The rings of the windpipe may be seen in si/u, the sclerotic plates 
of the eye, and the sheaths of the claws. One foot also shows 
the hind claw still attached. 
From traditions and other circumstances it is supposed that the 
present natives of New Zealand came there not more than about 
six hundred years ago, and there is reason to believe that the 
ancient Maoris, when they landed, feasted on Moa-birds as long 
as any remained. Their extermination probably only dates back 
to about the period at which the islands were thrice visited by 
Captain Cook, 1769-1778. The Moa-bird is mixed up with their 
songs and stories, and they even have a tradition of caravans 
being attacked by them. Still, some people believe that they were 
killed off by the race which inhabited New Zealand before the 
Maoris came. But they must have been there up to a time not 
far removed from the present. It is even said that the “ runs ’’ 
made by them were visible on the sides of the hills up to a few 
years ago \ and possibly they may still be visible. The charred 
bones and egg-shells have been found mixed with charcoal where 
the native ovens were formerly made, and their eggs are said to 
have been found in Maori graves. Mr. Hutton considers that in 
the North Island they were exterminated three or four centuries 
ago, while in the South Island they may have lingered a century 
longer. 
The nearest ally of the Moa is the small Apteryx, or Kiwi, of 
