ORIGINAL PROSPECTUS. 
It has been remarked by a celebrated naturalist that “New Zealand is the most interesting 
ornithological province in the world ; ” and in a qualified sense this is no doubt true. The last 
lemnant of a former continent, and, geologically considered, probably the oldest country on the face 
of oui globe, it contains at the present day the only living representatives of an extinct race of 
wonderful Struthious birds. 
Within recent historic times this circumscribed area, scarcely equal in extent to that of Great 
Britain, was tenanted, to the entire exclusion of Mammalia, by countless numbers of gigantic 
brevipennate or wingless birds, of various genera and species, the largest attaining to a stature nearly 
twice that of a full-grown Ostrich. These colossal ornithic types have disappeared; but their 
diminutive representatives (the different species of Apteryx ) still exist, in diminished numbers, in 
vanous parts of the country ; and these are objects of the highest interest to the natural-historian. 
1 't fiom this view of the subject the avifauna of New Zealand presents many special features 
° couslclerable interest. A large proportion of the genera are peculiar to the country; while 
me o the forms are perfectly anomalous, being entirely without a parallel in any other part of 
the world. j r 
he changed physical conditions of the country, brought about by the operations of 
, some of these remarkable forms have already become almost, if not quite, extinct, and 
^ ex P b ing. It has been the author’s desire to collect and place on record a complete 
" _ " 7 Biese birds before their final extirpation shall have rendered such a task impossible; 
'^ e produce a book at once acceptable to scientific men in general and useful to 
his fellow-colonists. 
may be mentioned that the author’s official position in New Zealand, during a period of 
than twelve yeais, has enabled him to visit nearly every part of the country, while his 
nt intercourse with the various native tribes has been highly favourable to such an object as 
the present undertaking. 
