THE BIRDS OE NEW ZEALAND. 
EXTRACTS FROM REVIEWS OF FIRST EDITION. 
“ Bums, as most people know, or ought to know, form the most important part of the vertebrate fauna of New Zealand; and 
their importance is maintained not only when they are compared with their compatriots of other classes, but when regarded in 
reference to members of their own class in the world at large 
“ The birds of New Zealand, therefore, merit especial attention, and we are happy to say they receive it at the hands of the 
authors whose works are above cited. Taking the field in or about the year 1865, Mr. Buller, till then unknown to fame beyond 
the limits of his native colony, brought out an ‘ Essay on the Ornithology of New Zealand,’ which at, once attracted notice m 
this old world of ours. Some of his views were challenged by Dr. Finsch, then of Leyden, who had paid attention to this extra- 
ordinary avifauna; and a controversy ensued. This, to the credit of the controveisialists, was carried on in a spirit veij 
different from that in which many another war in natural-history circles has been waged ; and the happy result is that on most 
points the combatants have arrived at the same conclusion, thereby giving assurance to the general public of its being the right 
one. The essay we have mentioned may be regarded as the preliminary canter which a race-horse takes before he puts forth 
his full strength; and Mr. Buffer's book, or that part of it which is as yet published, shows what he can do now that the colonial 
authorities have allowed him to come to England for the express purpose of completing his design. 
“ Captain Hutton is known as an observer who, during several long voyages, had proved that some rational occupati 
be found at sea even by a landsman ; for, instead of devoting his energies to the ordinary time-killing amusements of shipboard, 
he watched the flight of the various oceanic birds which presented themselves, and speculated on the mode in which it. wa^ 
performed and the forces it brought into operation — to some purpose, as the Duke of Argyll and Di. Pettigrew ave testi e 
The pamphlet whose title we give is in some respects a not less significant, if a less ambitious, work than Mr. Lullei s , and 
though to the last must belong the crown of glory, we by no means wish to overlook the useful part, which Captain Hutton’s 
publication will play. If here we do not notice it further, it is because its value will be most appreciated m the colony itself, 
while Mr. Buffer’s beautiful book appeals to a larger public 
“ Of the Kakas ( Nestor ) Mr. Buller admits three species — Nestor meridionalis, N. occidentalis, and N. notabihs the two 
first of which, we think, are barely separable. This very remarkable genus of Parrots includes some two or three other species, 
one of which, the N. producing of Phillip Island, is believed to have gone the way of so many animals that only inhabit small 
islands; and the same fate in all likelihood awaits its congeners. Most animals suffer fiom not beiu a able to 
themselves to change of circumstances ; but the very adaptability of the Mountain-Kaka, or Kea, will tend to its - 
t.ion ; for, though belonging to the group of Parrots distinguished by their brush-like tongue, and derivin D a considerable portion 
of their subsistence in a manner worthy of the Golden Age, from the nectar of flowers, this wretched Kea (IV. notabilis), since 
the introduction of sheep to New Zealand, has incurred the imputation of a fondness for mutton cutlets d la Abyssinie , . and the 
charge whether true or false, is likely to bring about its doom, since the shepherd is apt to practise whut. in good old time; u as 
called ‘ border justice,’ and the species will probably suffer extinction before its guilt is fully proved or extenuating circumstances 
admitted. The Common Kaka (N. meridionalis), on the other hand, is ably defended by Mr. Buller as one of the most useful 
birds in the country ; yet this also is rapidly diminishing. ‘In some districts,’ he says, ‘where in former years they weie 
excessively abundant, their cry is now seldom or never heard; ’ and though he adds that ‘ in the wooded parts of the interior 
they are as plentiful as ever,’ it requires no prophetic eye to see that, with the extension of settlement, the Kaka must 
succumb 
“ Here we must pause. Mr. Buffer’s book is in every way worthy of its subject; and we trust that we have shown a 
the subject is worthy of close attention — whether we regard the various forms of New-Zealand birds from the point of view 
their intrinsic interest, or from that of so many being now on the verge of extinction. It is easy 7 to be wise aft ei the e , 
ornithologists at home do not in these days look back affectionately towards their predecessors who liaie lot so } ^1 
pass away without tracing the process of extermination.” — Nature (July 18, 18/^). 
