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iient — New Zealand, and which have been so ably and so learnedly described, from their semifossilized 
remains, by Professor Owen ; who, as well as the scientific world in general, cannot fail to be highly 
gratified by the discovery of a recent example of a form previously known to us solely from a few 
osteological fragments, and which, but for this fortunate discovery, would in all probability, like the 
Dodo, have shortly become all but traditional. While we congratulate ourselves upon the preservation 
of the skin, we must all deeply regret the loss of the bones, any one of which would have been in the 
highest degree valuable for the sake of comparison with the numerous remains which have been sent 
home from New Zealand. 
“ Upon a cursory view of this bird it might be mistaken for a gigantic kind of Porpliyrio •, but on 
an examination of its sti’ucture it will be found to be generically distinct. It is allied to Porphyrio in 
the form of its bill and in its general colouring, and to Trihonyx in the structure of its feet, while in 
the feebleness of its wings and the structure of its tail it differs from both. From personal observation 
of the habits of Trihonyx and Porphyrio, I may venture to affirm that the habits and economy of the 
present bird more closely resemble those of the former than those of the latter ; that it is doubtless 
of a recluse and extremely shy disposition ; that being deprived, by the feeble structure of its wing, 
of the power of flight, it is compelled to depend upon its swiftness of foot for the means of evading 
its natural enemies ; and that, as is the case with Trihonyx, a person may be in its vicinity for weeks 
without ever catching a glimpse of it. From the thickness of its plumage and the great length of its 
back-feathers, we may infer that it affects low and humid situations, marshes, the banks of rivers, and 
the coverts of dripping ferns, so abundant in its native country ; like Porphyrio, it doubtless enjoys 
the power of swimming, but would seem, from the structure of its legs, to be more terrestrial in its 
habits than the members of that genus. I have carefully compared the bill of this example with that 
figured by Professor Owen under the name of Notornis mantelli, and have little doubt that they are 
referable to one and the same species ; and as we are now in possession of materials whence to obtain 
complete generic characters, I hasten to give the following details, in addition to those supplied by 
Professor Owen I cannot conclude these remarks without bearing testimony to the very great 
importance of the results which have attended the researches of Mr. Walter Mantell in the various 
departments of science to which he has turned the attention of his cultivated, intelligent, and inquiring 
mind, nor without expressing a hope that he may yet be enabled to obtain some particulars as to the 
history of this and the other remarkable birds of the country in which he is resident.” 
Mr. Mantell was fortunate enough to secure a second specimen of the Notornis-, and these 
examples, the only two then known, having been carefully mounted by Mr. Bartlett, were placed 
side by side in the National Collection of Great Britain, and, like the remains of the Dodo in the 
adjoining gallery, have continued to the present time to attract the attention of thousands of daily 
visitors ! 
Sir George Grey tells me that in 1868 he was at Preservation Inlet and saw a party of natives 
there who gave him a circumstantial account of the recent killing of a small Moa (1 Palapteryx), 
describing with much spirit its capture out of a drove of six or seven. The same natives pointed 
out to him a valley where the Notornis was said to be still plentiful. This was at the head of 
Preservation Inlet. Besides being swampy, the ground was covered with vegetation so close and 
thick that it was impossible to penetrate it on foot, and under this cover the Notornis might roam 
about in perfect security ; for the recluse habits of such a bird, as long ago pointed out by Mr. Gould, 
would in these localities be its best protection. 
Sir James Hector informs me that, when exploring on the south-west coast of Otago in 1863, he 
discovered the Maori who actually caught the first-recorded Notornis ; and this man assured him that 
“ there were plenty of them at the head of the N.W. arm of Te Anau Lake, near a small lake in the 
valley that leads to Bligh Sound.” In confirmation of the above report about the Moa, Sir J. Hector 
