Okbee APTERYGES.] 
[Eam. APTERYGID^. 
APTEEYX OWENI. 
(LITTLE GREY KIWI.) 
Apteryx owenii, Gould, P. Z. S. 1847, p. 94. 
Apteryx mollis, Potts, Trans. N.-Z. Inst. vol. v. p. 196 (1873). 
Native name. — Kiwi-puknpuku. 
Ad. griseus, brunneo et fulvescente alterne transfasciatus, dorsi plumis etiam subterminaliter nigro transfasciatis : 
subtus pallidior, clarius grisescens, plumis albido et brunneo alternfe fasciatim transnotatis : pileo guttureque 
clar^ griseis, facie laterali paullo saturatiore : rostro saturate corneo : pedibus pallide brunneis, unguibus 
corneis : iride nigrS. 
Adult. Head, throat, and fore neck dull yellowish brown, darker on the nape \ general plumage of the body 
light yellowish brown, mottled all over and obscurely banded in a wavy manner with blackish brown ; the 
rigid hair-like points of the feathers bright fulvous ; underparts paler, the plumage of the abdomen becoming 
light fulvous obscurely barred with brown. Each feather examined separately has the main portion, which 
is concealed by the outer plumage, glossy greyish brown, becoming paler towards the root; above this, where 
the barbs are disunited, it is crossed by an irregular bar of fulvous or yellowish brown, beyond which again 
it is blackish brown tipped with shining fulvous : on the feathers of the underparts and sides of the body 
there are generally two of these transverse bands. It is the blending together of these markings that pro- 
duces the peculiar mottled and wavy appearance described above. Irides black ; bill dark horn-colour ; 
legs and feet pale brown, the claws horn- coloured, with transparent tips. 
Male. Total length, following the curvature of the back, 17'5 inches ; bill, along the ridge 2‘85, along the edge 
of lower mandible 3‘4; tarsus 1‘75 ; middle toe and claw 2'4; hallux or hind tarsal claw '4. 
Female. Total length, following the curvature of the back, 20 inches; bill, along the ridge 3'5, along the edge 
of lower mandible 4 ; tarsus 2'5 ; middle toe and claw 3; hallux or hind tarsal claw '5. 
Ols. Independently of the marked difference in size between the sexes, there is a considerable amount of indi- 
vidual variation ; and adult specimens are sometimes met with of so small a size as even to suggest the exist- 
ence of another species. I have remarked this more particularly with examples received from the southern 
portions of the South Island. 
The ground-tints of the plumage vary slightly in different birds. As a rule, however, the male is of a 
somewhat darker shade than the female, and the plumage has a more banded or rayed character, while the 
tips of the feathers on the upper parts are of a brighter fulvous. 
Young. Plumage very soft ; dull greyish brown, obscurely mottled ; vertex, sides of the head, and throat greyish 
white ; the light tips of the feathers very conspicuous, having the appearance of small pencilled lines on a 
darker ground, the produced hair-like filaments being entirely black. Bill rvhite horn-colour, measuring 
1'5 inch; tarsus 1'4, and with well-developed scutes. 
Very young state. A chick of this species, in the Rowley collection at Brighton, is of a uniform yellowish- brown 
colour, with the tips of the feathers lighter. The late Dr. J. F. Knox favoured me with the following notes 
on a still younger specimen, obtained at Nelson in November 1858 : — “ Kiwi chick : just escaped from the 
egg, or rather, in all probability, taken from the egg. Weighed exactly 2 ounces ; bill straight, soft, and 
measuring 1'23 inch in length; feathers few in number; wings exceedingly small, and no claw observable.^'’ 
