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Varieties. The following is the description of a specimen in the Canterbury Museum, exhibiting a tendency to 
albinism On the left side, just above the thigh, there is a broad irregular patch of the purest white ; and 
there is a similar but more rounded patch on the inner side of each thigh, and another smaller one near the 
rump ; on the right side there are also a few wliite feathers ; and on the sides of the head above the eyes, as 
well as on the throat, there are patches of dull greyish white blending with the surrounding dark grey plu- 
mage. It has the feathers of the thighs and rump much worn by incubation, the shaft-lines being denuded 
for the space of half an inch. Where the plumage is of the ordinary character the shaft-lines are wholly 
black or with fulvous points, but where the white patches occur the shafts are, like the webs, perfectly 
white. 
In the Sydney Museum there is a more perfect albino, the whole of the plumage being greyish white, 
very obscurely streaked with brown. 
In the Otago Museum there is a pure albino from the west coast, presented by Mr. Allen. I have met 
with two other similar instances, all the plumage being either white or tinged with cream j the bill w'hite and 
the legs pale brown. In the collection referred to there is also a very dark variety, approaching in colour to 
Apteryx haasti, but of inferior size. This was obtained at Jackson’s Bay in J uly 1875. 
In the possession of Mr. W. Smyth, of Dunedin, there is an almost perfect albino, the entire plumage 
being of a creamy white, obscurely stained with grey on the back. He obtained it at Martin’s Bay, where 
he caught it among the short grass at the edge of a swamp. It is of small size, and apparently a male. 
Remarks. In this species the bill is straighter than in Apteryx bulleri, and the facial hairs or feelers are much 
shorter, seldom exceeding 2'5 inches in length. In the rudimentary wing the forearm measures scarcely 
more than one inch; the terminal claw is about '5 of an inch in length, horn- coloured, slightly curved, and 
sharp-pointed ; the quills are equal and regular, the tube being '75 of an inch in length ; and the webs, 
wdiich are perfectly soft, are light brown in colour, crossed by two broad bars of pale fulvous. In the young, 
or in birds of the first year, the wing-quills arc very feebly developed. The tarsi are proportionally longer 
and more slender than in Apteryx bulleri-, and they are covered anteriorly with closely-set scales of a 
rounded form. The claws are long, slender, and sharp-pointed, sometimes with the tip incurvate ; the hind 
claw is slender, only slightly arched, and with sharp edges. The plumage is soft and yielding to the hand 
when passed along it ; but in a reverse direction or against the grain it is slightly rigid, although it wants 
the stiffened shafts which give to the feathers of Apteryx bulleri their distinguishing character. On raising 
the plumage with the hand and viewing it laterally it has very much the appearance of the thick fur on 
the back of a tabby cat. The general effect on the surface boars a close resemblance to the fur of the 
small Australian marsupial, Lagorchestes fasciatus, both in colour and in the peculiar character of the wavy 
markings. 
The Grey Kiwi is distributed over a great portion of the South Island, and in some of the remote 
districts is still very abundant. Till recently it was not known to occur in any part of the North Island. 
We had, in consequence, been so accustomed to speak of Apteryx oweni as a stiictly South-Island s[)ecies, 
and as representing there the Brown Kiwi of the North Island {Apteryx bulleri), that the discovery of its 
existence, under certain conditions, in the Wellington provincial district furnished an interesting fact 
in geographic distribution. A fine specimen for which I am indebted to Mr. Moigan Caikeek, of the 
Survey Department, was obtained by that gentleman on Mount Hector, at the head of the Hutt river, 
in December 1875. It was caught by his dog among the snow-grass, at an elevation of about 3000 
feet. At a higher altitude he found the species comparatively abundant, and he met with it occasion- 
ally below the snow-line, frequenting mossy places in the bush free from undergrowth. 
This peculiarity of range, as compared with the distribution of the species in the South Island, 
is very suggestive, and it will be interesting to discover whether this bird inhabits the summits of 
mountains further north. 
It frequents the woods, and, being (like its congeners) nocturnal in its habits, must be sought for 
in prostrate hollow trunks, natural holes or caverns among the roots of the large forest- trees, and clefts 
