NATURAL HISTORY. 
607 
The Physalis, or Finback,* is a much longer fish, but of 
less circumference, it is distinguished afar off by a fin pro- 
jecting from the hinder part of the back, standing erect, 
from three to six feet in height ; this whale yields from 
twenty to thirty barrels of oil, but it is so difficult to capture 
that whalers seldom attempt it ; the finback is extremely 
tenacious of life, its head is sharp, with the upper jaw latnel- 
lated, the under lip closes over the baleen, which is smaller 
than that of the right whale. 
The Pike-headed Baloena,f Mango nui or black physeter, 
has a much more pointed head than the finback, but in other 
respects differs very little from it. 
The Musculus, or large lipped whale, f has an immense 
under lip, the upper part of the head ends in a snout, the 
throat of this fish is larger than in other whales ; the mus- 
culus is found sixty feet in length by thirty in circumference, 
it devours small fish, in addition to its other food ; there are 
three fins on its back. The natives enumerate eight different 
kinds of whale — 
1. The Paraoa. 5. Pakeke, or momori. 
2. Tohora, or Wara-wara, or 6. Niho-ngore. 
Mimiha. 7. Ngutu-hue. 
8. Papati. 8. Ngutu-pi. 
4. Popoia-ngore. 
The birds of New Zealand amount to one hundred and 
thirty-six, and of these seventy-three may be said to belong 
to the land, and in a great measure to be peculiar to those 
isles ; it is singular that whilst the honey or humming 
birds of other parts are the smallest known representatives 
of their rate, those of New Zealand are amongst the largest 
of the family, and that whilst Europe does not possess a 
single parrot, there should be at least half-a-dozen kinds in 
New Zealand, and one too which differs from all others, in 
selecting alpine solitudes and arctic cold to warmer spots, 
whilst another partakes of the appearance of the owl as 
much as of the parrot in its form ; but whilst there is this 
* Polack. f Polack. 
