76 
land the instructive series of rare specimens with which the active spirit and enlightened 
liberality of their collector have enriched the scientific collections of his native land. 
It will be seen from that letter that Mr. Williams had confirmed, by comparison with 
the bones of the common fowl, the traditional statement of the natives of New Zealand 
relative to the huge bones which they at different times brought to him, in regard to the 
class of animals to which they belonged ; he has, therefore, a just claim to share in the 
honour of the discovery of the Dinornis, since, whilst collecting and comparing its os- 
seous remains, he was wholly unaware that its more immediate affinities had already 
been determined in England. 
By means of the specimens first transmitted by Mr. Williams to Dr. Buckland, and 
generously confided to me by that distinguished Geologist, I was enabled to define the 
generic characters of the Dinornis, as afforded by the bones of the hind extremity’: by 
the favour of a like disposition of Mr. Williams’s second and richer collection of bones, 
and from three additional specimens confided to me, in the same liberal spirit, by Dr. 
Richardson of Haslar Hospital, evidence has been obtained of six distinct species of the 
genus, ascending respectively from the size of the Great Bustard to that of the Dodo, 
of the Emeu, of the Ostrich, and finally attaining a stature far surpassing that of the 
once-deemed most gigantic of birds. 
I shall first enumerate the specimens of the bones which I have examined and com- 
pared, then proceed to point out their common generic characters, and finally their 
specific differences. 
List of Bones of the Dinornis collected by the Rev. Wm. Williams in Poverty Bay, New 
Zealand, and transmitted to England. 
Nos. 
v 1. Middle cervical vertebra. 
v 2. Posterior cervical vertebra. 
v3. Posterior cervical vertebra. 
v 4. Anterior dorsal vertebra. 
v 5. Middle dorsal vertebra. 
p 1. Anterior part of pelvis. 
p 2. Right os innominatum. 
p 3. Fragment of os innominatum. 
fied with looking at him, when in a little time he took the alarm and strode away up the side of the mountain. 
This incident might not have been worth mentioning, had it not been for the extraordinary agreement in point 
of size of the bird. Here are the bones, which will satisfy you that such a bird has been, and there is said to be 
the living bird, the supposed size of which, given by an independent witness, precisely agrees. Should I 
obtain anything more perfect you will not fail to hear from me, and in the meantime may I request the favour 
of your opinion on these bones, and also the information whether any others of similar character have been 
found elsewhere ? 
“‘T beg to remain, dear Sir, your obedient servant, 
* a 
«© To Dr. Buckland, &c. &c. * Wintram WILLIAMS.” 
'! Proceedings of the Zoological Society, January 10th, 1843. 
