Marvels of the Universe 641 
We measure, roughly, the period of the flightlessness of Hesperornis by the fact that all that was 
left of its wing was a spike-like remnant of the upper arm-bone; all the rest of the wing had 
vanished ; not even the Ostrich tribe can show such complete reduction. Among sea-birds it was 
among the largest which have ever lived ; its only rival, indeed, seems to have been a Penguin, which 
was equally large. But here the rivalry ended, for they never came into conflict, and for the very 
sufficient reason that they lived in different geological epochs, and in widely remote regions of the 
globe ; Hesperornis remains having been found in the Cretaceous rocks of North America, and 
the remains of the Giant Penguin from the Eocene formation of New Zealand. Time was 
when New Zealand harboured great numbers of Ostrich birds, varying in size from turkeys to 
giants far larger than the African Ostrich. These are commonly known as Moas, and seem to have 
been finally exterminated by the Maoris... Some species of Moa retained vestiges of wings ; but in 
others, not only the wing, but even the bony shoulder-girdle which supported it, had vanished 
completely. No other - 
bird yet known to us has 
so completely obliterated 
all traces of what, but for 
the facts before us, we 
should have regarded as 
an absolutely indispensable 
organ. 
In the island of Mada- 
gascar, that vast preserve 
of archaic animals, there 
lived another giant Ostrich, 
whese eggs are recovered 
from bogs even to-day. 
They are the largest eggs 
yet known to us, as may 
be gathered from the fact 
that they had a capacity 
of about three gallons! 
The Atpyornis is supposed 
by some to be identical  — Photosy] 
with the “Roc” mentioned 
[W. S. Berridge, F'.Z.S. 
THE KIWI, OR APTERYX. 
by the traveller | Wieneo . poi qseaes bub al em ami eseues Gl Gael nN eee eee 
Paolo. An egg in the wings, which can only be found after a hunt among the feathers. 
British Museum measures two feet seven inches round its long axis, and has a circumference of 
two feet two inches. Yet, in spite of the enormous size of the egg, this bird was not so big as some 
of the Moas, since it does not seem to have stood much more than seven feet high. In the dis- 
proportionate size of its egg, the AZpyornis recalls the Kiwi, which has been described as “ the bird 
which lays an egg bigger than itself ! ”’ 
By far the most formidable of the fossil giants was the great South American Phororhacos, stand- 
ing some eight feet high, with a head bigger than that of a racehorse ; and armed with a most ferocious 
looking, hooked beak, he must have been a very terror by day to the creatures on which he preyed. 
The wings were ridiculously small, so that his victims must have been run down ; they could hardly 
have been taken by surprise after a successful stalk, for with such a towering height stealth would 
avail nothing, 
The term “ giant ”’ is a relative one. The two birds now to be discussed areypigmies compared 
with the eagle-headed monster just described ; they are giants compared with their largest living 
