REPORT ON APTERYX IN NEW ZEALAND.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 173, 5 June 1862, Page 5

REPORT ON APTERYX IN NEW ZEALAND.

Colonial Secretary's Office, Auckland, May 32rid, 1862.

The following Report on Apterys; in New Zealand by Dr. S.clater-, Secretary to the Geological Society-, is published for general information,-^-? William Fox. October, 1861. Report on the present State of our Knowledge of the Species of Apteryx living in New Zealand. By Philip Llitley Selater, M.A., Ph. D., F.R.S.. and Dr. F. yon Ilochstetter.

[Read at the Meetim? of the British Association, . September, 18.61. . : There appears to. be evidence of the present existence of at least four species of birds of the genus Apteryx in New Zealand, coucornlug which we be,? to offer the following romnrks, taking them pile after the other in the order that they have become successively known. 1.—Apteryx Austkalis.

Aptcryx Australia, Shaw, Nat. Misc. xxiv. pi. 1057, 1058, and Gen. Zool. xiii. p. 71. Apteryx Australia, Bnrtlett, Pros. Zool. Soc. 1850, p. 275. Antcryx Australia, Yarrell, Trans. Zool. Soc. I. p

.. 71,,p1. 10. -■ I The Apteryx Australia was originally made known to science about the year 1831, from an example obtained in New Zealand by Captain Barclay, of the ship Providence. This hivd, which was deposited in the cpjlgctioii of the late Lord Derby, was afterwards described at greater length in 1833, in the Transactions of the Zoological Society by Mr. Yarrell, and was still, at that date, the only specimen of this singular form knowii to exist. Examples of Apteryges subsequently obtained, though' generally referred to the present species, have • mostly belonged to the closely allied Apteryx ManlelU of Bartlei^, as we shall presently show, though specitnons of the true Apteryx Aitftlraiis exist in the British Museum, and in several other collections. '" " • 'The original bird described by Dr. Shaw is stated by Mr. Bartlett (Proc. Zool. Soc ISCO, p.-276) to have come from Dusky Bay,'in the Province of Otago, Middle Island, whence-Pr. Mantel!'= specimen, upon which Mr. BaytleW grounded his observations as to the distinctness of this species from Apteryx ManteUi, was alsoprocuredi ■ ■'■. <■'■'•■■'■>

Br. Hoch-tetter was able to learn nothing of. the existence of this Aptervx in .the Province of Nelson, in the same island.; In fact,*, the species isw«lo«lv

allied to the Apleryx ManteUi as to render it very desirable that further examples of it should be obtained, and a rigid comparison instituted between "the two. For the present, however, we must regard this form of Apteryx as belonging to the Southern portion of the Middle Island. '

2.—Apieryx Owenii. Apteryx Owenii, Gould, P.Z.S. 1817, p. 94, Apteryx Owenii, Birds of Austr., vi. pi. 3.

Owen's Apteryx, which is readily distinguished from the preceding species and A. ManteUi,' by its smaller size, transversely barred plumage and slender bill, was first described by Mr. Gould in 1547 from an example procured by Mr. F. Strange, and' '' believed to have been obtained from the South Island " Since that period other specimens have been received in this country, wliioh have sufficed to establish the species, and from the information obtained by Dr. yon Ilochstetter. there is no doubt of this biing the common Apteryx of the Northern portion of the Middle Island.

"In tlie spurs of the Southern Alps on Cook's Strait, in the Province of Nt-lson, '■' says Dr. yon Hochstetter. '"that is, in the higher wooded "lnouutainvalleys of the Wairau chain, as also westwards of Blind Bay, in the. wooded! mountains between-the Motueka and Aorere valleys, Kiwis of this species are still found in great numbers. During .my stay in the Province of' Nelson I had myself two living examples (male and female) of this species. They were procured by some natives whom I sent out for this purpose, in the upper wooded valleys of the Itiver Mate a confluent of the Aorere, in a. country elevated from 2,000 t6.3,ooofeet above the sea level. . It appear* that this ■ Apteryx still lives very numerously anil widely spread in the extended- southern continuations of tlie Alps." 3.—Aptebtx Mantelli. Apteryx Australia, Gould, Birds of Australia xi, pi. 2. ' Apteryx Mantelli, Bartlett, Proc. Zool. Soc 1817 •p. 93. ■■ ■' The characters which distinguish this commoner and better known Apteiijx from the true -1 Australia of Shaw were pointed out by Mr. Bartlett at tlie meeting ot the Zoological Society, held on the 10th December, 1800 :-..'• This bird differs from the original Apteryx Australia of Dr. Shaw," says Mr Bartlett, " in-its smaller size, its darkur ami more rufous colour, its longer tarsus, which v souteihted in front, its shorter toes and claws, which are harneolored ; its smallur wings, which have much stronger a>id tiiiekor quills ; and also in harm* loii" stri^lfn"hairs on the face." T . oo " Mr. Bartlett tells us that, as far as lie has been able to ascertain, all specimens of Apten/x Mantelli are . from the Northern Island, and this is completely confirmed by Dr. yon Hochstetter's observations which are as follows: . . . ' '•' In the Northern districts of the. Northern Island this specie* oiApleryx appears to have become quite extinct But in the island called Houtourou, or Little Burner Island, a small island, completely wooded, rising about 1,000 feet above the sea level, and only .accessible when the sea is quite calm, which h situated in the Gulf of Ilauiaki, near Auckland, it is srtid to. be- still tolerably qommou. In■the inhabited portions of the southern districts of the Northern Island also, it is become nearly exterminated by men, dogs, and wild eats, and here is only t) hi found in the more inaccessible and less populous mountain-.hains, that is in the wooded mountains between Cape Pallia?!- and Kast Cape. j " But the inhabitants of the Northern Island spe-ik also of-two sorta of Kiwi, which they distin."ui-h as Kiwi-nui (large Kiwi) ami Kiwi-iti (smalf Kiwi)" The Kiwi-nui is said to be found in the Tuhua district, west of Lake Tatipo, and is in. my opinion Apteryx Man'.elli. Kiwi-iti may possibly be Aptcn/x Owenii, though I can give no certain information on the subject." 4. —Apteryx Maxima. " The Fireman," Gould, on Birds of Australia sub. ttab. 3, vol. vi. Apteryx Maxima. Dp. Cjmnt Rend. Acad. So. • "itoa-roa" of the Natives of Southern Island. The existence of a large species of Apterux iii the Middle Island of New Zealand has long ago been 'affirmed, and though no specimens of this bird have yet reached Europe, the following remarks of Dr. yon Hoehstetter seem to leave no reasonable doubt of its actual existence :— •'• Besides Apteryx Owenii a second larger species lives ou the Middle Island, of which, although no examples have yet reached Europe, the existence is neyerthless quite certain. The Natives distinguish this species not as a Kiwi, but as a Roa, beeause^it is larger than A. Owenii (Roa. meaning long or tali). " John Rochfort, Provincial Surveyor in Nelson, who returned from an expedition to the western coast of the Province while I was staying at Nelson, in his report, which appeared in the Nelson Examiner ,oi August 24th, 1859, describes this species, which is said to be by no means uncommon in the Paparoa elevation, betweea the Grey and .Duller Kivers, in the following terms :—' A Kiwi about the size of a turkey, very powerful, having spurs on his feet, which when attacked by a dog, defends himself' so well as frequently to come off victorious.' '• My friend, Julius_ Haast, a German, who was my travelling companion in New Zealand, and in the beginning of the year 1800 undertook an exploring ex-; pedition to the southern and western parts of the July, 1860, Provineeof Nelson, writes to mem a letter, dated from ten miles above the mouth of the River Buller, on the. mountains of the Buller chain, which, at a height of 3,000 to 4,000 feet, were at that time,: it being winter in New Zealand, slightly covered with snow, that the tracks of a large Kiwi of the size of a turkey were very common in, the snow, and that at night he had often heard the singular cry of this birl, bat that as he had no dog with him he had not succeeded iv, getting an example of it. He h?<d nevertheless, left with some Natives in that district a tin case with spirit, and promised them a good reward if they would get him one of these birds in spirits, and send it to Nelson by oue of the vessels which go from time to time to the West Coast." In concluding this brief report we wish to call attention to the importance of obtaining- further knowledge respecting the recent species ot this singular form of birds, whilst it is yet possible to do so. We see that one of them—the Apteryx Mantelli— is alj ready fast disappearing, whilst its history, habits, mode of nidification, and many other particulars re."pe<rting it. arc as yet aUoirether unknown. We therefore trust-thai-such members of this Association as. have friends or correspondents in any part of New Zealand will impress upon them the benefits that they will confer on science, by endeavoring to procure moro specimens of, and additional information conoarningthe" different species*of t i;e genius Apt&'U&.-.-'-'^'-- ..... :

In Minnesota, (U.S.) lately au old woman and her ; grandson were overtaken by a snowstorm. She cried loudly for help, but her cries were not heard. When she became too much benumbed to proceed further, she took some of her clothing and wrapped it around the boy, which was probably the mams of saving his life. She was found,dead,.

A clergyman will often take an hour to explain n point tha,t a layman could explain in five minutes, and the simple reason is, that it is.no object to the clersryman to get to the end of his explanation. He is doing his work all the time he is explaining, and tins contents him.— Saturday Review. ' '■

Exploration.—lt has been ascertained that two well-known bushmeu—Ciirlewis and M'Cullaprh, who were out in search of country, for pastoral purposes, between the Darling and Cooper's Creek, have been murdered by the blacks, who "fell upon them while asleep by their fires in the nights. Walker's pirty hava 'art^red in the northern ssttlements of Queensland, having been unable to follow Burkes tracks. Walker has found a large river to the north of the Burekin, flowing westward, aud has eor.ie upon traces of Loiohardtin following it down.' Nothing has neon heard of Landsborough's purty during the moath. — Argus, May 24.

Mr. J. A. Lebat, a French barrister, committed suicide a few days ago in London, by stabbing himself in the stomach. He was under the impression that he was always being pursued by espions (French spies), and that they wanted to implicate him in another Orsini plot to assassinate the Emperor. It was further shown that, the deceased had formed an ottachment to a young woman with money, which cannexion hud been lately broken cff.

How tub Quakkii voui-d do it.—A hickering. pair of Quakers were lately heard in high controversy, the husbaiidexclaiming: " I am determined to have one quiet week with tiiee !" " But how will . thou be able to get it ?" said the taunting ,spouse, it •"reiteration," which married ladies so provokingly indulge in. "I will keep thee a week after thou art dead!" was the Quaker's rejoinder, '

Bribert and Corruption.—At an election dinner, a voter said he had never received a bribe to the extent of a farthing. " Oh, Mr. Smith, how can you say so," observed another voter, " when Mr. \V. sent you a hare?" " Ay, that's true enough, " but it was full of maggots." "Well, then," was the rejoinder, "if it was not bribery, it was corrupt tion." 1 :

Where to Buey an Irishman.—An Irishman had been sick for a long time, and while in this state would.occasionally cease breathing, and life be apparently extinct for some time, when he would nprain come to.—On,one of these occasions, when he had just awnl< enad from Ms sleep, Patrick, asked him: •'.' An' how'll we know, Jamtny, when you're dead—you're after wakin' up ivery time?" "Bring nie.a glass o^ grpgr, an' say to me, '. Here's till ye, Jammy ! an' if I don't rise ap an' dhrink, then bury me!" , -,