Page 5 Advertisements Column 3

Southland Times, Issue 18825, 19 May 1920, Page 5

Two eggs of the New Zealand quail which is believed to have become extinct many years ago, have been presented to Canterbury Museum (says the Lyttelton Times I. They are very valuable. It is hardly possible to state their value, as egg-collectors in different parts of the world sometimes give fancy prices for eggs they wish to add to their collections. About forty-five years ago a skin of the native quail was sold by the authorities of Canterbury Museum to a collector in Italy for £75. The eggs of the species, probably, are more valuable than the skins, ami as values for both have increased since that transaction was made, the eggs now, besides being ornithological treasures, are worth much money. They are about I.3in long and lin broad, oval in shape, and dirty white in colour, richly sprinkled and splashed with brown nr umber. The ground colour, probably, was yellowishwhite originally, but has faded. The authenticity of the eggs is established by the fact that they were laid by a native quail kept in captivity at Mr G. Gould's residence Hamblcden, Bealey Avenue. That was more than fifty years ago. They came into the possession of the late Mr R. D. Thomas, of Christchurch, and they have been given to the Museum by his son, Mr Harley Thomas. One will be placed on view in the New Acquisition case in the Museum, and the other will be kept for reference in the Museum’s strong-room. There is one other egg of the species in the Museum. There is a series in the National History Museum at Cambridge University, and several in the British Museum, and in the Hon, Walter Rothschild’s private museum at Trinp, England. There are few other specimens in New Zealand than those in the Museum.