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The Pamphlet Collection of Sir Robert Stout: Volume 64

Living Birds

Living Birds.

These are in Upright Cases 27 to 32, Upper [unclear: Galley] One hundred and fifty-eight different kinds of [unclear: birds] as known from New Zealand, and of these the Museum [unclear: of] lection contains one hundred and twenty. The first [unclear: thing] that will strike the visitor is the very small number [unclear: of] Land birds in proportion to the number of Shore [unclear: and] Water birds. In the New Zealand Collection the [unclear: for] occupy only 2 out of 8 cases, or a quarter the space, [unclear: which] in the general collection they occupy 28 out of 56 [unclear: cases], or one half the space. The most interesting birds in [unclear: C] 27 are the Parrots. We see here some beautiful [unclear: variet] of the Kaka (Nestor meridionalis), and of the [unclear: Cr] top Parakeet (Platycercus novœ zelandiœ.) [unclear: The] variety is exceedingly rare. The Kea ([unclear: Nestor] inhabits the snowy mountains only. Of late years [unclear: it has] become very destructive by devouring living sheep. [unclear: Be] low there is a young Kakapo (Stingops habroptilus), [unclear: put] out of the egg. It is a pure white colour. The [unclear: two] Cuckoos that inhabit New Zealand are both [unclear: migratory] The Long-tailed Cuckoo (Eudynamis taitensis) goes [unclear: in] the winter to the Society Islands; while the [unclear: Shi]

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[unclear: Cucroo] (Chrysococcyx lucidus) goes to Australia. Among [unclear: the] many remarkable facts connected with the migration [unclear: of] birds, there is nothing in the whole world so [unclear: wonderful] as the regular migration of these birds to the Islands [unclear: of] New Zealand over 1,500 miles of ocean.

[unclear: Case 28.] The Huia (Heteralocha acutirostris) is found [unclear: only] in the mountains between Wellington and Napier. [unclear: The] bills of the two sexes are of very different shapes. [unclear: The] male with his strong bill is said to hold open the [unclear: bark of a] tree, while the female introduces her long bill, [unclear: extracts], and eats the insects. The beautiful Stitch [unclear: Bird] (Pogonomis cincta) is found only in the North [unclear: Island], and is almost extinct on the main land. The New [unclear: Zealand] Quail (Coturnix novœ zealandiœ) is also on [unclear: the] verge of extinction. The Museum possesses only [unclear: one] very poor specimen. In this case also there is a [unclear: remarkable] variety of the Tit (Myiomoira macrocephala), of a [unclear: pale] yellow colour.

Case 29 contains the Grallœ or Wading Birds. The most interesting is the [unclear: Ckook-bill] (Anarhynclius [unclear: frontalis]), which is the only known bird with its bill curved to [unclear: one] side. Some naturalists suppose that this has been [unclear: caused] by its habit of running round stones. The Woodeens [unclear: or] Wekas (Ocydromus) are well represented; among them [unclear: are] black, white, and chestnut-coloured specimens. The [unclear: North] Island Wood-hen (Ocydromus earli) is quite [unclear: different] from those found in the South Island.

[unclear: Case] 30 is devoted to Ducks, every species found [unclear: in] New Zealand being represented. The most interesting is the [unclear: Flightless] Duck (Nesonetta aucklandica) of the [unclear: Auckland] Island. This bird cannot fly at all, but runs over [unclear: the] floating kelp, catching the small crustaceans on [unclear: it]. The Whittling Duck (Dendrocygna eytoni) is an [unclear: Australian] bird. The specimen is one of a flock of 14 [unclear: that] were first seen at Lovell's Flat, in Otago, in 1869, and afterwards lived on the Kaitangata Lagoon. It is [unclear: believed] that none now remain.

[unclear: Case] 31 and 32 contain the Gulls, Terns, and Petrels. [unclear: The most] interesting specimen is the young Albatross ([unclear: Diomedea] exulans), which was taken from the nest in [unclear: Campbell] Island. It is about ten months old, and is [unclear: still] covered with down. In size it is equal to the largest [unclear: bird] although it had never left the nest. The Diving [unclear: Petrel] (Halodroma urinatrix) differs very much from all page 34 other Petrels in being a very bad flier. On the [unclear: upper] shelf will be seen an albino variety of the Little [unclear: Gull] (Larus scopulinus).

Case 32 contains the Cormorants, or Shags, of [unclear: which] New Zealand possesses more kinds than any other [unclear: country]. In the upper part of Case 33 are the Penguins. [unclear: The] King Penguin (Aptenodytes pennanti) is no longer [unclear: found] in New Zealand, but still lives on Macquarie Island. [unclear: The] Black Penguin (Eudyptes atra), and the Brown [unclear: Penguin] (Eudyptes vittatus) are unique specimens, and are [unclear: the] types of the species. The specimen of Eudyptet [unclear: schlegeli] also is only the second specimen ever obtained, the [unclear: other] one being in the Levden Museum in Europe. Below [unclear: are] the Grebes and Kiwis. The Crested Grebe ([unclear: Pedicle] cristatus) found on our lakes is exactly the same as [unclear: that] found in Europe. Of the Kiwis (Apteryx) we [unclear: [unclear: po]] very line specimens of three species, but the fourth ([unclear: Apteryx] haasti) if not represented in the collection. [unclear: In] North Island Kiwi (Apteryx mantelli) is so very [unclear: the] Apteryx australis from the South Island, that it is [unclear: very] doubtful whether they should be considered distinct.

The New Zealand Birds' Eggs will be found in [unclear: De] Cases 39 and 40, Upper Gallery; and the Bird's [unclear: nest] in the small case in south-west corner of the Gallery.