e middle island, that he had the good fortune to
secure the recent _Notornis_, which I now submit, having previously
placed it in the hands of the eminent ornithologist Mr Gould, to figure
and describe. This bird was taken by some sealers who were pursuing
their avocations in Dusky Bay. Perceiving the trail of a large and
unknown bird on the snow, with which the ground was then covered, they
followed the footprints till they obtained a sight of the _Notornis_,
which their dogs instantly pursued, and, after a long chase, caught
alive in the gully of a sound behind Resolution Island. It ran with
great speed, and on being captured uttered loud screams, and fought and
struggled violently. It was kept alive three or four days on board the
schooner, and then killed, and the body roasted and eaten by the crew,
each partaking of the dainty, which was declared to be delicious. The
beak and legs were of a bright red colour. My son secured the skin,
together with very fine specimens of the Kapapo or ground parrot
(_Strigops_), a pair of Huias (_Neomorpha_), and two species of
Kiwikiwi, namely _Apteryx Australis_, and _A. Oweni_. The latter very
rare bird is now added to the collection of the British Museum."

"Mr Walter Mantell states, that, according to the native traditions, a
large Rail was contemporary with the Moa, and formed a principal article
of food among their ancestors. It was known to the North Islanders by
the name 'Moho,' and to the South Islanders by that of 'Takahe;' but the
bird was considered by both natives and Europeans to have been long
since exterminated by the wild cats and dogs; not an individual having
been seen or heard of since the arrival of the English colonists. On
comparing the head of the bird with the fossil cranium, and mandibles,
and the figures and descriptions in the 'Zoological Transactions' (Plate
lvi.), my son was at once convinced of their identity. It may not be
irrelevant to add, that in the course of Mr Walter Mantell's journey
from Banks's Peninsula along the coast to Otago, he learned from the
natives that they believed there still existed in that country the only
indigenous terrestrial quadruped, except a species of rat, which there
are any reasonable grounds for concluding New Zealand ever possessed.
While encamping at Arowenua, in the district of Timaru, the Maoris
assured them that about ten miles inland there was a quadruped which
they called Kaureke, and that it was formerly abund