spicuous. The species of Apteryx are wholly confined to New Zealand, and are nocturnal in their habits, living upon insects and worms. Four species have been described, of which A. australis (fig. 306) is the best known.

As regards the distribution of the Cursores in time, it seems

probable that some of the footprints of the Connecticut Trias (if ornithic at all) have been produced by birds belonging to this group. Leaving these doubtful instances out of sight, the Eocene Tertiary has yielded the first certain traces of Cursorial birds (the Dasornis of the London clay). The most interesting remains of Cursores have, however, been found in the PostTertiary deposits of the southern hemisphere, and more especially in New Zealand. In this island have been found the remains of a number of large wingless birds, which form the family of the Dinornithida, of which Dinornis (fig. 307) itself is the most important genus. All the members of this group (Dinornis, Palapteryx, &c.) are large Cursorial birds, the wings being useless for flight, and furnished with a rudimentary humerus. The hallux is wanting (Dinornis) or present (Palapteryx). The largest species is the Dinornis giganteus, one of the most gigantic of living or fossil birds, the tibia measuring a yard in length, and the total height being at least ten feet. Another

species, the Dinornis elephantopus (fig. 307), though not standing more than about six feet in height, was of an even more

ponderous construction-" the framework of the skeleton being the most massive of any in the whole class of Birds," whilst "the toe-bones almost rival those of the Elephant" (Owen). The feet in Dinornis were furnished with three toes, and are of interest as presenting us with an undoubted Bird big enough to produce the largest of the foot-prints of the Triassic Sandstones of Connecticut. New Zealand has now been so far explored, that it seems questionable if it can retain in its recesses any living example of Dinornis; but it is certain that species of this genus were alive during the human period, and

survived up to quite a recent date. Not only are the bones very numerous in certain localities, but they are found in the most recent and superficial deposits, and they still contain a considerable proportion of animal matter; whilst in some instances bones have been found with the feathers attached, or with the horny skin of the legs still adhering to them. Charred bones have been found in connection with native "ovens ;" and the traditions of the Maories contain circumstantial accounts of gigantic wingless Birds, the "Moas," which were hunted both for their flesh and their plumage.

In Madagascar, bones have been discovered of a bird as large as, or larger than, the Dinornis giganteus, which has been described under the name of the Epiornis maximus. With the bones have been found eggs measuring from thirteen to fourteen inches in diameter, and computed to be as big as three ostrich-eggs, or one hundred and forty-eight hen's eggs. Though generally referred to the Cursores, piornis has been sometimes regarded as a gigantic member of the Raptores.

Lastly, the Post-Tertiary deposits of Australia have yielded the remains of an extinct Struthious bird allied to the Emeu, which has been described under the name of Dromæornis.

CHAPTER LXVI.

SUB-CLASS II. CARINATÆ.

NATATORES, GRALLATORES, AND RASORES.

ORDER I. NATATORES (Palmipedes). The order of the Natatores, or Swimmers, comprises a number of Birds which are as much or even more at home in the water than upon the land. In accordance with their aquatic habit of life, the Natatores have a boat-shaped body, usually with a long neck. The legs are short, and placed behind the centre of gravity of the body, this position enabling them to act admirably as paddles, at the same time that it renders the gait upon dry land more or less cwkward and shuffling. In all cases the toes are "webbed" or united by membrane to a greater or less extent (fig. 308, A). In many instances the membrane or web is stretched completely from toe to toe, but in others the web is divided or split up between the toes, so that the toes are fringed with membranous borders, but the feet are only imperfectly webbed.

As their aquatic mode of life exposes them to great reductions of temperature, the body of the Natatorial birds is closely covered with feathers and with a thick coating of down next the skin. They are, further, prevented from becoming wet in the water by the great development of the coccygeal oil-gland, by means of which the lustrous plumage is kept constantly

lubricated and waterproof. They are usually polygamous, each male consorting with several females; and the young are hatched in a condition not requiring any special assistance from the parents, being able to swim and procure food for themselves from the moment they are liberated from the egg.

The Natatores are divided into the following four families:Fam. 1. Brevipennata. In this family of the Swimming birds the wings are always short, and are sometimes useless as organs of flight, the tail is very short, and the legs are placed very far back, so as to render terrestrial progression very difficult or awkward. The family includes the Penguins, Auks, Guillemots, Divers, and Grebes. In the Penguins (Spheniscida) the wings are completely rudimentary, without quills, and covered with a scaly skin. They are useless as far as flight is concerned, but they are employed by the bird as fins, enabling it to swim under water with great facility, and they are also used on the land as fore-legs. The feet are webbed, and the hinder toe is rudimentary or wanting. The Penguins live gregariously in the seas of the southern hemisphere, on the coasts of South Africa and South America, especially at Tierra del Fuego, and in the solitary islands of the South Pacific. When on land the Penguins stand bolt upright, and as they usually stand on the shore in long lines, they are said to present a most singular appearance. The best-known species are the Jackass Penguin (Spheniscus demersus) of the Falkland Islands,

and the King Penguin (Aptenodytes Patagonica) of the Straits of Magalhaens. Some Penguins have the extraordinary habit

of forming no nest but of carrying their egg about with them in a temporary pouch of the abdominal integument. In the Auks (Alcida) the wings are better developed than in the Penguins, and they contain true quill-feathers; but they are still short as compared with the size of the body, and are of more use as fins than for flight. The Great Auk or Gare-fowl (Alca impennis) is remarkable for being one of the birds which appear to have become entirely extinct within the human period, having been, in fact, destroyed by man himself. used to abound in the arctic regions, and occasionally visited our own shores in the winter. The Little Auk (Mergulus alba) occurs still in abundance in the seas of the arctic regions. Other well-known members of this group are the Razor-bill, the Puffins (Fratercula arctica), and the Guillemots (Uria).