NATURAL HISTORY TALKS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIV, Issue 8020, 6 August 1887, Page 6

NATURAL HISTORY TALKS.

Professor Thomas, president of the Auck. land Institute, delivered one of his very interesting " Natural History Talks " at th Museum last night, and we were glad t notice that his effort to popularise th Museum is meeting with some measure of success, for there was a good attendance of ladies and gentlemen, all of whom exhibited deep interest in the subject under review Professor Thomas had before him a number of stuffed specimens and skeletons, h continued his observations on New Zealand birds, dealing first with the Huia, a memb of the crow tribe, whose interesting habits h' described, and elucidated his remarks byth specimens before him. The male bird has a short piok-like bill; the female, a long and slender bill. They hunted for their food mostly tree grubs and beetles, in pairs. Th' male makes the opening to the burrow of the grub, and the female with her slender bill then fetched it out; but Professor Thomas gave no explanation as to the ratio in which the spoil, that is the grub, was divided It would, no doubt, depend on the appetite or voracity of the female, unlese the strong bill of the male had an influential control. Pro* feßSor Thomas then proceeded to describe the wry-billed plover, the only bird known whose bill curls sideways. It is a native of New Zealand, and found in the North and South Islands. The supposition was thut the formation of its bill was due to its habits in getting its food beneath the stones in river beds and similar formations. The Professor then, in a moet interesting manner, dealt with the weka, or wood hen, specimens of which were on view—representative of the North and South Islands. They are mem» bers of the rail family, and Professor Thomas' description of their struoture and habits wag very Interesting. The North I«land bird waa very timid, owinj? possibly to the depreda« tions of the Maoris; but in the South Island they were rather too familiar, being ouriom in their observations and extremely thievish in their habits. The wings, he pointed out were ehort, and the birde give another in.' stance of the flightless birds of New Zealand. He also exhibited and described the well known pukaki, and also another specimen of the rail family — the noctunue, of which only three speoimens had been found and it was evidently almost, if not alto' gether, extinct. Professor Thomas remarked on the number of flightless birds in New Zealand, and explained that it was caused by the absence of boasts of prey, euoh as animals of the cat kind, weasels, *c., aud ■'ther oarnivorous animals, so that birds who li r ed on the ground had a happy time of it; ha" now that cats, stoats, weasels, pigs, ana dogs were introduced, they had no longer the tame security, and no doubt an end would be put to thoee flightless birds. From the skeletons Professor Thomas elucidated the structure of this class of birds, the flatness of the breast bone, the shortness of the wing development, fee, contrasting them with the deep keel aud great spread of wing of the albatross. He also exhibited » splendid specimen of the Samoaii bat, and also a skeleton of another species, pointing out its peculiar structure, especially marking the keel formation of the breast bone, which Dave fttrenf'f.h t;n itn ATnannivn skinnu win m>