Notes on the Anatomy of the Huia.

Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Volume 5, 1872, Page 431

By F. J. Knox, L.R.G.S.E. 3. “Notes on the Anatomy of the Huia,” by F. J. Knox, L.R.C.S.E. These notes were descriptive of beautifully prepared skeletons of both male and female of these rare and interesting birds. The President pointed out that the great difference in the length of the beaks in the male and female huia is due only to the prolongation of the horny mandible of the latter, the jaw bones being the same size in both sexes. This is not the case in the kiwi, in which the apparent excess in the length of the beak in the female is really produced by the lengthened bones of the face. Anatomically the kiwi has the shortest beak of any known bird of its size. The strong muscular crests in the skull of the male huia at once distinguishes it from that of the female, and supports the view that the male beak is used as an adze, and the female as a probe. Capt. Hutton remarked that a recent paper read to the Zoological Society of London described the anatomy of the huia, and showed that it is allied to the starling and crow in its structure. 4. “On the Reclamation of Land devastated by the Encroachment of Sand,” by C. D. Whitcombe. (See Transactions, p. 108.)

Mr. Travers gave an account of how the reclamation of land is effected near Bordeaux. Mr. J. D. Enys pointed out that there was a dwarf gum tree in Tasmania that might be useful for this purpose. The President said it was not merely the question of reclaiming land but also the protection of good land, and often of important works, mentioning the Cape Farewell lighthouse as an instance where protection against the drifting of the sand is an important consideration. Mr. Travers exhibited a variety of the blue penguin (Eudyptula minor) recently captured at Evans Bay. Mr. J. D. Enys exhibited the jaw of a tuatara, which he had found near Lyall Bay, and the skull of an ancient Maori dog which he had found in the cooking ovens at Paikakariki along with the bones of moas and men.