. The animals of New Zealand; an account of the dominion's air-breathing vertebrates . .—Kiwi. Apteryx mantelU. Rufous brown, streaked longitudinally with black. Feathers of theback harsh to the touch, owing to the shafts being prolonged beyond thebarbs. Bill slightly curved. Claw on the wing much curved, and black. Male—Length of the bill, in. to in.; of the tarsus, to in. In the female—Bill, in to % in.; of the tarsus, in. Egg—White; length, in. North Island and Little BarrierIsland. 342 THE ANIMALS OF NEW ZEALAND The northern species, the
. The animals of New Zealand; an account of the dominion's air-breathing vertebrates . .—Kiwi. Apteryx mantelU. Rufous brown, streaked longitudinally with black. Feathers of theback harsh to the touch, owing to the shafts being prolonged beyond thebarbs. Bill slightly curved. Claw on the wing much curved, and black. Male—Length of the bill, in. to in.; of the tarsus, to in. In the female—Bill, in to % in.; of the tarsus, in. Egg—White; length, in. North Island and Little BarrierIsland. 342 THE ANIMALS OF NEW ZEALAND The northern species, the kiwi-nui of the Maoris, is now phimage is darkest on the back, and the feathers on its backdiffer from those of other species by being harsh to the touch. It inhabits the darkest and densest forests. In the early daysof colonisation, members of the species must have been numerous,for the late Mr. Allan Cunningham, in a paper read before theLondon Zoological Society in 1839, states that the bird was metwith in all the wooded portions of the island. It reposed during. Brown Kiwi. the day. he says, in humid forests, living either beneath the tuftsof long, sedgy grass, or shunning the light, and hiding itself inthe hollows at the base of a rata tree. But no sooner were thenative woods darkened by the presence of night, than it rangedabout in quest of food. He describes the cry of the kiwi at nightas being similar to the whistling of a boy by the help of hisfingers in his mouth. It was by imitating the cry that the INIaoris decoyed the birdsto their destruction. On the darkest nights the kiwi-hunters setforth, accompanied by dogs, and supplied with torches, so as to THE SOUTHERN KIWI 343 dazzle the birds eyes. The kiwis go about in pairs, and thehuntere endeavoured to secure the female first, easily distinguish-ing it by its large size. As the male lingered about the spot toprotect its mate, both fell into the trap. Formerly the Maoriswere skilful kiwi hunters. They
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