Thomas Davies

“ SINCE I had the honour of communicating to the Linnean Society the foregoing description of the Menura, I have been favoured with both male and female of that extraordinary bird from my friend Governor King, by the Buffalo store-ship ”

“ The female is like the male in every respect, excepting that it has no azure bar over the eye, and that it is entirely of a ferruginous colour from the base of the under-mandible to the vent.
The natives of New South Wales give the name of Merion Binnion to this bird, on account of the great resemblance of its tail to the feathers of the Cassowary. ”

“ The plumage of the whole body, from the breast to the vent, and from the shoulders to the rump, is composed of long, slender, thread-like, silky feathers, resembling fringe, of a dull grayish black; lighter on the breast, belly, and vent. The bill and legs, which are strong and furnished with large scales, as in the cock, are black. From the head to the rump 14 inches. The tail 18 inches, also of a dull brown black colour above and gray beneath. The two upper tail feathers are sharp pointed at the ends ”

“ AS I conceive there are very few persons, however conversant with Natural History, who may have seen or known there was an animal existing in the coldest parts of Canada, of the same genus with the Jerboa, hitherto confined to the warmer climates of Europe and Africa ”

“ It was discovered enclosed in a ball of clay, about the size of a cricket-ball, nearly an inch in thickness, perfectly smooth within, and about 20 inches under ground. The man who first discovered it, not knowing what it was, struck the ball with his spade, by which means it was broken to pieces, or the ball also would have been presented to me. The drawing will perfectly shew how the animal is laid during its dormant state. ”

“ The female, however, is somewhat smaller, being in length, from the crown of the head to the end of the tail, only 31 inches. The general plumage of the whole bird is of a dull blackish colour, a little rufous under the chin and throat, and of a brownish cast: on the scapulars, as in the male. ”

“ From their being enveloped in balls of clay, without any appearance of food, I conceive they sleep during the winter, and remain for that term without sustenance. As soon as I conveyed this specimen to my house, I deposited it, as it was, in a small chip-box, in some cotton, waiting with great anxiety for its waking ”