I.—Note on the Skeleton of Diaphorapteryx Hawkinsi, Forbes, a Large Extinct Rail from the Chatham Islands

Extract

It is a well-known fact that many islands in which there is no indigenous mammalian fauna, have been, and in some cases are still, inhabited by flightless birds, which are usually of considerable size. Mauritius and Rodriguez are good examples of such islands; in the former the dodo and aphanapteryx, in the latter the solitaire and erythromachus, existed at least as late as the beginning of the seventeenth century, when, owing to their inability to escape from their foes by flight, they fell easy victims to the crews of ships touching at the islands, and also to the various domestic animals, such as dogs, cats, and pigs, introduced by man.