The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1884-09-04
GIGANTIC BIRDS.
Egss $500 Apiece-Rails Six Feet High
Eagles Capable of Carrying Pour ar
Five Men-H0w the DIDornjs uac.u,.

rive Meh-HoW the DIn0rnis became |
Extinct-Professor Booths Theory.
Ihe Museum of Natural History
Central Park, has been offered an egr
that II sold by the dozen would brinSS
$500, the individual one beino vaiua3 |
at $500. Its size is little over a font
In length its holding capacity two
gallons, and in round numbers il eouals
one hundred and fifty hens eggs; its
lineal measurement is double that of
Inc ostrich's egg, and its cubic bulk
elght tunes greater The monster egp
comes from Madagascar, and the
museum now possesses an admirable
cast showing its dimensions.
The first discovery of these interest
ing relics of past time was made by
the captain OF q merchant vessel, who
stopped at port on the southern part
OF the island to trade with the natives
during his stay there the curious vases
the natives used to carry water and food
IN attracted his attention, and upon in
vestigation he found that thew were
eggs cut in halves, and upon beino
questioned, the natives informed him
that they obtained them from the great
sand-banks some distance away in the
up country. An effort to purchase
some soon resulted in the discovery of
others that fell into the hands of the
naturalist, Isidore G. St Hilaire, who
succeeded also in finding the bones of
the bird, which he named Epinornis, or
tail bird.
Since then (1S50), the remains of
three or tour distinct species of these
monsters have been unearthed in the
saho-nahks OF the southern portion of
the island, a skull, parts of the YER
tebr@, a tibia sixty-four centimetres
long, being the principal finds-quite
enough to establish its colossal stature.
Some writers aver that traditions of this
giant gave rise to the tales of the roc
! SO intimately associated with the haps
and mlshaps Of the unlucky Sindbad.
When the bird was first discovered
and its egg found to be eight times the
capacity OF that of the ostrich, it was
assumed to be sixteen feet in height,
winch would make it as tall as giraffe
and much larger; but the apterix,
though a bird hardly larger than a
guinea hen, lay eggs as large as a
swans. Some of the mOund-buildinr
birds lay eggs that seem dispropor-
toned to theirsiZe, so it was assumed that
the Eplnornls need not have been larger
than the ostrich. On the other hand, it
is we'll known that very large birds
often lay small eggs, as the cuckoo, a
| bird as large as 4 small hawk, that laws
n hgN i, -, So Il /
blackbird. So it will be seen that as a
rule the size of bird cannot be told
from its egg.
The bones found, however, Justify
naturalists in considering the Epinornis
a giant. Ward gives it as twelve feet;
| others thirteen or more; not so remark
able when we consider that in the
earlier geological times all life seemed
| to have reached n maximum of size.
Not only were the birds large, but the
mammals We're gigantic also. The
Diprotodon Australis was Pleistocene
Kangaroo as large rs the living rhinoc-
eros. The Swatherium was Pachv-
dermoid antelope, also as large rs
rhinoceros. The Glyptodon, Pleis-
tocene armadillo, eleven feet long,
weighing over 1000 pounds. The
Megatherium was sloth eighteen feet
in length. The tigers of the tertiary
time, represented by the Machairodus,
had upper canine teeth three times the
length of those of the living forms. In
earlier times were Crinoids Pentacri-
nus subangularis) with stalks over fifty
feet long; huge crabs and gigantic fishes
that heralded later and more insignifi-
cant forms.
With such an array of stupendous
creatures, we are not surprised to find
birds of such colossal stature. France
has produced one of the largest and
most remarkable of these forms vet
made known to science. nj. Castor
Plante, in some excavations in a clayey
stratum known as the Meudon ossifer-
Gus cOnGlOmerate, made the first dis
covery of tibia, which, though some
| what broken, measured forty-five cen
timetres, and from its resemblance to
that of the swan, differing from it only
in the presence of sub trochean fossa
and in the relatively high situation of
the osseous arch and external mus
Cular attachment, it was presumed that
the bird was gigantic ally of these
birds Since Plante's discovery another
gastornis has been discovered in a for
nation corresponding to the Meudon
conglomerate. A large part OF the
skeleton was secured, and when mount
ed and the missing parts carefully re-
stored. n bird was shown over ten feet
III height 1t was especially remark
able for the possession of teeth, the
upper bill or mandiblG, which was par
ticularly perfect, showing a series of
pseudo alveol, reminding one of the
atrophied alveoli of reptiles, CORE
spending nos to true teeth but TO
thickening Of the horny material OF the
bill Strangely enough, however, upon
the anterior portion of the bill there
was true tooth, of bony nature,
forming a part and continuous with the
substance of the bill itself.
When the Mascarene Islands were
first visited in the year 1850, some large
birds were found that have since gone
the way of the dodo. One of the most
interesting was n giant rail, called by
Schlegel the Galliniula glgantea. 1t
was winrlcss bird of elegant shape,
standing high on long stilt-like legs,
with enormous ftoes, recalling the Gu
rious iacana. Its height was over SIX
feet From various sources 1t Is found
that the natives hunted it on foot, run
nine it down until it was finally eXter-
minated, the last one being seen IN
1894, about forty-four years after It's
discovery by the whites
As regards bulk the giant Moas OF
wineless birds of New Zealand were the
largest ground birds that we are ia
miliar with. The large stwere about ten
feet in height, and according to some
authors they attained stature OF thlr,
teen feet. They have been extinct
about six hundred years. The tradl-
tions and songs of the Maori all refer
to the size, strength and wonderful
plumage of the great birds. Accord
inc to the natives the head and tai
were adorned with beautiful plumes'
that were only worn b, the great chiefs
| +bniy. and considered