Note on the chick of Notornis

Abstract

A rare photograph of two weeks old Notornis of New Zealand is reproduced from a newspaper. Notornis is closely related to Porphyrio and New Zealand has P. poliocephalus melanotus which underwent the same type of evolution as Notornis, only not to that extreme degree. The origin of these two related birds is explained throguh the theory of double invasions. The author believes that species has a termination to its long continued life and Notornis is considered to be a waning species. Like ontogeny is a short repetition of phylogeny, a life of an adult individual is considered as a concise picture of a species it belongs and which one day must reach the end of its specific life.