Extinct birds

EXTINCT BIRDS.

An attempt to unite in one volume a short account of
those Birds which have become extinct in historical
times—that is, within the last six or seven
hundred years. To which are
added a few which still
exist, but are on
the verge of
extinction.

BY

The Hon. WALTER ROTHSCHILD,
Ph. D., F.Z.S.

With 45 Coloured Plates, embracing 63 subjects, and
other illustrations.

LONDON.
Hutchinson & Co., Paternoster Row, E.C.
1907

LONDON:
A. CHRIS. FOWLER, PRINTER,
TENTER STREET,
MOORFIELDS,
E.C.

PREFACE.

When I decided to read a paper before the Ornithological Congress of 1905 on Extinct and Vanishing Birds, I found it necessary to illustrate my paper by a number of drawings. These drawings roused special interest among those who listened to my lecture, and I was asked by many if I could not see my way to publish the lecture and drawings, in book form, as these plates were far too numerous for the proceedings of the Congress. After some hesitation I determined to do this, greatly owing to the persuasion of the late Dr. Paul Leverkühn. The preparation of a book required considerably more research than the lecture, and therefore my readers will find, in the following pages, a totally different account to that in the lecture, as well as corrections and numerous additions. The lecture itself has been published in the "Proceedings of the IVth International Ornithological Congress."

I wish to thank very heartily all those of my ornithological friends, who have kindly helped me with the loan of specimens or otherwise, and especially Dr. H. O. Forbes, Dr. Scharff, Professor Dr. K. Lampert, Dr. O. Finsch, Professor Dr. A. Koenig, Dr. Kerbert, Mr. Fleming, Dr. von Lorenz, and others.

WALTER ROTHSCHILD.

INTRODUCTION.

The study of the forms of life no longer existing on the earth, from the scanty remains preserved to us, has provoked a very great interest almost from the commencement of historical times. The very small portion of this vast field I am treating of in the following pages has a special attraction, as it deals to a great extent with forms familiar in a living state to our immediate forefathers and even to some of ourselves. Although I have here arranged the species systematically, they fall into two distinct categories, namely those known externally as well as internally, and those of which we know bones and egg-shells only. Under the former category might be included those merely known from descriptions or figures in ancient books, as well as those of which specimens exist. In the present work several plates have been reconstructed from such descriptions in order to give some idea of their probable appearance. There is considerable difference of opinion as to the approximate date of the disappearance of many of the species known from bones dug from deposits which have been variously determined as pleistocene and post-pleistocene. It seems to me that this problem can never be entirely solved, but the significant fact remains, that while many bones of these species in one locality have been collected in the kitchen-middens of the former inhabitants, in other localities the same bones occur in what seem to be much older formations.

In view of this and kindred facts, I have mentioned many species which some ornithologists will probably consider outside the range of the present treatise, viz., birds which have become extinct in the last seven- or eight-hundred years. Taking my first category, viz., those species whose exterior is more or less known, our knowledge is very variable in scope; about some we have a very full and even redundant literature, such as the Great Auk, the Labrador Duck, and Notornis, while of others, such as most of the extinct Parrots from the West Indies, the "Giant" of Mauritius, the "Blue Bird" of Bourbon, and so forth, we have the very scantiest knowledge. Even in the times of Leguat and Labat there must have been many species, now extinct, of which no mention has ever been made, for

these old writers only mentioned such species which impressed themselves on their memories either from their size, peculiar shape, beauty of plumage, or excellence and usefulness for food—in fact the culinary property of the various birds seems to have been their principal interest. One of the most interesting phenomena connected with recently extinct birds is the resemblance of the fauna of the Mascarene Islands and that of the Chatham Islands in the possession of a number of large flightless Rails, though the significance of this fact has been much exaggerated.

On the whole, this book is confined to species actually known to be extinct, but a few are included of which a small number is still known to exist, because firstly there seems no doubt that they will vanish soon, and secondly, as in the case of Notornis, it was necessary to clear up certain misconceptions and contradictory statements. In the case of a few species believed to be quite extinct, it is possible that some individuals may still exist in little known parts of their range, while on the other hand it is more than likely that several of the species referred to in my lecture (Proc. Orn. Congress pp. 191-207, 1907) as threatened with destruction, have already ceased to live. This may also be the case with some birds not alluded to at all.

In several instances I have treated of extinct flightless species under genera including existing species capable of flight. This may appear to be inconsistent, seeing that I maintain Notornis separate from Porphyrio, but, while not considering flightlessness in itself a generic character, the great development of the wing-coverts and the modification of the toes appear of sufficient generic value in this case. I know that several of the most eminent ornithologists of the day, among them Dr. Sharpe, differ from me, and are convinced that the loss of the power of flight is so profound a modification, that it is imperative that we should treat it as sufficient for generic distinction.

While agreeing that many genera are founded on much less striking modifications, I cannot concur in this opinion, for, unless the loss of the power of flight is also accompanied by other changes, in some cases it is difficult to find at first sight even specific differences other than the aborted wings.

The cause of recent extinction among birds is in most cases due directly or indirectly to man, but we also have instances of birds becoming extinct for no apparent reason whatever.

Man has destroyed, and is continually destroying species directly, either for

food or for sport, but also in many other ways he contributes to their destruction. Some species have been exterminated by the introduction of animals of prey, such as rats, cats, mongoose, etc., and we know that also the acclimatisation of other birds, such as the mynah, etc., has proved to be harmful to the native birds. Again we find that the introduction of domestic creatures or others kept as pets has brought diseases which may prove fatal to the indigenous fauna. Another means by which man causes immense destruction, is by destroying the natural habitat of various species. By cutting down or burning the forests, prairies, or scrub, and by bringing the land under cultivation, man indirectly kills off a species through starvation, from extermination of certain insects or plants on which it depends for food. Many species, such as the Moas, were evidently greatly reduced in numbers by cataclysms of Nature, such as volcanic outbreaks, earthquakes, floods, bush fires, etc., and then died out from what appears only explicable by the natural exhaustion of their vitality. The chief cause of the extermination of the Moas was undoubtedly their slaughter by the Maoris for food, but in several inaccessible parts of the interior large numbers of Moa remains have been found which undoubtedly had died for no apparent reason.

This cause also seems to be the only explanation of the dying out of such birds as Aechmorhynchus, Chaetoptila, Camptolaimus and others.

The melancholy fact however remains that man and his satellites, cats, rats, dogs, and pigs are the worst and in fact the only important agents of destruction of the native avifaunas wherever they go.

I have not included in the body of this work the fossil species from the pleistocene of Europe, Asia, Australia and America, as I believe that these belonged to an avifauna of an epoch considerably anterior to those attributed to the pleistocene of New Zealand and the adjacent islands, as well as that of the Mascarenes and Madagascar. I, however, give here the list of the species described from the above mentioned regions which I have been able to find in our literature, to serve as a guide to those who may think I ought to have included them in the work itself.

"The distal extremity of the tibio-tarsus is narrow, without a semilunar pit on the lateral surface of the ectocondyle, and with a very deep extensor groove" (Lydekker, Cat. Fossil B. Brit. Mus., p. 353).

Type, a caste of the distal portion of the right tibio-tarsus, in the British Museum. The original is preserved in the Museum at Sydney and was obtained from the pleistocene cavern-deposits in the Wellington Valley in New South Wales.

A bird usually stated to be extinct is Monarcha dimidiata, from Rara-Tonga, but in March, 1901, two specimens, male and female, were procured by the Earl of Ranfurly. Doubtless this is a species which will one day vanish entirely, but at present it hardly comes within the scope of this work.

The birds known to be more or less on the verge of extinction which I have not thought advisable to give in the main part of this book might, for convenience of reference and to avoid possible controversy as to my having omitted any species, be given here, but it must be understood that of these species I only know the fact that their numbers have been greatly reduced and mostly almost to vanishing point. I have already mentioned before that some of them may already have disappeared, but in many cases recent investigations are wanting, and all, therefore, that can be said of them is that they are threatened and may soon become extinct, if they still exist.

Many of my readers will, I fear, find fault with me for having bestowed names on a number of forms, known only from fragments of bones, single bones, or two or three bones. Especially will they, I fear, blame me for doing this when these forms have been described by other authors who have refrained from giving names. My reasons for doing so are very simple: in such cases as Dr. Parker's species which are fully described, but quoted under the formula Pachyornis species A or Anomalopteryx species B, the danger lies in different authors using the same formula for quite other species. In the case of others, where an author fears to name a form, but gives the distinctive characters and quotes only Casuarius species or Emeus sp., unless the author and page are quoted, confusion must arise, and so in both cases I have thought it easier for reference and also more concise to name all these forms which have been described or differentiated without a binomial or trinomial appellation. I have, however, refrained from doing so in the foregoing list of Pleistocene species in the

following eight cases as I was not able to decide anything about them with the material or literature at my disposal, viz.:—

LITERATURE
REFERRING TO
EXTINCT BIRDS.

No attempt has been made to quote all books in which extinct birds have been mentioned; not only would that mean a tedious, long work, and a book in itself, but, the repetitions being so numerous, it would have been of very little use. On the other hand, I have tried to quote the most important literature referring to Extinct Birds, and I have specially been anxious to cite and verify the principal ancient literature. Well known general works on birds in which extinct species have, of course, also been mentioned, are, as a rule, not quoted; such as: The 27 volumes of the Catalogue of Birds; Brisson's Ornithology; Daubenton's, Buffon's and Montbeillard's works; Latham's Ornithological Writings; Linnaeus' Systema Naturae in all its editions; Vieillot's writings; popular natural histories and school books; Brehm's Thierleben in its various editions; Finsch's Papageien; Gray's and Sharpe's Hand-lists; Dubois' Synopsis Avium, lists of specimens in Museums, and many others, in which extinct birds are as a matter of course mentioned.

Three most complete detailed bibliographies must be named: The "Bibliography of the Didinae," forming Appendix B. of Strickland's "Dodo and its Kindred" (1848), the Bibliography of Alca impennis by Wilhelm Blasius in the new Edition of Naumann, vol. XII, pp. 169-176 (1903), and the Bibliography referring to the Moas by Hamilton, in the Trans. New Zealand Institute XXVI and XXVII (1894, 1895).

Most of the books and pamphlets quoted hereafter are in my library at the Zoological Museum at Tring, in the ornithological part of which Dr. Hartert and I have been specially interested for many years. Those books that are not in my library are marked with an asterisk, but several of these I have been able to consult in other libraries.

The chronological order appeared to be best suited to the particular subject treated of.

1580 or 90. Collaert, Adrian. Avium vivae icones, in aes incisae & editae ab Adriano Collardo.

(On one of the plates is figured the "Avis Indica." This figure seems to have been the original of the representations in Dubois' and Leguat's works.)

1601. Jacob Cornelisz Neck. Het tweede Boek, Journael oft Dagh-register, inhoudende een warachtig verhael, etc., etc. Middelburch, Anno 1601.

(On picture No. 2, page 7, the Dodo is figured and described as follows: "Desen Voghel de is soo groot als een Swaen, gaven hem de naem Walchvoghel, want doen wy de leckere Duyfkens ende ande cleyn ghevoghelte ghenoech vinghen, doen taelden wy niet meer naer desen Voghel." This appears to be the first mention of the Dodo in literature.)

1605. Clusius. Caroli Clusii Atrebatis ... Exoticorum libri decem: Quibus Animalium, Plantarum, Aromatum historiae describuntur. Ex Officina Plantiniana Raphelengii, 1605.

(On p. 100 van Neck's Dodo is reproduced, on p. 103 the Great Auk, sub nomine "Mergus Americanus.")

1606. De Bry. Achter Theil der Orientalischen Indien, begreiffend erstlich ein Histor. Beschr. d. Schiffahrt, so der Adm. Jacob von Neck ausz Hollandt, etc., etc. Frankf. 1606.

(Figure and mention of the Dodo.)

1619. Jacob Cornelisz Neck. Historiale Beschryvinghe, Inhoudende een waerachtich verhael vande veyse ghedaen met acht Schepen van Amsterdam, etc., etc. Amsterdam, 1619.

(Evidently another edition of Neck's voyage of 1601. On page 5 and on Picture No. 2 (page 7), which is the same as in the other editions of Neck's voyage, the Dodo is described. There is also a French edition of 1601.)

1625. Castleton. Purchas his Pilgrimes. In five books.

(On p. 331, in chapter XV., first mention of the Réunion Dodo.)

1626. Sir Thomas Herbert. A relation of some years' Travaile.

(First mention of Aphanapteryx bonasia.)

1635. Nieremberg. Joannis Evsebii Nierembergii ... Historia Naturae, maxime peregrinae, libris XVI distincta. In quibus rarissima Naturae arcana, etc., etc., etc. Antverpiae MDCXXXV.

(Clusius' account and figure of the Dodo reproduced on pp. 231, 232. On p. 237 the Great Auk ("Goifugel") mentioned).

*1638 and 1651. Cauche. Rélations véritables et curieuses de l'isle de Madagascar. (Two editions.)

(See Aphanapteryx bonasia.)

1640. Père Bouton. Relation de l'établ. des Français dep. 1635, en l'ile Martinique, l'vne des antilles de l'Amérique.

(Describes, among other birds, the Aras and Parrots of the island of Martinique.)

1646. Bontekoe. Journ. of te gedenckw. beschr. van de Ost. Ind. Reyse. Haarlem 1646.

(On p. 6 mention of the Réunion Dodo.)

1655. Worm. Museum Wormianum.

(On pp. 300, 301, lib. III, description and figure of a Great Auk from the Faroe Islands.)

1658. Histoire Naturelle et Morale des Iles Antilles de l'Amérique. Enrichie de pleusieurs belles figures des Raretez les plus considerables qui y sont d'écrites. Avec un vocabulaire caraïbe. Rotterdam 1658.

(The title-page has no author's name, but according to Père du Tertre the author is "Le Sieur de Rochefort, Ministre de Rotterdam." Contains important notes on former bird-life on the Antilles.)

1665. The same. Second Edition. Rotterdam 1665.

1658. Bontius. Gulielmi Pisonis Medici Amstelaedamensis de Indiae Utriusque re naturali et medica libri quatuordecim. Third Part: Jacobi Bontii, medici civitatis Bataviae Novae in Java Ordinarii, Historiae Natur. et Medici Indiae Orientalis libri sex.

(On p. 70 an excellent figure of the Dodo. Caput XVII. Appendix: De Dronte, aliis Dod-aers.)

1667. Du Tertre. Histoire générale des Antilles habitées par les François. Tome II, contenant l'Histoire Naturelle. Paris 1667.

(On p. 246. Traite V. Des animaux de l'air. § I, Les Arras. § II, Des Perroquets. § III, Des Perriques.)

1668. Historische Beschreibung der Antillen Inseln in America gelegen. In sich begreiffend deroselben Gelegenheit, darinnen befindl. natürl. Sachen, sampt deren Einwohner Sitten und Gebraüchen. Von dem Herrn de Rochefort, zum zweiten mahl in Französischer sprach an den Tag gegeben, nunmehr aber in die Teutsche übersetzet. Frankfurt 1668.

(Translation of the second edition of Rochefort's book.)

*1668. Carré, Voyage des Indes Orientales.

(Page 12 the "Solitaire." Cf. Didus solitarius.)

1668. J. Marshall. Memorandums concerning India.

(In the article on Mauritius occurs a mention of Geese.)

1674. Père Dubois. Les Voyages faits par le Sieur D.B. aux Isles Dauphine ou Madagascar, et Bourbon, ou Mascarenne, és années 1669-70-71-72.

(Of this extremely rare work I possess a beautiful copy, together with the map of Sanson belonging to it.)

(On p. 168 we find "Description de quelques Oyseaux de l'Isle de Bourbon," with figures of the "Géant" and "Solitaire.")

1696. Thevenot, M. Melchisedec. Rélations de divers voyages curieux qui nont point este' publié'es. Nouvelle Edition. Vol. I, II, 1696.

(A very interesting collection of ancient voyages, translated into French. In Vol. II is a translation of Bontekoe's travels to the "East Indies," with figures of the Dodo and other interesting notes.)

1707. Leguat, François. Voyages et Avantures de François Leguat, et de ses Compagnons, en deux Isles desertes des Indes Orientales. Londres 1707.

1708. Leguat, Francis. A New Voyage to the East Indies by Francis Leguat and his companions. Containing their adventures in two desert islands. London 1708.

(Valuable notes on the birds of Rodriguez and Mauritius.)

1707. Sloane, Hans. A Voyage to the islands Madera, Barbados, Nieves, S. Christofers and Jamaica, with the Natural History of the Herbs and Trees, four-footed Beasts, Fishes, Insects, Birds, Reptiles, etc. Vol. I, 1707; vol. II, 1725.

(Gives most valuable notes on the birds, including the Goatsucker, Aestrelata and Parrots.)

1722. Labat, Jean Baptiste. Nouveau Voyage aux Iles de l'Amérique contenant l'histoire naturelle de ces pays. Paris 1722. 6 vols.

(In Vol. II, chapter VIII, the different species of Parrots are described, and it is stated that each island had three kinds, viz., an "Aras," a "Perroquet" and a "Perrique," evidently meaning a Macaw, an Amazona and a Conurus.)

1742. Nouvelle Edition. 8 vols.

1752. Moehring. Avium Genera.

(In this ominous work, which, through an article by Poche in Zool. Anz. 1904, has recently caused so much quite unnecessary disturbance among nomenclatorists—cf. Hartert, Zool. Anz. 1904, p. 154, and Proc. IV. Int. Orn. Congress, pp. 276-283. The Dodo is mentioned under the name "Raphus.")

1763. L'Abbé de la Caille. Journal Historique du Voyage fait au Cap de Bonne-espérance.

(Some birds from Mauritius mentioned, but no descriptions.)

1773. Voyage a l'isle de France, à l'isle de Bourbon, au Cap de Bonne Espérance, etc. Avec des observations nouvelles sur la nature et sur les hommes. Par un officier du roi. Neuchatel 1773.

1775. A voyage to the island of Mauritius, etc. By a French Officer. (Translation of the above).

(Lettre IX, page 67, treats of the "Animals natural to the isle of France.")

1782. Sonnerat. Voyage aux iles orientales et à la Chine. Two volumes, 1782.

(In Volume II, on plate 101, opposite page 176, the extinct Alectroenas nitidissima is figured, under the name of "Pigeon hollandais.")

*1783 (?) Callam. Voyage Botany Bay.

(According to Gray Notornis alba is mentioned under the name of "White Gallinule.")

1786. Sparrmann. Museum Carlsonianum I.

(On pl. 23 Pomarea nigra Sparrm.)

1789. G. Dixon. Voyage round the World.

(On p. 357 is note and figure of the extinct Moho apicalis, under the name of the "Yellow-tufted Bee-eater.")

1789. Browne, Patrick. The Civil and Natural History of Jamaica.

1789. The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay, etc. London 1789.

(Among other interesting birds Notornis stanleyi is figured on the plate opposite p. 273.)

1790. J. White. Journal of a Voyage to New South Wales with sixty-five Plates of Nondescript Animals, Birds, Lizards, Serpents, etc. London MDCCXC.

(I have a copy with black and white, and another with coloured plates. Notornis alba.)

1804. Hermann. Observationes Zoolog.

(On page 125 the extinct Bourbon Palaeornis is described as Psittacus semirostris.)

1807. M. F. Péron. Voyage de découvertes aux terres australes, exécuté par ordre de Sa Majesté l'Empereur et Roi, etc., etc. 2 vols. 1807 and 1816 and Atlas.

(On p. 467 is described the Little Emu from Kangaroo Island, which I have named Dromaius peronii, in honour of its discoverer, François Péron. A memoir of this extraordinary and admirable man's short and brilliant life will be found in Vol. VI of the "Naturalist's Library," Edinburgh, 1843.)

1810. André Pierre Ledru. Voyage aux iles de Ténériffe, la Trinité, Saint-Thomas, Sainte-Croix et Porto-Ricco, exécuté par ordre du Gouvern. français, etc., etc. Two volumes, 1810.

(In Vol. II, page 39, are mentioned various birds as occurring on the Danish West-Indian Islands, which are not found there at present. "Un todier, nommé vulgairement perroquet de terre" and seven species of Humming-Birds!)

*1826. Bloxam. Voyage of the Blonde.

(See Phaeornis oahensis, Loxops coccinea rufa. Also interesting notes on other Sandwich-Islands Birds.)

1827. Pallas. Zoogr. Rosso-Asiat. II p. 305: Phalacrocorax perspicillatus, the now extinct Cormorant from Bering Island.

1830. Quoy et Gaimard. Voy. Astrolabe, Zool. I p. 242 pl. 24.

(Coturnix novaezealandiae described.)

1830. Kittlitz. Mémoires Acad. Sc. Pétersburg I.

(Kittlitz describes Turdus terrestris and Fringilla papa.)

*1838. Polack. New Zealand.

(First mention of Moas.)

*1838. Don de Navarette. Rel. Quat. voy. Christ.

1838. Lichtenstein. Abhandl. K. Akademie d. Wissenschaften p. 448, plate V.

(Hemignathus ellisianus—sub nomine obscurus—and Hemignathus lucidus described.)

1843. Dieffenbach's Travels in New Zealand, 1843. Appendix, Birds, by J. E. Gray. On page 197 Rallus dieffenbachii described.

1843. Owen. P.Z.S. 1843, p. 1., letter read from Rev. W. C. Cotton, mentioning remains of gigantic birds in New Zealand, p. 8 the name Dinornis novaezealandiae given to the first Moa-bones exhibited.

1846. In the "Voyage of Erebus and Terror," Birds, Gray describes and figures Nesolimnas dieffenbachii.

1847. Gosse. Birds of Jamaica.

(Cf. Ara erythrocephala, Siphonorhis americanus and other Jamaican birds.)

1848. Edm. de Sélys-Longchamps. Résumé concern, les Oiseaux brévipennes mentionnés dans l'ouvrage de M. Strickland sur le Dodo.

In Rev. Zool. 1848, pp. 292-295.

1848. Strickland and Melville. The Dodo and its kindred; or the history, affinities, and Osteology of the Dodo, Solitaire, and other extinct birds of the islands Mauritius, Rodriguez and Bourbon. London 1848.

(141 pages and 15 plates.)

*1848. Peale. U.S. Expl. Exp. Birds.

(On p. 147, pl. XL, is described and figured the extinct Chaetoptila augustipluma, under the name of Entomiza augustipluma. This work is not available, as only 3 or 4 copies exist of it, but see:

Cassin. U.S. Expl. Exp. Mamm. and Orn. p. p. 148 pl. XI (1858).

1851. Is. Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire. Notice sur des ossements et des oeufs trouvés a Madagascar dans les alluvions modernes, et provenant d'un oiseau gigantesque.

In Annales des Scienc. Naturelles, 13 série. Zoologie, tome 40.

(This volume is dated "1850," but the above article is said to have been read before the Academy on January 27, 1851, therefore the date of publication must be rather 1851 than 1850.)

1854. H. Schlegel. Ook een woordje over den Dodo en zijne verwanten.

In: Verslagen en Mededeelingen der Koninglijke Akademie der Wetenschappen, Afdeel. Naturkunde, Deel II, p. 254.

1857. Japetus Steenstrup. Bidrag til Geirfuglens Naturhistorie, etc.

In: Naturh. Forening. Vidensk. Meddel. for 1855, Nos. 3-7.

(The first history and bibliography of the Great Auk.)

1858. H. Schlegel. Over eenige uitgestorvene reusachtige Vogels van de Mascarenhas-eilanden. (Een tegenhanger tot zijne geschiedenis der Dodo's.)

In: Verslagen en Mededeelingen der Koninglijke Akademie van Wetenschappen, Afdeel. Naturkunde, Deel VII, pp. 116-128.

(Leguatia gigantea, Porphyrio (Notornis?) caerulescens.)

1860. A. v. Pelzeln. Zur Ornithologie der Insel Norfolk.

In: Sitzungsberichte der Mathemat. Naturwiss. Cl. Akademie Wien Bd. XLI, No. 15, pp. 319-332. (Mit 1 Tafel.)

(Lengthy account of Nestor norfolcensis, from Bauer's Manuscript, Notornis alba, etc.)

1861. Alfred Newton. Abstract of Mr. Wolley's Researches in Iceland respecting the Gare-fowl.

In Ibis, 1861, pp. 374-399.

1862. W. J. Broderip. Notice of an Original Painting, including a figure of the Dodo.

In Trans. Zool. Soc. London IV, p. 197.

1862. William Preyer. Ueber Plautus impennis.

In Journ. f. Orn. 1862, pp. 110-124, 337-356.

1865. Alfred Newton. The Gare-fowl and its Historians.

In Natural Hist. Review XII (1865), pp. 467-488; id. in Encylcl. Britannica Ed. IX, Vol. III; id. Dict. Birds, p. 220-221.

1866. Owen. Psittacus mauritianus named, in Ibis p. 168; also mentioned in Trans. Zool. Soc. VI, p. 53, 1866.

(See Lophopsittacus.)

1866-1873. Alph. Milne-Edwards. Recherches sur la Faune Ornithologique Eteinte des iles Mascareignes et de Madagascar. Paris 1866-1873.

(With 37 plates. This volume consists of reprints of the author's articles on the subject in French periodicals, though not a word of this is mentioned. To the plates originally issued with the articles, several new ones are added.)

1867. Alfred Newton. On a Picture supposed to represent the Didine Bird of the Island of Bourbon (Réunion).

In Trans. Zool. Soc. London VI, pp. 373-376. Plate 62.

1867. George Dawson Rowley. On the Egg of Aepyornis, the Colossal Bird of Madagascar.

In Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1867, pp. 892-895.

1868. Frauenfeld, George Ritter von. Neu aufgefundene Abbildung des Dronte und eines zweiten kurzflügligen Vogels, wahrscheinlich des poule rouge au bec de bécasse der Maskarenen, in der Privatbibliothek S.M. des verstorbenen Kaisers Franz. Wien 1868. Mit 4 Tafeln.

1868. Schlegel & Pollen. Mammifères et Oiseaux, in: Pollen et von Dam, Recherches sur la faune de Madagascar et de ses dépendances. Leyde 1868.

1868. Owen, on Moas in Trans. Zool. Soc. London, VI.

(Dinornis maximus established.)

*1868. H. C. Millies. Over eene nieuw ontdekte afbeelding van den Dodo.

In: Verhandelingen der Koningl. Akad. d. Wetenschappen, Deel XI, Amsterdam 1868.

1869. Owen. On the osteology of the Dodo.

In: Trans. Zool. Soc. London VI, 1869, p. 70.

1869. Elliot. New and heretofore unfig. sp. N. American Birds.

(In Vol. II, part 14, No. 3, the now extinct Carbo perspicillatus from Bering Island figured.)

1872. F. W. Hutton. On the Microscopical structure of the Egg-shell of the Moa.

In Trans. & Proceed. New Zealand Inst. IV, pp. 166-167, with illustrations.

1872. F. W. Hutton. Notes on some Birds from the Chatham Islands, collected by H. H. Travers, Esq.

In Ibis 1872, pp. 243-250.

(Miro traversi and Sphenoeacus rufescens (Bowdleria rufescens of this book) only found on Mangare. First description of "Rallus modestus" (Cabalus modestus), "Rallus dieffenbachi" already extinct.)

1872. J. Hector. On Recent Moa Remains in New Zealand.

In Trans. and Proc. N. Zealand Inst. IV, p. 110.

1872. Julius Haast. Notes on Harpagornis Moorei.

In Trans. and Proc. N. Zealand Inst. IV, p. 192.

1873. A. v. Pelzeln. On the Birds in the Imperial Collection at Vienna obtained from the Leverian Museum.

In Ibis 1873, pp. 14-54, 103-124.

(Most important notes on some of Latham's types. Cf. Drepanis pacifica, Platycercus ulietanus, Notornis alba.)

1873. Christmann und Oberländer. Ozeanien.

(On pages 138-144 a popular account and wood cuts—from Brehm's Thierleben—of Moas and other Gigantic Birds.)

1873. Buller. The Birds of New Zealand.

1874. A. Milne-Edwards. Recherches sur la faune ancienne des iles Mascareignes.

In Ann. Sciences naturelles sér. V, Tome XIX, article 3 (Erythromachus, Strix murivora, Columba rodericana, etc.)

1875. Rowley. Porphyrio Stanleyi.

In Ornith. Miscell. I, pp. 37-48, plate.

1875. Hutton. Description of the Moa Swamp at Hamilton.

In Trans. & Proc. N. Zealand Inst. VII, p. 123, pl. V.

1875. Hutton & Coughtrey. Description of some Moa Remains from the Knobby Ranges.

In Trans. & Proc. N. Zealand Inst. VII, p. 266, pl. XIX.

1875. Alfred Newton. P.Z.S. 1875, p. 350: the name Lophopsittacus established.

1875. Hutton. On the Dimensions of Dinornis bones.

In Trans. & Proc. N. Zealand Inst. VII, p. 274.

1875. Julius von Haast. Researches and Excavations on, in and near the Moa-bone Point Cave, Sumner Road, in the year 1872.

In Trans. and Proceed. New Zealand Institute VII, pp. 54-85, pls. I, II.

*1875. Van Beneden. Journ. Zool. IV, p. 267.

(Description of Anas finschi.)

1876. A. & E. Newton. On the Psittaci of the Mascarene Islands.

In Ibis 1876, pp. 281-288, plate VI.

1876. Tommaso Salvadori. Nota intorno al Fregilupus varius.

In: Atti della Reale Accademia delle Scienze di Torino, Vol. XI, pp. 482-488.

1877. G. D. Rowley. On the Extinct Birds of the Mascarene Islands.

In Orn. Miscell. II, pp. 124-133, plates LII, LIII.

1878. G. D. Rowley. Remarks on the Extinct Gigantic Birds of Madagascar and New Zealand.

In Ornith. Miscell. III, pp. 237-247, pls. CXII-CXV.

1879. Dole. List of Birds of the Hawaiian Islands. Corrected from the Hawaiian Almanack.
Reprint: Ibis 1881, p. 241.

(Pennula millsi, Ciridops anna.)

1879. Owen, Richard. Memoirs on the Extinct Wingless Birds of New Zealand; with an Appendix on those of England, Australia, Newfoundland, Mauritius and Rodriguez.

(Memoirs on the Dinornithidae, their bones, eggs, integument and plumage, Notornis, Aptornis, Cnemiornis, Alca impennis, Didus and Pezophaps. With many wood-cuts and plates.)

(See also Owen's articles in Trans. Zool. Soc. London III, IV, VI, X, XI.)

1879. Günther and E. Newton, on Aphanapteryx leguati in Philosophical Transactions. Vol. 168, pp. 431-432, pl. XLIII.

1879. W. A. Forbes. On the systemat. position and scientific name of "Le Perroquet mascarin" of Brisson.

In Ibis 1879, p. 303.

1884. Wilhelm Blasius. Zur Geschichte von Alca impennis.

In Journ. f. Orn. 1884, pp. 58-176.

(The most accurate and complete list—till 1884—of specimens of Alca impennis.)

1885. A. B. Meyer. Notornis hochstetteri.

In: Zeitschr. ges. Orn. II, p. 45, pl. I.

1885. Symington Grieve. The Great Auk or Garefowl. Its History, Archaeology, and Remains. London 1885.

1897. Id.: Supplementary note on the Great Auk; in Trans. Edinburgh Field Nat. Soc. 1897, pp. 238-273.

1886. December. Julius von Haast. On Megalapteryx hectori, a new Gigantic Species of Apterygian Bird.

In Trans. Zool. Soc. London XII, p. 161, pl. XXX.

1887. Henry Seebohm. The Geographical Distribution of the family Charidriidae.

(Plates of Prosobonia leucoptera and Aechmorhynchus cancellata.)

1888. Buller. A History of the Birds of New Zealand.

In two volumes. Second Edition. (See 1873.)

1889. Sir Edward Newton. Presidential address.

In Trans. Norfolk and Norwich Natural. Society IV, pp. 540-547.

1889. A. de Quatrefages. Nouvelle Preuve de l'Extinction récente des Moas.

In: Le Naturaliste 1889, p. 117.

1889. F. C. Noll. Die Veränderung in der Vogelwelt im Laufe der Zeit.

In: Bericht über die Senckenberg. Naturf. Gesellsch. in Frankf.-a.-M. 1887-1888, pp. 77-142.

1890. Stejneger and Lucas. Contributions to the History of Pallas' Cormorant. With plates II-IV.

In Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. XII, pp. 83-94.

1890-99. Scott B. Wilson & Evans. Aves Hawaiienses: The Birds of the Sandwich Islands. With numerous plates.

1891. Richard Lydekker. Catalogue of the Fossil Birds in the British Museum. London 1891.

(Pages I-XXVII, 1-368. With 75 figures in the text.)

1891. Frederic A. Lucas. Animals recently extinct or threatened with extermination, as represented in the collection of the U.S. National Museum.

In Report of the Smithson Inst. (U.S. Nat. Mus.) 1889 (1891!), pp. 609-649, pls. XCV-CV.

(An account of some of the larger animals which have become extinct within historic times, or are threatened with extinction, with reasons suggested for their disappearance.)

1891. Hartert. Katalog der Vogelsammlung im Museum der Senchenberg. Naturf. Ges. Frankfurt-a-M.

(Alca impennis, Turdus terrestris, Chaunoproctus ferreorostris, Hemiphaga spadicea mentioned.)

1891. Will. Dutcher. The Labrador Duck. A revised list of the extant specimens in North America, with some historical notes.

In Auk 1891, pp. 301-316, pl. 2.

1894. Will. Dutcher. The Labrador Duck. With additional data respecting extant specimens.

In Auk 1894, pp. 4-12.

1892. Forbes, H. O. Preliminary Notice of Additions to the Extinct Avifauna of New Zealand (Abstract).

In Trans. and Proceed. New Zealand Inst. Vol. XXIV, pp. 185-189.

(The editors say that the paper is published in abstract, as it had been impossible to prepare the drawings for its illustrations in time.—It is a most pitiful and unscientific proceeding to publish such preliminary abstracts containing insufficiently founded names and complete "nomina nuda" without publishing a fuller account; such, as far as I know, has never appeared.)

1892. H. O. Forbes. Aphanapteryx and other remains in the Chatham Islands.

In Nature, Vol. XLVI, p. 252.

(Short notes on avian remains which, unfortunately, were never properly studied afterwards.)

1892. Hutton. The Moas of New Zealand.

In Trans. and Proceed. New Zealand Institute Vol. XXIV, pp. 93-172, pls. XV-XVII.

1892. Hamilton. Notes on Moa Gizzard-stones, t.c. p. 172.

1892. Hamilton. On the genus Aptornis, t.c. pp. 175-184.

1892. Hartlaub. Vier seltene Rallen.

In: Abhandl. d. Naturwiss. Vereins zu Bremen XII.

1893. H. O. Forbes. A List of the Birds inhabiting the Chatham Islands.

In Ibis 1893, pp. 521-546.

(Notes on the living and extinct forms. The genus Palaeolimnas established. Egg of Cabalus modestus figured, etc.)

1893. W. W. Smith. Notes on certain species of New Zealand Birds.

In Ibis 1893, pp. 509-520.

(Methods of colonization and their disastrous results to the birds described.)

1893. Milne-Edwards & Oustalet. Notice sur quelques espèces d'oiseaux actuellement éteintes qui se trouvent représentées dans les collections du muséum d'histoire naturelle. In: Centenaire de la fondation du muséum d'histoire naturelle. Volume commémoratif publié par les professeurs du Muséum. Pp. 189-252, pls. I-V.

(Only 6 species: Mascarinus mascarinus, Alectroenas nitidissima, Alca impennis, Fregilupus varius, Camptolaemus labradorius, Dromaius "ater," but these beautifully figured and masterly described and discussed.)

1893. Sir E. Newton and Gadow. On additional Bones of the Dodo and other Extinct Birds of Mauritius obtained by Mr. Théodore Sauzier.

In Trans. Zool. Soc. London XIII, pp. 281-302. Pls. XXXIII-XXXVII.

(Strix sauzieri, Astur alphonsi, Butorides mauritianus, Plotus nanus, Sarcidiornis mauritianus, Anas theodori, etc.)

1893. A. de Quatrefages. The Moas and Moa-hunters.

In Trans. and Proceed. New Zealand Inst. XXV, pp. 17-49.

(Translation of the French article which appeared in the Nos. for June and July of the "Journal des Savants" by Laura Buller.)

1893. Parker. On the classification and mutual relations of the Dinornithidae. By T. J. Parker.

In Trans. and Proc. New Zealand Inst. XXV, pp. 1-6, pls. I-III.

1893. F. W. Hutton. New Species of Moas.

In Trans. and Proc. New Zealand Inst. Vol. XXV, pp. 6-13.

(Dinornis strenuus, Anomalopteryx fortis, Euryapteryx compacta, Pachyornis inhabilis, P. valgus.)

1893. F. W. Hutton. On Anomalopteryx antiqua. T.c. p. 14, pl. IV.

*1893. R. Burckhardt, in Paläontolog. Abhandl. VI, Heft 2, pp. 127-145, Taf. 1-4.

(Aepyornis.)

1893. H. O. Forbes. The Moas of New Zealand.

In Natural Science II, pp. 374-380.

1893. A. Hamilton. On the Fissures and Caves at the Castle Rocks, Southland; with a description of the remains of the Existing and Extinct Birds found in them.

(In Trans. and Proceed. New Zealand Inst. XXV, pp. 88-106; with figures.)

1893. A. Newton. "Extermination." In A Dictionary of Birds.

(See also in Encyclopaedia Britannica.)

1893-1900. Walter Rothschild. The Avifauna of Laysan and the Neighbouring Islands: with a complete history to date of the Birds of the Hawaiian Possessions. London 1893-1900. With numerous plates.

(Account and coloured plates of the extinct birds of Oahu and Hawaii.)

1894. Milne-Edwards et Grandidier. Observations sur les Aepyornis de Madagascar.

In: Comptes Rendus hebd. des Séances de l'Acad. d. Sciences, Paris, Vol. CXVIII, Part I, pp. 122-127.

1894. J. Parker. Notes on Three Moa-Skulls.

In Trans. and Proc. N. Zealand Inst. XXVI, p. 223.

1894. Hamilton. On Avian Remains in Southland.

In Trans. and Proc. N. Zealand Inst. XXVI, p. 226.

1894. Hamilton. Materials for a Bibliography of the Dinornithidae.

In Trans. and Proc. N. Zealand Inst. XXVI, pp. 229-257.

(A careful list to which I refer my readers.)

1895. C. W. Andrews. On some remains of Aepyornis in the Hon. Walter Rothschild's Museum at Tring.

In: Novitates Zoologicae II, pp. 23-25.

1895. Hamilton. Further contributions towards a Bibliography of the Moas.

In Trans. and Proc. N. Zealand Inst. XXVII, p. 228-232.

1895. Jeffery Parker. On the Cranial Osteology, Classification, and Phylogeny of the Dinornithidae.

In Trans. Zool. Soc. London Vol. XIII, pp. 373-431, pls. LVI-LXII.

1895. Hamilton. On the Feathers of a small Moa.

In Trans. and Proc. N. Zealand Inst. XXVII, pp. 232-238.

*1895. C. W. Andrews. On Aepyornis bones, etc., in Geological Magazine 1895.

1896. Hutton. On a deposit of Moa-bones at Kapua.

In Trans. and Proc. N. Zealand Inst. XXVIII, p. 627. Id. On the Moa-bones from Enfield, t.c. p. 645.

1896. C. W. Andrews. On the Extinct Birds of the Chatham Islands.

In Novit Zoolog. III, p. 73-84 and 260-271.

(Diaphorapteryx hawkinsi, Palaeolimnas chathamensis, Nesolimnas dieffenbachii.)

1896. G. Hartlaub. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der ausgestorbenen Vögel der Neuzeit, sowie derjenigen, deren Fortbestehen bedroht erscheint.

In: Abhandl. d. Naturwiss. Vereins gn. Bremen XIV Band, 1 Heft.

(Also: Second edition of the same, printed as manuscript, with a few alterations and additions.)

(The most useful, comprehensive pamphlet on recently extinct birds.)

1897. Andrews. On some fossil remains of Carinate Birds from Central Madagascar.

In Ibis 1897, pp. 343-359, pls. VIII and IX.

1897. H. O. Forbes. On an apparently new, and supposed to be now extinct, species of Bird from the Mascarene Islands, provisionally referred to the genus Necropsar. With plate.

In Bull. Liverpool Museums, I, p. 34, pl. Sturn. I (Necropsar leguati).

1897. Forbes and Robinson. Note on Two Species of Pigeon, t.c. p. 35.

(Hemiphaga spadicea.)

(On pl. I of the same vol. is figured Nestor norfolcensis. See p. 5.)

1900. W. Wolterstorff. Ausgestorbene Riesenvögel. Vortrag, gehalten im Naturwissenschaftlichen Verein zu Magdeburg. Mit zwei Abbildungen. Stuttgart. Verlag von E. Nägele.

1900. A. Mertens. Die Moas im Naturwissenschaftl. Museum zu Magdeburg. Mit 2 Abbildungen.

In: Jahresbericht Naturwiss. Vereins zu Magdeburg für 1898-1900. (Pp. 1-24 in separate copy.)

1901. W. A. Bryan. Key to the Birds of the Hawaiian group.

1902. Walter Rothschild and Ernst Hartert. Further notes on the fauna of the Galápagos Islands.

In Nov. Zool. 1902, pp. 381-418; cf. also Nov. Zool. 1899, pp. 154, 163.

(Geospiza magnirostris and dentirostris.)

1902. H. W. Henshaw. Birds of the Hawaiian Islands, being a complete list of the Birds of the Hawaiian Possessions, with notes on their habits. Honolulu 1902.

1903. Graham Renshaw. The Black Emu.

In: Zoologist 1903, pp. 81-88.

1903. Wilhelm Blasius. Der Riesenalk, Alca impennis L. In the New Edition of Naumann called "Naumann, Naturgeschichte der Vögel Mitteleuropas" (sic), vol. XII, pp. 169-208, pls. 17, 17A-17D, 1903.

(Among others the most complete bibliography and very detailed descriptions.)

1903. Fleming, J. H. On the Passenger Pigeon.

In Auk 1903, p. 66.

1903. M. Guillaume Grandidier. Contribution à l'étude de l'Epiornis de Madagascar.

In: Comptes Rendus des Séances de l'Acad. Sc., Paris 1903 (pp. 1-3 in separate copy.)

1903. G. Grandidier. Note au sujet du squelette de l'Aepyornis ingens.

In Bull. Mus. Paris 1903, pp. 318-323, with figures.

1903. Paul Carié. Observations sur quelques oiseaux de l'ile Maurice.

In Ornis XII, p. 121-128.

(We are informed that neither Palaeornis echo—sub nomine eques—nor Nesoenas mayeri are extinct.)

1905. A. H. Clark. Extirpated West Indian Birds.

In Auk 1905, pp. 259-266.

1905. A. H. Clark. The Lesser Antillean Macaws.

In Auk 1905, pp. 266-273.

1905. A. H. Clark. The West Indian Parrots.

In Auk 1905, pp. 337-344.

1905. A. H. Clark. The Greater Antillean Macaws.

In Auk 1905, pp. 345-348.

1905-1906. Sir Walter Buller. Supplement to the "Birds of New Zealand." Two volumes.

(Though containing very interesting notes on extinct and threatened birds, these two volumes are rather disappointing. They contain very little that is new, and are mainly composed of quotations from other people's writings or letters. Buller's former great book on the Birds of New Zealand was a most important and creditable work, though not without shortcomings. Our knowledge of New Zealand Birds might have been brought up to date in his supplement, but we cannot say that this has been done properly, and errors are frequent.)

1906. Baldwin Spencer. The King Island Emu.

In The Victorian Naturalist XXIII (1906), pp. 139, 140.

(Dromaius minor described.)

1907. Walter Rothschild. On Extinct and Vanishing Birds. A short Essay on the Birds which have presumably become extinct within the last 500 years, and also of those birds which are on the verge of extinction, including a few which, though not yet so far gone, are threatened with extinction in the near future.

In Proceed, of the IV Intern. Ornith. Congress, London 1905, pp. 191-217.

LIST OF PLATES.

0[1]. Fregilupus varius. From the plate in the "Volume Centenaire," Mus. Hist. Naturelle, Paris.

0[2]. 1. Foudia bruante. From the figure in Daubenton's work.

02. 2. Necropsar rodericanus. Made up from description.

02. 3. Necropsar leguati. From the type specimen in Liverpool.

0[3]. 1. Geospiza magnirostris. From the type specimen in London.

03. 2. Geospiza strenua. Head. From specimen at Tring.

03. 3. Nesoenas mayeri. From specimen in the British Museum.

03. 4. Chaunoproctus ferreorostris ♂ ♀. From the pair in the British Museum.

0[4]. 1. Hemignathus ellisianus. After a drawing from the type in the Berlin Museum.

04. 2. Heterorhynchus lucidus. From a specimen in the Paris Museum.

04. 3. Psittirostra psittacea deppei. From the type in the Tring Museum.

04. 4. Ciridops anna. From a specimen in the Tring Museum.

[4a]. 1. Moho apicalis. From specimen in the Tring Museum.

4a. 2. Chaetoptila angustipluma. From specimen in the Tring Museum.

0[5]. 1. Miro traversi. From skin in the Tring Museum.

05. 2. Traversia lyalli ♂ and ♀. From the type specimens in the Tring Museum.

05. 3. Bowdleria rufescens. From a skin in the Tring Museum.

[5a]. Siphonorhis americanus. From skin in the British Museum.

0[6]. 1. Nestor norfolcensis. From the plate in the Bulletin of the Liverpool Museum.

06. 2. Head of Nestor productus. From a specimen in the Tring Museum.

0[7]. Lophopsittacus mauritianus. From ancient drawing and description.

0[8]. Necropsittacus borbonicus. From a description.

0[9]. Mascarinus mascarinus. From the drawing in the Volume commémoratif, Centenaire Mus. Paris.

[10]. Ara tricolor. From specimen in the Liverpool Museum.

[11]. Ara gossei. From Gosse's description.

[12]. Ara erythrocephala. From Gosse's description.

[13]. Anadorhynchus purpurascens. From description.

[14]. Ara martinicus. From description.

[15]. Ara erythrura. From description.

[16]. Conurus labati. From description.

[17]. Amazona violaceus. From description.

[18]. Amazona martinicana. From description.

[19]. Palaeornis exsul. From the plate in the "Ibis."

[20]. Palaeornis wardi. From the plate in the "Ibis."

[21]. Hemiphaga spadicea. From the specimen in the Tring Museum.

[22]. Alectroenas nitidissima. From the plate in the Volume commémoratif du Centenaire, Mus. Paris.

[23]. Pezophaps solitaria. Made up from descriptions and ancient drawings.

[24]. Didus cucullatus. From drawings.

[24a]. Didus cucullatus. See explanation, page [172].

[24b]. Didus cucullatus. See explanation, page [172].

[24c]. Didus cucullatus. See explanation, page [172].

[25]. Didus solitarius. From a picture supposed to be taken from a living specimen in Amsterdam, but beak and wing restored.

[25a]. Didus solitarius. After Dubois' description.

[25b]. 1, 2, 3. Pezophaps solitarius. Reproduction of ancient figures, see page [177].

25b. 4, 5, 7, 8. Didus solitarius. Reproduction of ancient figures, see page [177].

[26]. 1. Hypotaenidia pacifica. From Forster's unpublished drawing in the British Museum.

26. 2. Pennula sandwichensis. From the unique specimen in the Leyden Museum.

26. 3. Pennula millsi. From skin in the Tring Museum.

[27]. Nesolimnas dieffenbachi. From the unique specimen in the British Museum.

[28]. 1. Cabalus modestus. From skin in the Tring Museum.

28. 2. Coturnix novaezealandiae. From skin in the Tring Museum.

[29]. Aphanapteryx bonasia. From ancient drawing.

[30]. Erythromachus leguati. Made up from ancient outline figure and description.

[31]. Leguatia gigantea. Made up from ancient figures and descriptions.

[32]. Apterornis coerulescens. From description.

[33]. Notornis alba. From the plate in "Ibis," 1873.

[34]. Notornis hochstetteri. From the plate in the Zeitschr. f.d. ges. Ornithologie.

[35]. 1. Aechmorhynchus cancellatus. From the plate in Seebohm's "Charadriidae."

35. 2. Prosobonia leucoptera. After the unpublished drawings in the British Museum, but the artist has not shown the white patch on the shoulder.

[36]. Camptolaimus labradorius. From the two specimens in the Tring Museum.

[37]. Aestrelata caribbaea. From the type specimen in the Dublin Museum.

[38]. Alca impennis. From the stuffed specimen in the Tring Museum.

[39]. Carbo perspicillatus. From a specimen in the British Museum.

[40]. Dromaius peroni. From the type of the species in the Paris Museum.

[41]. Megalapteryx huttoni. Restored from osteological remains and feathers.

[42]. Dinornis ingens. Restoration from skeleton and some feathers.

PALAEOCORAX FORBES.

This genus is founded on cranial characters: Basipterygoid processes of parasphenoid present but rudimentary. The vomer broad, flat, and three-pointed in front. Maxillaries anchylosed to the premaxillaries, the latter anchylosed to the expanded ossified base of the nasal septum. The ossified mesethmoid stretches backward and is lodged in the concavity of the upper surface of the vomer, so that it presents a form intermediate between the complete aegithognathous forms, such as Corvus, and the compound aegithognathous forms, such as Gymnorhina, in which desmognathism was superadded by "anchylosis of the inner edge of the maxillaries with a highly ossified alinasal wall and nasal septum" (Parker).

PALAEOCORAX MORIORUM (FORBES).

Corvus moriorum Forbes, Nature XLVI p. 252 (1892).

Palaeocorax moriorum Forbes, Bull. B.O.C. I p. XXI (1892).

Dr. Forbes says this bird is of about half the size again of a Corvus cornix. The principal characters are cranial, and the same as those of the genus.

Habitat: Chatham Islands, and possibly the Middle Island, New Zealand.

Many skulls and bones in the Tring Museum.

PALAEOCORAX ANTIPODUM FORBES.

Palaeocorax antipodum Forbes, Ibis 1893, p. 544.

This is said to be distinguished from P. moriorum by its considerably smaller size. Habitat: North Island, New Zealand.

FREGILUPUS LESSON.

Huge crest, bill long and curved. One species, extinct.

FREGILUPUS VARIA (BODD.)

(Plate [1].)

Huppes ou Callendres, Voyages du Sieur D.B. (Dubois) aux Iles Dauphine ou Madagascar, et Bourbon ou Mascarenne, etc., p. 172 (1674—Bourbon).

Huppe du Cap de Bonne Espérance Daubenton, Pl. Enl. 697.

Huppe noire et blanche du Cap de Bonne Espérance Montbeillard, Hist. Nat. Ois. VI, p. 463 (1779).

Madagascar Hoopoe Latham, Gen. Syn. B. II pt. I, p. 690 (1783).

Upupa varia Boddaert, Tabl. Pl. Enl. p. 43 (1783—ex Daubenton).

Upupa capensis Gmelin, Syst. Nat. I, p. 466 (1788—ex Montbeillard).

La Huppe grise Audebert et Vieillot, Ois. Dor., "Promerops" p. 15 pl. III (1802).

Le Mérops huppé Levaillant, Hist. Nat. Promérops, etc., p. 43, pl. 18 (1806).

Upupa madagascariensis Shaw, Gen. Zool. VIII, pt. I, p. 140 (1812).

Coracia cristata Vieillot, Nouv. Dict. d'Hist. Nat. VIII, p. 3 (1817).

Pastor upupa Wagler, Syst. Avium, Pastor, sp. 13 (1827).

Fregilupus borbonicus Vinson, Bull. Soc. d'Acclimat 1868, p. 627.

Fregilupus varius Hartlaub, Vög. Madagasc. p. 203 (1877); Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. XIII p. 194 (1890); Milne-Edwards & Oustalet, Centenaire Mus. Hist. Nat., p. 205, pl. II (1893).

As long ago as 1674 a note about the "Huppe" exists, by "Le Sieur D.B.," i.e., Dubois. He says, when describing the birds of Réunion (translated): "Hoopoes or 'Callendres,' having a white tuft on the head, the rest of the plumage white and grey, the bill and the feet like a bird of prey; they are a little larger than the young pigeons; this is another good game (i.e., to eat) when it is fat."

This description has generally been accepted as referring to the Fregilupus, though that of the bill and feet is then due to an error of the author, for Fregilupus has the bill and feet of a member of the Sturnidae or family of Starlings.

Good descriptions and representations of the "Huppe" have been given in many places (see literature), but whether they were taken from males or females is generally not known. The sexes seem to be alike in colour, but the female is smaller, and has a shorter and straighter bill than the male. At least, this is the conclusion of Dr. Hartert, who saw the four examples in the museum at Troyes. As far as he could see through the glass all four

seemed to be adult birds, but two were larger with longer and more curved bills, two smaller and with shorter and straighter beaks, so that they are evidently two pairs.

This bird seems to have become extirpated about the middle of the last century. The late Monsieur Pollen wrote in 1868 (translated): "This species has become so rare that one did not hear them mentioned for a dozen years. It has been destroyed in all the littoral districts, and even in the mountains near the coast. Trustworthy persons, however, have assured us that they must still exist in the forests of the interior, near St. Joseph. The old creoles told me that, in their youth, these birds were still common, and that they were so stupid that one could kill them with sticks. They call this bird the "Hoopoe." It is, therefore, not wrong what a distinguished inhabitant of Réunion, Mr. A. Legras, wrote about this bird with the following words: "The Hoopoe has become so rare that we have hardly seen a dozen in our wanderings to discover birds; we were even grieved to search for it in vain in our museum."

We are certain that Fregilupus existed still on Réunion in 1835, as Monsieur Desjardins, living on Mauritius, wrote in a manuscript formerly belonging to the late Professor Milne-Edwards: "My friend, Marcelin Sauzier, has sent me four alive from Bourbon in May, 1835. They eat everything. Two have escaped some months afterwards, and it might well happen that they will stock our forests."

It seems, indeed, that specimens were killed in 1837 on Mauritius, where they did not originally exist. Verreaux shot an example in Réunion in 1832.

The names "La Huppe du Cap" and "Upupa madagascariensis" arose out of the mistaken notions that this bird lived in South Africa or Madagascar, but we know now that its real home was Réunion or Bourbon.

WE ARE AWARE OF THE FOLLOWING SPECIMENS PRESERVED IN COLLECTIONS.

2 stuffed ones, one in good, one in bad condition, and two in spirits, in the Paris Museum.

4 stuffed in Troyes.

1 stuffed, from the Riocour collection, in the British Museum.

1 in the Florence Museum.

1 in Turin.

1 in Pisa.

1, rather poor and old, in Leyden.

1 in Stockholm.

1 in the Museum at Port Louis, on the island of Mauritius.

1 in the collection of the late Baron de Selys Longchamps.

1 in Genoa.

NECROPSAR GÜNTHER & NEWTON.

The authors state that this genus was very closely allied to Fregilupus, and, besides some minor differences, give as the principal difference the shorter and less curved bill.

NECROPSAR RODERICANUS GÜNTH. & NEWT.

(Plate [2], Fig. 2.)

Necropsar rodericanus Günther & Newton, Phil. Trans. vol. 168, p. 427, pl. XLII, figs. A-G (1879).

The original description given by the anonymous author of the "Relation de l'Ile Rodrigue" is as follows:—"These birds are a little larger than a blackbird, and have white plumage, part of the wings and the tail black, the beak and the legs yellow, and make a wonderful warbling." Our author also says they inhabited the Islet au Mât, and fed on seabirds' eggs and dead turtle.

The bird evidently became extinct on Rodriguez before 1730, and lingered a little longer on the outlying islets. Only known from bones, mostly collected by the Rev. H. H. Slater, and the above description.

Habitat: Rodriguez and neighbouring islets.

There is one tibia in the Tring Museum.

The figure is coloured according to the description, while the shape of the bird is evident from its bones and relation.

NECROPSAR LEGUATI FORBES.

(Plate [2], Fig. 3.)

Necropsar leguati Forbes, Bull. Liverp. Mus. I, p. 34, pl. Sturnidae I (1897-1898).

Dr. Forbes' description is as follows:—"General colour white everywhere, except on the outer webs of distal half of the primaries and secondaries and the outer webs of the newly moulted and both webs of the unmoulted rectrices, which are marked with lighter or darker ferruginous."

Dr. Forbes then gives an exhaustive description of the structure, to which I refer my readers, and the following measurements:—

I should have been inclined to consider this bird an albinistic specimen of the bird described in "Relation de l'Ile Rodrigue," but for the fact that the tibia of Necropsar rodericanus is 52-59 mm. in length, while this is only 46 mm. in length, while the metatarsus measures 31.5 mm. as opposed to 36-41 mm. in N. rodericanus. I cannot accept the theory that this is the Islet au Mât bird, and therefore different from N. rodericanus, as the islet is too close to Rodriguez to have had a different starling. I therefore believe this bird to have been an albinistic specimen of the Mauritius species of Necropsar, for there can be little doubt that it is albinistic, as the ferruginous colour is much stronger on one wing than on the other; and I conclude that the colour in the wings and tail in normal specimens was black like the Rodriguez bird, and that N. leguati was a close ally of N. rodericanus, from which it differed principally in its much smaller size.

Habitat doubtful.—The type specimen bears Lord Derby's Museum number, 1792, and a label of Verreaux giving Madagascar as the habitat, which is certainly erroneous.

FOUDIA BRUANTE (P.L.S. MÜLL.)

(Plate [2], Fig. 1.)

Bruant de l'isle de Bourbon Daubenton, Pl. Enl. 321.

Le Mordoré, Montbeillard, Hist. Nat. Ois., Quarto Edition IV., p. 366 (1778—Bourbon).

Fringilla bruante P.L.S. Müll., Natursyst., Suppl. p. 164, No. 51 (1776—ex Daubenton Pl. enl).

Emberiza fuscofulva Boddaert, Table Pl. Enl. p. 20 (1783—based on Pl. Enl. 321 and Montbeillard's "Morderé").

Emberiza borbonica Gmelin, Syst. Nat. I p. 886 (1788—ex Daubenton and Montbeillard).

Foudia bruante Newton, Trans. Norf. and Norw. Nat. Soc. IV., pp. 543 and 548 (1889).

Nesacanthis fusco-fulvus Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. XIII p. 484 (1890).

We know absolutely nothing about this bird, except Daubenton's figure and the description by Montbeillard. In the plate the whole body, including the back, is uniform red, about the same red as in other species of Foudia, while the wings and tail are dark brown with yellowish-brown borders. In the description the body plumage is described as rufous ("morderé") and the wings, wing-coverts and tail as more or less bright rufous ("d'un mordoré plus ou moins clair"). The size is said to be about that of a Bunting, but the tail shorter and the wings longer.

According to Dr. Sharpe (Cat. B. XIII, p. 484) "it has generally been considered identical with Foudia madagascariensis," but the latter has the back marked with longitudinal black spots, while both the figure and description of F. bruante represent a uniform red upperside; moreover the locality of the latter is expressly stated, and as we know other forms of Foudia from the Seychelles, Mauritius, Comoros, Aldabra and Madagascar, we have no reason to doubt the statement. We are not aware of any specimen existing of this doubtless extinct bird, though it would be worth while to search the Paris Museum for this treasure.

Habitat: Réunion or Bourbon.

CHAUNOPROCTUS BP.

Chaunoproctus Bonaparte, Consp. Av. I p. 526 (1850).

The genus Chaunoproctus contains only one species, which is characterized by its enormous bill, the depth of the mandible being greater than the distance between the nasal apertures. The cutting-edge of the maxilla is nearly straight, and there is no tooth in the posterior half of the maxilla. The total length is about seven to eight inches. The adult male has red in the plumage, the female is brown, above and below.

Dr. Hartert (Vögel pal. Fauna I, p. 115) is of opinion that this bird is connected with Carpodacus and allies, and not with the Greenfinches and Hawfinches, among which it is placed in the Catalogue of Birds in the British Museum.

CHAUNOPROCTUS FERREOROSTRIS (VIG.)

(Plate [3], Fig. 4.)

Coccothraustes ferreorostris (sic) Vigors, Zool. Journ. IV p. 354 (1828); id. in Beechey's Voy. Blossom, p. 22, pl. 8 (1839).

Fringilla papa Kittlitz, Mém. Acad. Imp. Sc. Petersbourg I p. 239, pl. 15 (1830); id. Kupfertaf. Vög. p. 24, pl. 32, 2 (1832).

Chaunoproctus papa Bonaparte, Consp. I p. 526 (1850); Bp. and Schlegel, Monogr. Loxiens p. 32 pls. 37, 38 (1850).

Chaunoproctus ferreirostris Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. XII p. 31 (1888).

Vigors' original description, translated from the Latin, is as follows: "Dark brown; head, breast and upper part of abdomen scarlet. Bill very strong, feet plumbeous. Length of body 8½, bill ⅞, at gape 13⁄16, height ⅞; wings from the carpus to the third quill 4½; tail 3, tarsus ⅞ inches."

In the "Catalogue of Birds," XII, p. 31, both sexes are carefully described.

It appears that only one pair, now in the British Museum, was obtained during Captain Beechey's voyage. Curiously enough, Vigors suggested that the brilliantly coloured adult male might be the young, the female the adult bird, "as is the case in the Pine-Grosbeak" (Sic!).

Kittlitz, who visited the largest of the Bonin Islands in May, 1828, obtained a number of specimens, of which some are in St. Petersburg, two in Frankfurt-a.-M., one or two in Leyden, and, I believe, in Paris.

These seem to be all the specimens known in European museums. Mr. Seebohm's collector, the late Holst, failed to obtain it, and Mr. Alan Owston's men, who several times went to the Bonin group to obtain it, and who were promised good prices for specimens, did not get one. I am therefore convinced that for some unknown reason this bird became extinct, though there is still the possibility that the recent collectors did not collect on the main island of the group, which alone was visited by Kittlitz.

Kittlitz tells us that he found it in the woods along the coast, but not numerous. That it keeps concealed, is very phlegmatic, and is so little shy that one is obliged to go back for some distance, before shooting, if one wishes to preserve the specimen. Kittlitz saw it but seldom on high trees, mostly on the ground. Its frequently heard note is a very fine piping sound. In the crop and stomach small fruit and buds of one kind of tree were found.

Habitat: The largest of the Bonin Islands, south of Japan.

GEOSPIZA MAGNIROSTRIS GOULD.

(Plate [3], Fig. 1.)

Geospiza magnirostris Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1837, p. 5 (Galapagos Islands); Rothschild & Hartert, Nov. Zool. 1899 p. 154, 1902 p. 388; Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. XII, pp. 6, 7 (Fig.); Ridgway, B. North and Middle America I, p. 495 (1901).

As explained in Nov. Zool. 1899, p. 154, it is uncertain where Darwin obtained the type specimens of Gould's G. magnirostris, as "Unfortunately, most of the specimens of the finch-tribe were mingled together," as Darwin tells us in his "Journal of Researches" (New Edition 1890, p. 420), and he had only "strong reasons to suspect that some of the species of the sub-group Geospiza are confined to separate islands." We are, however, convinced that the types of G. magnirostris can only have come from Charles Island, where it is, probably, the representative of G. strenua strenua. It seems, however, that G. magnirostris exists no longer, for all subsequent collectors have failed to obtain specimens, unless an immature specimen in the U. S. Nat. Mus., from Charles Island (No. 115,905), is a young magnirostris (cf. Nov. Zool. 1902, p. 388).

The dimensions of the three black specimens in the British Museum are as follows: Culmen 26.5, 27, 27; height of bill at base 23.5-24; wing 91, 91, 95; tarsus 25 mm. These measurements—a culmen of over 26.5 and a wing of 91 mm. combined—do not occur among our large series of strenua, and therefore it is hardly possible that G. magnirostris is composed of huge examples of strenua only.

As Charles Island has been inhabited for many years it is not at all unlikely that a bird became extinct on that place. On plate [3] is figured G. magnirostris and a head of G. strenua for comparison.

GEOSPIZA DENTIROSTRIS GOULD.

Geospiza dentirostris Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1837, p. 6; Rothschild & Hartert, Nov. Zool. 1899 p. 163, 1902 p. 396.

This curious form differs from G. fortis fortis (Charles Island!) in its bill, which is bowed in towards the end of the upper mandible, and slightly "toothed" on its cutting edge. The one specimen in the British Museum certainly came from Charles Island, and we may, therefore, conclude that the other also came from there, and there is certainly no reason to think that it came from Chatham Island. As the skins in the British Museum slightly differ from each other, there is some reason to suspect that they are both aberrations of G. fortis fortis. Otherwise it must have become extinct, as, in spite of special attention being paid to it, none of the recent collectors met with G. dentirostris.

POMAREA NIGRA (SPARRM.)

Muscicapa nigra Sparrmann, Mus. Carlson. I, pl. 23 and text (1786—Society Islands).

Pomarea nigra Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. IV, p. 434 (1879—Full synonymy, description, etc., Society Islands, Marquesas group).

In the list of birds now fully extinct, in the Proceedings of the Fourth Intern. Orn. Congress, I enumerated Pomarea nigra, on the strength of E. L. Layard's statement, P.Z.S. 1876, p. 501, who says: "This bird has undoubtedly become extinct. Large sums have been offered by Messrs. Godeffroy's collectors for the acquisition of a single specimen, but in vain! The very old natives say they remember the bird and call it "Moho."

I, however, overlooked the fact that this note of Layard's referred to the Friendly Islands only, and that this bird has afterwards been obtained in numbers on the Marquesas group. It would, nevertheless, be very interesting to compare specimens from the various islands, viz.: the Society group, Marquesas and Tongatabu, to see if they are perfectly similar.

MIRO TRAVERSI BULLER.

(Plate [5], Fig. 1.)

Miro traversi Buller, B. New Zealand, Ed. I p. 123 (1873—Chatham Islands).

Petroeca traversi Hutton, Ibis 1872, p. 245.

Myiomoira traversi Finsch, Journ.-f.-Orn. 1874, p. 189.

Miro traversi Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. IV p. 236 (1879).

Miro traversi (partim) Buller, Suppl. B. N. Zealand II p. 125? pl. XII (October, 1906).

The late Sir Walter Buller described, in 1873, Miro traversi as follows: "Adult male. The whole of the plumage black, the base of the feathers dark plumbeous; wing-feathers and their coverts tinged with brown, the former greyish on their inner surface; tail-feathers black, very slightly tinged with brown. Irides dark brown; bill black; tarsi and toes blackish brown, the soles of the feet dull yellow. Total length 6 inches; wing, from flexure, 3.4; tail 2.6; bill 0.5, tarsus 1.1; middle toe and claw 0.1, hind toe and claw 0.8 inch."

"Female. Slightly smaller than the male, and without the brown tinge on the wings and tail."

It may be added that Miro traversi is not pure black, but of a somewhat brownish slaty black.

Miro traversi is only known from the Chatham Islands, where it was formerly very common, but, according to a letter from the late W. Hawkins, the cats, which have been introduced to destroy rats and rabbits, have exterminated it. It seems to have disappeared from Warekauri, the main island of the Chatham group, long ago, for H. O. Forbes (Ibis 1893, p. 524) and Henry Palmer found it, in 1890 and 1892, only on the outlying islets of Mangare and Little Mangare.

The bird from the Snares is quite different, being deep glossy black and having a shorter and narrower first primary. I named it M. dannefaerdi. It is to be feared that a similar fate will one day befall it as has, apparently, already befallen its congener from the Chatham Islands.

Sir Walter Buller (Suppl. B.N.Z. II, p. 125) has confounded M. traversi and dannefaerdi, and the figure he gave on his plate looks so black, that I do not doubt it represents rather the latter than the former. Of course M. dannefaerdi alone occurs on the Snares, and Buller's traversi from the Snares were all dannefaerdi. Dr. Finsch's statement (Ibis 1888, p. 308) that Reischek's specimen from the Snares "agreed in every respect with specimens from the Chatham Islands" is entirely wrong, for, even if

one prefers unscientifically to lump allied forms, one cannot say that a Miro from the Chathams agrees in every respect with one from the Snares. Buller's doubts about the distinctness of the latter might easily have been removed, if he had taken the trouble to compare them, for it does not require any genius to see the differences. I admit that with my present views on geographical forms I would regard the two Miro as sub-species, and call them M. traversi traversi and M. traversi dannefaerdi, but most ornithologists would still consider them to be "good species."

I may add that Buller, l.c., p. 125, has not quoted my description correctly, for in his rendering are several disturbing misprints, and in the fourth line from the bottom occurs a "not" which ought not to be there, and which makes the sentence incomprehensible. Also the name itself is spelt incorrectly.

I have a series from Mangare and Little Mangare, taken by Henry Palmer in 1890. The egg seems to be unknown.

Habitat: Chatham Islands.

TURDUS TERRESTRIS KITTL.

Turdus terrestris Kittlitz, Mém. Acad. Sc. Pétersburg I p. 245, pl. 17 (1830—Boninsima).

Geocichla terrestris Bonaparte, Consp. Av. I, p. 268 (1850); Seebohm, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. V, p. 183 (1881); Hartert, Kat. Vogels. Senckenb, p. 6 (1891); Sharpe, Monograph Turdidae, I p. 107, pl. 33 (1902).

Cichlopasser terrestris Bonaparte, C.R. XXXVIII, p. 6 (1854).

The following is Dr. Sharpe's description from a specimen in the Leyden Museum: "General colour of the upper parts olive-brown, shading into chestnut-brown on the rump, upper tail-coverts, and tail; the inside web of each feather much darker, approaching black on the back; lores dark brown; eye-stripe very obscure; lesser wing-coverts brown, darkest on the inside web; median coverts dark brown, with large olive-brown tips; greater coverts nearly black, broadly tipped, and narrowly margined towards the base with olive-brown; primary coverts black, with a broad olive-brown patch on the outer webs; tertials dark brown on the inner web, and olive-brown on the outer web; secondaries brown, margined with olive-brown on the outer webs; primaries brown, with the basal half of the outer webs, and a spot where the emargination begins, olive-brown; tail-feathers chestnut-brown; ear-coverts brown; underparts olive-brown, shading into white on the chin, throat, and centre of belly; under tail-coverts dark brown, with irregular diamond-shaped white tips; axillaries brown; under wing-coverts brown. Geocichline markings on inner webs of quills dirty white. Wing 3.8 inches, tail 2.6, culmen 0.85, tarsus 1.07, bastard primary 0.8."

The only person who ever collected this short-tailed Ground-Thrush was Kittlitz, who obtained four specimens, one of which is in St. Petersburg, one in Frankfurt, one in Vienna, and one in Leyden. Neither Holst, nor Alan Owston's Japanese collectors obtained specimens, though their special attention was called to it. Therefore, unless these recent collectors left unvisited the most important island of the group, we must suppose that it became extinct.

Habitat: Bonin Islands, south-east of Japan.

PHAEORNIS OAHENSIS WILSON & EVANS.

Phaeornis oahensis Wilson & Evans, Aves Hawaiienses, Introd. p. XIII (1899—Based on Turdus sandwichensis var. Bloxam, Voy. "Blonde" App. p. 250 (1826—Oahu) and Turdus woahensis Bloxam M.S.)

Nothing is known about this evidently extinct bird, which formerly existed on the island of Oahu, except Bloxam's short description, which is as follows:—"Length 7½ inches; upper parts olive-brown, extremities of the feathers much lighter colour; tail and wings brown; bill bristled at the base."

The corresponding description of Phaeornis obscura in Bloxam's M.S. notes is:—"Length 8 inches; belly light ash; back, tail and wings an ash-brown; bill slender, ¾-in. long, bristled at the base. A beautiful songster."

It is thus evident that Bloxam considered both forms to be distinct, and Messrs. Wilson and Evans were perfectly justified in naming the extinct Oahu form.

We are not aware of any specimens being preserved in any Museum, though Bloxam obtained a skin. Messrs. Wilson and Evans (l.c.) write:—"All the specimens obtained by Mr. Andrew Bloxam, properly prepared and labelled, were placed at the disposal of the Lords of the Admiralty, as shewn by a copy of the letter he wrote to their Secretary, and probably all were sent, as some certainly were, to the British Museum; but no other trace of this unique specimen of a vanished species, which may be properly called Phaeornis oahensis, is now forthcoming."

BOWDLERIA RUFESCENS (BULLER).

(Plate [5], Fig. 3.)

Sphenoeacus rufescens Buller, Ibis 1869, p. 38.

Megalurus rufescens Gray Hand-l. B. I, p. 206. No. 2913. (1869.)

Buller's original description is as follows: "Upper parts, sides, and tail dark rufous brown, brightest on the crown and hind-neck; the feathers of the shoulders and sides centred with black. Quills dusky black, margined with rufous brown. Streak over the eye, throat, breast and abdomen pale fawn colour; sides of the head and ear-coverts marked with black. Bill light brown with the ridge black, feet dark brown." Buller's type probably had been preserved in spirit, as the colouration of fresh specimens is very different to his description. The general colour above and on the flanks chestnut rufous, most feathers with darker or black centres; chin, throat, breast and abdomen pure white; crissum and under tail-coverts whity buff or buffy brown. Wing 2.6 inches, tail 3.9 inches, culmen 0.65 inch.

Habitat: Chatham Islands.

Cats, rats and weasels have exterminated this fine species, which is now quite extinct. Messrs. Travers and Dannefaerd have supplied the specimens in most colonial museums, while Henry Palmer collected the 14 at Tring. A few in Liverpool and two in the British Museum are all known to me in Europe, in addition to those at Tring.

TRAVERSIA ROTHSCH.

See description below. Only one species known.

TRAVERSIA LYALLI ROTHSCH.

(Plate [5], Fig. 3.)

Traversia lyalli Rothschild, Bull. B.O.C. IV p. X (December 29th, 1894); Nov. Zool. 1895, p. 81.

Xenicus insularis Buller, Ibis 1895, p. 236, pl.

Traversia insularis Buller, Suppl. B.N.Z. II p. 109, pl. X (1906).

In 1894 I described this remarkable little bird as follows: "Traversia, gen. nov. Xenicidarum. Differs in several important points both from Xenicus and Acanthidositta. Bill much larger and stouter, very little shorter, if at all, than the tarsus; the latter about as long as middle toe without claw, or the hind toe and claw, while in Xenicus and Acanthidositta it is about twice as long as the hind toe. The principal difference, however, is the weakness of the wing, which suggests flightlessness, as does also the very soft and loose character of the entire plumage, and the very Ralline aspect of the bird. There are only ten tail-feathers, and the scutellation of the tarsus is like that of Xenicus. These two points determine its position in the Xenicidae at once (cf. Sclater, Cat. B. XIV, p. 450).

"The type is: Traversia lyalli, sp. nov.

"Male. Above dark brownish olive-yellow, each feather with a brownish-black border. A narrow distinct yellow superciliary line. Wings and tail umber-brown, the inner webs darker; wing-coverts like back. Chin, throat, and breast chrome-yellow, each feather slightly edged with greyish brown. Flanks, abdomen, and vent pale brown, centre of feathers paler.

"Female. Upper surface umber-brown, each feather bordered with very dark brown; wings and tail similar. Under surface buffy grey, the feathers edged with pale brown. Total length about 4 inches, culmen 0.6, wing 1.8 to 1.9, tail 0.8, but much concealed, tarens 0.75, middle toe 0.65, hind toe without claw 0.5.

"Habitat: Stephens Island, New Zealand. Discovered by Mr. Dr. Lyall, lighthouse-keeper, and sent to me by Mr. Henry H. Travers."

I received nine specimens of this new bird, and was not aware that any others had been taken at that time. As I was unable to attend the December meeting, 1894, of the British Ornithologists Club, I asked Dr. Hartert to exhibit the birds in my name. When he had done so and had read the description, the Chairman, Dr. P. L. Sclater, said that the bird had also been received for illustration and description in the Ibis, from Sir Walter Buller, and he asked Dr. Hartert if I would not withdraw my description. Dr. Hartert said that this was unfortunate, but he had no authority to withdraw my description, and he and Dr. Sharpe thought that the proceedings of the meeting should be printed without consideration of any manuscripts which might refer to the same bird. No doubt this was hard luck on Sir Walter Buller, but it would have been equally hard luck for me if he had forestalled me with the new bird. He had only one specimen, I had nine, of both sexes, and I had paid a high price for them, as types of a new bird. My type is in Tring, and, as everybody knows, available for study by any competent ornithologist, while Buller's type was not in any museum, and it was uncertain to whom he would sell it afterwards. I suppose it is now in the Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, to which Buller's third collection, 625 specimens, was sold for a thousand pounds, as Buller himself tells us in his Supplement II, p. 167, under the heading of Glaucopis wilsoni! On the same page Sir Walter Buller also tells us that his "second collection" was sold to me, but he makes a mistake about the price, as I certainly did not pay a thousand pounds for it.

I mentioned these unimportant details, because Buller rather bitterly and severely complained about my describing the Stephens' Island Wren, on p. 111 of his supplement. I may only add that of course my name, being published in December, 1894, has the priority over his, which was not published before April, 1895.

The history of Traversia lyalli is perhaps the most extraordinary of any bird known. All the specimens I am aware of, viz., the eight now in my collection, the type of "Xenicus insularis" in Buller's former collection, one in the late Canon Tristram's collection, one in the British Museum (ex Tring), and two or more offered some years ago by Mr. Travers, were brought in by the lighthouse-keeper's cat. Evidently this feline discoverer has at the same time been the exterminator of Traversia lyalli, and many may have been digested by that unique cat, as in letters received from Mr. Travers I

have been told that no more specimens could be obtained, and Buller (l.c.) says: "Very diligent search has been made on Stephen Island for further specimens of the Island Wren, but without success, and there is too much reason to fear that this species has almost immediately after its discovery become extinct."

Habitat: Stephen Island, a small, partly wooded islet, about a square mile in extent, in Cook Strait. It is almost impossible that this bird has only existed on Stephen Island. It must have been overlooked on d'Urville Island or the "mainland," where it probably became extinct—through rats and cats, and similar pests—long ago.

MOHO APICALIS GOULD.

(Plate [4a], 1.)

Yellow-tufted Bee-eater (non Latham!), Dixon, Voyage round the World, p. 357, plate (1789).

Moho apicalis Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1860, p. 381 (? Hawaii).

Acrulocercus apicalis Wilson & Evans, Av. Hawaii, pt. V text and plate (1894).

Moho apicalis Rothschild, Avif. Laysan, etc., p. 223 and plate (1900).

This rarest species of the Mohos formerly inhabited the island of Oahu, where specimens were obtained in 1837, near Enero, by Herr Deppe. The localities of the specimens figured by Dixon and that of the type of Gould are uncertain, but they must have been obtained on Oahu. Since 1837 we have no further traces of Moho apicalis.

The only specimens known are those in Berlin, collected by Deppe, two in the British Museum, and one in my Museum at Tring. The latter, which I obtained in exchange from the British Museum, is the one brought home from the Sandwich Islands by Capt. Lord Byron. There is no specimen of Moho apicalis in the Vienna Museum.

Habitat: Oahu.

CHAETOPTILA SCL.

Chaetoptila Sclater, Ibis 1871 p. 358.

Dr. Sclater justly proposed a new generic term for the "Entomyza" or "Moho" angustipluma of former authors. This bird belongs doubtless to the family of Meliphagidae or Honey-eaters, and the genus is sufficiently distinct from all others. There are no fleshy wattles anywhere. The tail is long and strongly graduated; all the rectrices are obliquely pointed at their tips. The plumage of the body is very soft, that of the head, throat and chest almost fluffy; the feathers of the chin, throat and forehead end in hair-like bristles.

We know only one species.

CHAETOPTILA ANGUSTIPLUMA (PEALE).

(Plate [4a], Fig. 2.)

Entomiza angustipluma Peale, U.S. Expl. Exp., Birds p. 147 pl. XL fig. 2 (1848—Hawaii).

Mohoa angustipluma Cassin, Proc. Acad. Philad. 1855 p. 440.

Moho angustipluma Cassin, U.S. Expl. Exp., Mamm. & Orn. p. 148 pl. XI fig. 1 (1858—Hawaii).

Wilson & Evans, Aves. Hawai. pt. II and plate (1891—Hawaii).

Rothschild, Avif. Laysan, etc., p. 215 and plate (1900).

This remarkable bird, belonging to the family Meliphagidae, used to inhabit the island of Hawaii in the Sandwich Archipelago. It has been said by Mr. Dole to inhabit Molokai, but this is evidently an error. At present nobody on the island of Hawaii has any recollection of its presence, and its former native name is unknown—the name "Kiowea" erroneously quoted by Mr. Dole being that of Numenius tahitiensis. The bird is extinct, though we do not know the reason why it disappeared.

THE ONLY SPECIMENS WE KNOW OF ARE THE FOLLOWING:—

1. The type in the Museum at Washington, U.S.A.

2. One in the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum in Honolulu.

3. One in the Museum of the University at Cambridge, obtained in exchange from Honolulu by Mr. Scott Wilson.

4. One in my Museum at Tring, obtained in exchange from the Honolulu Museum.

The type was obtained by Peale, the three others by the late Mr. Mills on the island of Hawaii.

STRIGICEPS LEUCOPOGON LESS.

Strigiceps leucopogon Lesson, Echo du Monde Savant 1840 (?); Rev. Zool. 1840, p. 266; Suppl. aux œuvres compl. de Buffon, Descr. de Mammif. & Ois, récemm. découverts, p. 277 (1847—Nouvelle Hollande); Hartlaub, Beitrag Gesch ausgest Vögel, in Abhandl. Naturw. Ver. Bremen, 2te Ausgabe, als M.S. gedr., p. 40 (1896).

Nobody has hitherto identified the curious bird described by Lesson, l.c., under the above name. From the generic characters he gives it is evident that it was a bird with a long, curved bill, lanceolate feathers on the head and throat, and long, strongly graduated tail, doubtless belonging to the Meliphagidae. The description of the colouration is as follows:—

"Back, wings and tail bright greenish-olive; quills brown inside; shafts of the rectrices canary-yellow from below, glossy brown-red from above; top of head and neck chestnut, each feather being narrow and streaked with white, then with fawn-colour on the top; the feathers of the throat are elongated and fringed out on their edges, very narrow and lanceolate, grey at base, white at the tips; cheeks, sides of neck and chest ferruginous, some white streaks on the feathers of the chest and in the middle of the throat; flanks and belly clear rufous, passing into canary-yellow on the under tail-coverts. Tail from below greenish-yellow; tarsi horn-colour, bill above brownish, below yellowish with brown tip. Length about eight french inches and a half (0.23 centimètres)." (Translated.)

This bird was said to have come from Australia. I have made enquiries, but the type seems to have disappeared. There is something in the description reminding us of Chaetoptila angustipluma. Unless the description is faulty, this bird came probably not from Australia, but from one of the Pacific Islands. It has not been observed since, and is possibly extinct.

DREPANIS TEMM.

Drepanis Temminck, Man. d'Orn. Ed. II, I p. LXXXVI (1820—"Espèces: Certhia pacifica—obscura—vestiaria et probablement falcata, que je n'ai pas vu.") Type by elimination: Drepanis pacifica.

The name Drepanis is now restricted to the practically extinct "Mamo" of the natives of the Sandwich Islands. Drepanis pacifica has a very striking black and yellow colouration; the somewhat loose-webbed under tail-coverts cover about three-quarters of the tail. The bill is long, curved, non-serrated, the upper mandible a few millimetres longer than the lower jaw. Nostrils large, covered by an operculum. First primary rudimentary, hidden by its covert. There is a silky, soft and fluffy axillary patch of feathers. The tail is slightly rounded. The metatarsus is covered with large, partly fused scutes.

Only one species known.

DREPANIS PACIFICA (GM.)

Great Hook-billed Creeper Latham, Gen. Synops. I p. 703 (1782).

Certhia pacifica Gmelin, Syst. Nat. I p. 470 (1788—ex Latham).

Both Mr. Scott Wilson and myself have at length discussed this beautiful bird in our books on the Hawaiian Avifauna. Of the actual status of this bird in former times we know nothing. Latham described it first (Gmelin named this species after Latham's description) from a pair in the Leverian collection, which is now preserved in the Vienna Museum. About half a century ago several specimens were collected by the late W. Mills near Hilo, on the island of Hawaii, the only island where it existed. Nothing certain was heard of the "Mamo" until, in 1892, my collector Henry Palmer obtained a fine male, which was caught before his eyes by a native birdcatcher. In July, 1898, Mr. H. W. Henshaw saw "at least a pair, possibly a whole family," in the woods of Kaumana, and in 1899 a native heard the, to him, well-known call near the same place. This brings the existence of the Mamo down to the year 1898 or 1899. In view of the futile efforts of Messrs. Henry Palmer,

Perkins, Henshaw and others to observe this rare bird again, we may well suppose that this species is either extinct, or will very soon vanish if any are left.

In former times the Mamo was probably more or less common. Its golden yellow feathers were of great value, and, though the majority of the famous war-cloaks are composed of the feathers of Moho nobilis, a few such cloaks are known to consist of Mamo feathers. It is supposed that it took generations to complete such a cape.

I only know of specimens of this bird in Vienna, Leyden, Paris, Honolulu, Cambridge and Tring.

The two examples in the Vienna Museum were obtained by Fichtel at the sale of the Leverian collection. One is perfect, the other has the upper portion of the bill wanting.

HEMIGNATHUS OBSCURUS ELLISIANUS GRAY.

(Plate [4], Fig. 1.)

Hemignathus obscurus Lichtenstein (non Gmelin!), Abh. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, 1838, p. 440 pl. 5 fig. 1 (Oahu).

Drepanis (Hemignathus) ellisiana Gray, Cat. B. Trop. Is. Pac. Oc. p. 9 (1859—based on Lichtenstein's H. obscurus from Oahu).

Hemignathus lichtensteini Scott Wilson, Ann. & Mag. N. H. ser. 6, vol. IV, p. 401 (1889—Oahu, based on the Berlin specimen).

Hemignathus ellisianus Rothschild, Avif. of Laysan, etc., p. 87 (1893) p. 310 (1900).

We know only of one single specimen, the type of the names ellisianus and lichtensteini, figured and described by Lichtenstein, in 1838, under the name of Hemignathus obscurus. It is true that Lichtenstein says, that Herr Deppe procured several specimens, but there is only one in the Berlin Museum, and we have no knowledge where the others may be, if they are still in existence.

There can hardly be any doubt that H. obscurus ellisianus is extinct on Oahu, where it was discovered by Deppe. All recent collectors, from Wilson and Palmer to this day, have failed to find a trace of it. Although collecting in the dense forests and rugged mountains of Oahu is most difficult, we may suppose that at least one of these collectors would have come across it, if it still existed.

The following is the description made by Dr. Hartert of the type in Berlin:—

"Above greenish olive-brown, more greenish on the back and rump, and somewhat more greyish on the head and hind-neck; the dark bases of the feathers on the head showing through, lores deep brown. A distinct yellow superciliary stripe. Chin, throat, and middle of abdomen dull brownish white (apparently somewhat faded). Upper breast olive-greenish, sides of breast and flanks dull olive-greenish, more olive-brown on the flanks. Wings and tail deep brown, bordered with yellowish green. Under-wing coverts dull white. Bill brown, somewhat horn-brown, but not blackish, as in the other forms of Hemignathus.

It is not probable that the bill and feet are faded, as in specimens of Heterorhynchus lucidus collected and stuffed at the same time and kept side by side with H. o. ellisianus, the bill and feet are still blackish and not brown.

Wing 83.5, tail 53, culmen 56, bill from gape to tip in a straight line 47.5, lower mandible from mental apex to tip 40 mm."

HETERORHYNCHUS LUCIDUS (LICHT.)

(Plate [4], Fig. 2.)

Hemignathus lucidus Lichtenstein, Abh. d. Kön. Akad. Wissensch. Berlin 1838 p. 451, pl. V figs. 2 ♂ 3 ♀ (1839—Oahu).

Heterorhynchus olivaceus Lafresnaye, Mag. de Zool. 1839 pl. X. and text (Oct. 1839).

The Oahu form of Heterorhynchus is now extinct, and specimens are only, as far as we know, preserved in the Museums of Berlin (types of H. lucidus), Boston (type of H. olivaceus), Francfort, Paris, Leyden, London, Cambridge, Liverpool.

In 1838 Deppe saw this bird in great numbers flying round the flowers of the banana plantations. As the bird was apparently common, it is quite possible that specimens are preserved in several other collections, and it would be most welcome if the officials of continental Museums would give information in case they should find specimens of this interesting extinct bird.

Habitat: Oahu.

PSITTIROSTRA PSITTACEA DEPPEI ROTHSCH.

(Plate [4], Fig. 3.)

Psittirostra olivacea Rothschild, Avifauna of Laysan p. 193 (1900—Oahu, ex Lichtenstein nomen nudum & M.S.)

Psittirostra psittacea deppei Rothschild, Bull. B.O.C. XV. p. 45 (1905—new name for the above, the name olivacea being preoccupied by Ranzani).

Psittirostra psittacea psittacea is still one of the commoner birds on most of the Hawaiian Islands, except Oahu, where it was formerly replaced by a closely allied form, P. p. deppei, distinguishable by slightly smaller dimensions, more whitish abdomen in the male, and somewhat more olivaceous upperside. Specimens have been collected on Oahu by Prof. Behn and Herr Deppe, and besides a pair in my collection, I only know of examples in the museums of Berlin and Vienna. There is no trace left of this species in Oahu, and in spite of great efforts Mr. Palmer and all other recent collectors did not come across it. This form has thus shared the fate of Hemignathus ellisianus, Heterorhynchus lucidus, Moho apicalis and Phaeornis oahensis, which have all disappeared from Oahu, while Loxops rufa may still exist in a few pairs, or has possibly followed suit already.

LOXOPS COCCINEA RUFA BLOXAM.

Fringilla rufa Bloxam, Voy. "Blonde" p. 250 (1826).

Loxops wolstenholmei Rothschild, Bull. Brit. Orn. Club I, p. LVI (1893—Oahu).

Loxops rufa Wilson, Aves Hawaiienses part VI, plate and text (1896); Rothschild, Avif. of Laysan, etc., p. 177 (1900).

This form of Loxops is only found on Oahu, where it is doubtless very rare now, if not already extinct. The last known specimen was shot on April 20th, 1893, in the mountains of the Wailua district, on Oahu, and is in my collection. This is the only specimen obtained by the efforts of recent collectors, and, if any should still exist, we may suppose that their fate is sealed.

L. c. rufa differs from L. coccinea coccinea of Hawaii by its smaller size and more brownish, somberer coloration.

We know of specimens in the British Museum, including the type of Bloxam's Fringilla rufa, in Liverpool, Philadelphia, Berlin, Berlepsch Castle, Vienna and Tring.

CIRIDOPS WILSON.

Ciridops Wilson, Nature 1892, p. 469.

Though formerly supposed to belong to the Fringillidae, it is now generally acknowledged to belong to the family Drepanidae, a peculiar family of different forms restricted in its distribution to the Hawaiian Islands. The genus Ciridops seems to stand nearest to Loxops, from which, however, it is easily distinguished by the form of the bill, the pattern of colouration, stronger feet, and the structure of its plumage, which is somewhat stiff and scanty, while it is soft and rich in Loxops. The feathers of the crown and throat are pointed.

We only know one species belonging to this genus.

CIRIDOPS ANNA (DOLE).

(Plate [4], Fig. 4.)

Fringilla anna Dole, Hawaiian Almanac 1879, p. 49 (Hawaii); reprint in Ibis 1880.

Ciridops anna Wilson & Evans, Aves Hawaienses, Part IV, text and plate; Rothschild, Avifauna of Laysan, p. 183.

The "Ulaaihawane" of the natives of Hawaii is one of the rarest birds known, only three specimens being on record—one, the type, in the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum in Honolulu, and two in my collection. One of these was brought home by Mr. Scott Wilson, who obtained it from Mr. Bishop in Honolulu, the other was shot by a native for my former collector, Mr. Palmer. No other examples have been obtained. As there are still a good many hawane palms in elevated districts of Hawaii, there is, of course, a possibility that a few examples still exist there; but to all intents and purposes Ciridops anna may be looked upon as extinct.

SIPHONORHIS SCL.

Siphonorhis Sclater, P.Z.S. 1861, p. 77. Type: Caprimulgus americanus L.

"The bill is extremely broad at base, the tip strong and heavily decurved; nostrils tubular and very prominent; rictal bristles strongly developed. Wing pointed, third primary longest; tail rounded, almost graduated. Tarsi long and naked. The sexes differ slightly in coloration. (Hartert.)"

SIPHONORHIS AMERICANUS (L.)

(Plate [5a].)

Small Wood-Owle Sloane, Voy. Jamaica II, p. 296, pl. 255, fig. 1 (1725).

Caprimulgus americanus Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., Ed. X, p. 193 (1758—Ex Sloane. "Habitat in America calidiore").

Chordeiles americanus Bonaparte, Consp. Av. I, p. 63 (1850).

Siphonorhis americanus Sclater, P.Z.S. 1861, p. 77; id. P.Z.S. 1866, p. 144; Cory, B. W. Indies, p. 139 (1889); Hartert, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. XVI, p. 592 (1892).

The whole diagnosis of Linnaeus is "Caprimulgus narium tubulis eminentibus," but the prominent tubular nostrils are just the character which distinguishes S. americanus most strikingly from all the other goatsuckers, and I think that Sloane's figure and description are sufficient to indicate this bird. Sloane says as follows:—

"This was seven Inches from the end of the Bill to that of the Tail, and ten from the end of Wing to Wing expanded, it had a quarter of an Inch long crooked black bill, with two Tubuli about one eight Part of an Inch long for the Nostrills, along the upper Mandible were several bristly Hairs in a Line, like those of a Cat's Mustachoes of a black Colour, the Aperture of Chaps or Swallow was extraordinary large. The Feathers on the Head and under the Chaps were many, the Tail was four Inches long, the Head and Back were cover'd with Feathers of a mixt Colour of Feuille Morte, grey and black, the Wings and Tail were of the same Colour only Lighter under the Chaps, Breast and Belly was also of the same, the Legs and Feet were an Inch and half cover'd with brown Scales, the Toes four, three before, that in the middle three-quarters of an Inch long, and one behind.

"Its Stomach was not very muscular, it was fill'd with Scarabei, &c. The rest of the Bowells agreed in everything with those of the greater Sort, concerning which see the description above.

"They feed on Scarabei and other Insects of that Kind.

"They are found with the former."

Specimens of this Goatsucker are very rare in collections, and I am only aware of the existence of examples in American museums and of the pair obtained by Osburn in Jamaica about half a century ago, and now in the British Museum. Recent collectors have failed to procure it, and it is therefore to be feared that, like Aestrelata caribbaea, it has been exterminated by the introduced mongoose and other animals.

Habitat: Jamaica.

NESTOR PRODUCTUS (GOULD.)

(Plate [6], head.)

Wilson's Parrakeet Latham, Gen. Hist. B. II, p. 170 (1822).

Plyctolophus productus Gould, P.Z.S. 1836, p. 19.

Nestor productus Gould, Syn. Austr. B. and adj. Isl. pt. I, pl., fig. 1 (183—?).

Centrurus productus Bp., Naumannia 1856, Consp. Psitt. No. 265.

Latham's original description is as follows: "Length thirteen inches. Bill very long and hooked, and upper mandible measuring almost two inches, the under three-quarters, colour dusky; plumage in general greenish ash, inclining to brown, and clouded here and there with orange as in the 'Crossbill,' but the edges of the feathers of the back dun colour; all the under parts of the body mixed yellow and dull orange; rump dull red; under wing coverts dull yellow; thighs brown; the quills reach almost to the end of the tail, which is somewhat, but not greatly, cuneiform; both quills and tail are brown, the former marked on the inner webs with five or six whitish bars; legs dusky, toes very long. Inhabits New South Wales. I met with a fine specimen of it in the collection of Thomas Wilson, Esqre."

It has long been a question whether Nestor productus of Gould and Nestor norfolcensis of Pelzeln were really distinct or only individual varieties of one species. I had for a long time considered them to be merely individual varieties, for I could not persuade myself that a small island like Philip Island, almost contiguous to Norfolk Island, could have a different species of Nestor to that found on the larger island. Since commencing to write this book, however, I have come to somewhat different conclusions. In the first place no special locality is given for N. productus by the earlier authors, in the same way as in the case of Notornis alba, which, like the Nestor, was said to come from N. S. Wales. This fact is easily explained, as N. S. Wales and Norfolk Island were both penal settlements in the early days, and there was intercourse by regular vessels plying between these colonies and Lord Howe's Island. Now we find in the case of several other birds that distinct local forms occur on Norfolk and Lord Howe's Islands, while as far as I know there is no other record of a distinct bird from Philip Island. I therefore believe that Nestor productus inhabited both Norfolk and Philip Islands, and that all specimens extant are from Philip Island, where it lingered some years longer than on the main island, while the specimens of Ferdinand Bauer and Governor Hunter, and possibly the supposed N. norfolcensis of

Canon Tristram's collection, now in Liverpool, had been brought from Lord Howe's Island in cages and were kept as pets in Norfolk Island; and then, as the value of exact data in those early days of our science was unknown, the references were made to the place whence the specimens were seen or brought. One thing however is certain, the bill in Ferdinand Bauer's sketch is evidently a monstrous growth produced by captivity, for Latham expressly describes the bill of Governor Hunter's bird as ending in a long thin point. The differences of N. norfolcensis are the dull crimson sides of face, chin, and throat; dull green head and hind neck, and the total absence of bars on the tail. The plate given herewith is a reproduction of the Liverpool bird, with the bill of Ferdinand Bauer's sketch added, as this is wanting in that bird, and in the corner a head of the specimen of N. productus, purchased for the Tring Museum, when the late Mr. Wallace's Museum at Distington, Cumberland, was dispersed.

I have carefully examined the three fine specimens of Nestor productus in the British Museum, and the conclusion I have come to is that the bird described by Gould as the adult of his N. productus was an abnormal specimen, and was in relation to normal N. productus what the aberrations called "superbus" and "esslingi" are to N. meridionalis. The bills of the British Museum specimens are very different. The one from the Bell collection has the long, thin bill, but it is at least half-an-inch to three-quarters shorter than those in the Tring and Florence specimens.

Habitat: Philip Island and probably Norfolk Island.

One in Tring, three in London, one in Florence, two in Vienna, one in Prague, two in Leyden, one in Amsterdam, are known to me.

The two specimens in the Vienna Museum were both bought in 1839. One from Ward, with a short bill, brown chest and throat, and a very wide yellow breast-band. The other from Baron von Hügel, which has a long bill and very red cheeks and chin.

NESTOR NORFOLCENSIS PELZELN.

(Plate [6], full figure.)

Long-billed Parrakeet Latham, Gen. Hist. II, p. 171 (1822).

Nestor norfolcensis Pelzeln, Sitzb. k. Akad. Wiss. XLI, pp. 322-325, pl.—(1860—detailed description from the manuscript of the late botanist, Ferdinand Lucas Bauer, and figure of head with an evidently abnormally developed bill. The specimen was from Norfolk Island; it had disappeared before Pelzeln's time).

Latham's original description is as follows: "Length above 12 inches. Bill very long and curved, thick halfway from the base, but tapering quite to a point at the tip, and under mandible truncated at the end, colour of both, dusky; head and neck dull green; sides under the eyes, chin and throat pale crimson; upper parts of the body, wings and tail dusky; breast yellowish; belly, thighs and vent more or less crimson; tail cuneiform; legs brown."

"One of these was in possession of Governor Hunter, who brought it from Norfolk Island; from the bill it seems related to the other, but the tail is cuneiform in a much greater degree, without any bars across it."

The only bird of this species extant is the one in Liverpool, from the Tristram collection.

Governor Hunter's specimen and Bauer's bird were both brought from Norfolk Island, but as they were cage-birds, and differed so markedly from N. productus, I, for reasons given under N. productus, believe this bird came from Lord Howe's Island.

Habitat: Lord Howe's Island (?).

LOPHOPSITTACUS NEWTON.

The huge bill and peculiar shaped crest, together with the—apparently, i.e., if the figure is correct—very short wings are characteristic of this genus. (P.Z.S. 1875, p. 350.)

LOPHOPSITTACUS MAURITIANUS (OWEN).

(Plate [7].)

Broad-billed Parrot Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. VI, p. 53 (1866).

Psittacus mauritianus Owen, Ibis, p. 168 (1866).

Psittacus (Lophopsittacus) mauritianus A. Newton, P.Z.S. (1875), pp. 349, 350.

Lophopsittacus mauritianus Newton, Enc. Brit. (ed. 9) III, p. 732, ff. 44, 46 (1875).

This extraordinary parrot was first described and made known to science by Professor Owen in 1866. He described it from 2 lower mandibles, much damaged, which were dug up from the Mare aux Songes. Except a few further osseous remains, mostly collected by Sir Edward Newton, nothing more of importance was found relating to this bird till Professor Schlegel discovered in the Library of Utrecht the manuscript journal kept during the voyage to Mauritius in A.D. 1601-1602 of Wolphart Harmanszoon, in which among other items of natural history there is a sketch of Lophopsittacus from life, and the statement that it was wholly of a grey-blue colour. From the fact that this bird is not mentioned by the voyagers who visited Mauritius in the 2nd and 3rd decades of the 18th century, it is probable that it was one of the first of the Mascarene birds to become extinct. This is easily understood when we consider that the bird was apparently unable to fly, and would like all big parrots prove excellent eating.

Only known from osseous remains and the above-quoted drawing and notes.

35 tarsi and tibiae, and 60 complete and incomplete lower mandibles and fragments of palatine bones in the Tring Museum.

Habitat: Mauritius.

ARA TRICOLOR BECHST.

(Plate [10].)

Le petit Ara D'Aubenton, Pl. Enl. 641.

L'Ara tricolor Levaill., Perr. I p. 17, pl. 5 (1801).

Psittacus tricolor Bechst., Kurze Ueb. p. 64, pl. I (1811).

Sittace? lichtensteini Wagl., fide Bp., Naumannia 1856, Consp. Psitt.

Bechstein's description, taken from Levaillant, is (translated) as follows: "This Aras, which others have held to be only a variety of Macao, is according to Vaillant a distinct species. It is one third smaller than the red-fronted species, or 1 ft. 10 in. long, of which the tail takes 11 inches and the bill 18 lines. The latter is of a black colour and has the upper mandible less curved, and the sides of the lower mandible more swollen than is the case in the other Ara species. The cheeks are naked and white, with three lines of red feathers. Head, front and sides of the neck, breast, belly and thighs red; back of the neck pale yellow; back, shoulders and smaller wing coverts brownish red bordered with yellow or green; flanks yellowish, primaries above dark azure blue, below coppery red. Crissum violet blue, undertail coverts pale blue with green and brown-red borders; under-wing coverts red, the larger yellow, and brownish green. Two centre tail feathers all red with blue tips, the outer ones blue on outer webs and tips, red on the rest of the feather."

Of this bird I know only of two in the British Museum, one in Paris, one in Leyden, one in Liverpool. The specimen in the Paris Museum bears the inscription "Macrocercus tricolor (Bechst.) M. E. Rosseau. Cuba. Ménagerie 1842." Probably, however, there are more specimens in other museums.

Apparently the last specimen was shot in 1864 at La Vega (Bangs, Americ. Nat. XXXIX, p. 200).

Like all the extinct West Indian Macaws, Amazons and Conures, it became extinct through its persecution by the inhabitants for food.

Habitat: Formerly Cuba and Isle of Pines.

ARA GOSSEI ROTHSCH.

(Plate [11].)

Yellow-headed Macaw Gosse, Birds of Jamaica, p. 260 (1847).

Ara gossei Rothsch., Bull. B.O.C., XVI, p. 14 (1905); Proc. IV, Orn. Congr., p. 201 (1907).

Ara tricolor (non Bechstein) Clark, Auk 1905, p. 348.

Mr. Gosse's description is as follows:—"Basal half of upper mandible black; apical half, ash coloured; lower mandible, black, tip only ash coloured; forehead, crown, and back of neck, bright yellow; sides of face, around eyes, anterior and lateral parts of the neck, and back, a fine scarlet; wing coverts and breast deep sanguine red; winglet and primaries an elegant light blue. The legs and feet are said to have been black; the tail, red and yellow intermixed (Rob.)"

Mr. Gosse also remarks, "If this is not the tricolor of Le Vaillant, which is the only Macaw I am aware of marked with a yellow nape, it is probably new."

In spite of the evident differences in the description, the Jamaican Ara has always been united with the Cuban A. tricolor, even as lately as October, 1905, by Mr. Austin H. Clark (Auk, 1905, p. 348), though he queries it in a footnote. The specimen described by Dr. Robinson, here quoted by Gosse, was shot about 1765, by Mr. Odell, in the mountains of Hanover parish, about ten miles east of Lucea.

Habitat: Jamaica.

The specimen described no longer exists, and there are none in any collection known.

There was a third member of the tricolor group of Macaws found on the large island of Haiti, which Mr. Clark has also united under A. tricolor, but I believe it must have been different, just as the Jamaica bird.

ARA ERYTHROCEPHALA ROTHSCH.

(Plate [12].)

Ara militaris Gosse, Birds of Jamaica, p. 261 (1847).

Ara erythrocephala Rothsch., Bull. B.O.C., XVI, p. 14 (1905); Proc. IV Orn. Congr., p. 201 (1907).

Gosse says the description given to him in a letter, just received from Mr. Hill, was as follows:—"Head red; neck, shoulders, and underparts of a light and lively green; the greater wing coverts and quills, blue; and the tail scarlet and blue on the upper surface, with the under plumage, both of wings and tail, a mass of intense orange yellow."

"The specimen here described was procured in the mountains of Trelawny and St. Anne's by Mr. White, proprietor of the Oxford estate." No specimen now known.

Habitat: Jamaica.

Mr. Gosse also relates that the Rev. Mr. Coward, in 1842, saw two large Macaws flying near the foot of the mountains in the parish of St. James, near the centre of the island. These birds were said to have been blue and yellow; if so, probably they were my Ara erythrura, whose precise island home is unknown.

ARA MARTINICUS (ROTHSCH.)

(Plate [14].)

Les Aras Père Bouton, Rel. de l'étab. d. Français dep. 1635, en l'ile Martinique pp. 71. 72 (1640).

Anadorhynchus martinicus Rothsch. Bull. B.O.C. XVI, p. 14 (1905); Proc. IV Orn. Congr., p. 202 (1907).

Père Bouton says, "Les Aras sont deux ou trois fois gros comme les Perroquets et ont un plumage bien différent en couleur. Ceux que j'ai vus avaient les plumes leleucs et orangées."

No specimen preserved.

Habitat: Martinique.

ARA GUADALOUPENSIS CLARK.

Les Arras Du Tertre, Hist. gen. des Antilles Vol. II p. 248 (1667).

Ara Rouge D'Aubenton, Pl. Enl. 12 (1779).

Ara guadaloupensis Clark, Auk, XXII, p. 272 (1905).

Du Tertre gives the following description:—"The Arras is a sort of Parrot bigger than all the others. This is proved because those of Guadaloupe are larger than all the other Parrots, both those from the Islands as well as from the Mainland; while this Arras is larger than these by one third. It has the head, the neck, the belly and the back of the colour of fire; its wings are a mixture of yellow azure, and crimson feathers; while the tail is entirely red and a foot-and-a-half long."

Macaws of this colouration are mentioned by Du Tertre, De Rochefort, and others of the older authors as being found on Guadaloupe, Dominica and Martinique, and Mr. Clark has united them under one name. This I feel sure is wrong, and I believe each of the three islands had a distinct species of Red Macaw, so I confine this name to the Guadaloupe form.

Habitat: Guadaloupe.

No specimen existing.

ARA ERYTHRURA NOM. NOV.

(Plate [15].)

De Rochefort, Histoire Nat. & Mor. des Iles Antilles, &c. (1658), p. 154, Art. IX (Des Arras).

Anadorhynchus coeruleus (non Gmelin) Rothsch., Bull. B.O.C., XVI, p. 15 (1905).

In the Bull. B.O.C. XVI, p. 15 (1905), I unfortunately described this bird under the name of Anadorhynchus coeruleus (Gm.), having misread his description, and also said it came from Jamaica. Professor Salvadori, in the Ibis (1906) Series 8, Vol. VI, "Notes on Parrots," p. 451, calls attention to my double error, but failed entirely to realise what bird I really meant. The original description is (translated) as follows:—

"Among them are some which have the head, the upper side of the neck, and the back of a satiny sky blue; the underside of the neck, the belly, and undersurface of the wings, yellow, and the tail entirely red."

No specimen existing.

Habitat: One of the West Indian Islands.

ANODORHYNCHUS PURPURASCENS ROTHSCH.

(Plate [13].)

Le gros Perroquet de la Guadaloupe Don de Navarette, Rel. Quat. voy. Christ. p. 425 pl. II (1838).

Anadorhynchus purpurascens Rothsch. Bull. B.O.C. XVI, p. 13 (1905); Proc. IV Orn. Congr., p. 202 (1907).

The original description of this bird says it was entirely deep violet. Native name Oné couli. No specimen extant. I have placed this species in the genus Anodorhynchus on account of its uniform bluish colour.

Habitat: Guadaloupe.

AMAZONA VIOLACEUS (GM.)

(Plate [17].)

Perroquet de la Guadeloupe Du Tertre, Hist. Nat. Antill. II, p. 250, fig. p. 246 (1667).

Perroquets Labat, Voy. aux iles de l'Amér., vol. II p. 214 (1742).

Psittacus violaceus Gmelin, Syst. Nat. I, p. 337 (1788).

Labat's translated original description is as follows:—"Those of Guadaloupe are a little smaller than the Aras; they have the head, the neck, and the belly slate colour with a few green and black feathers, the back is entirely green, and the wings are yellow and red."

Gmelin's description reads thus:—"Ps. violaceus viridi et nigro admisto varius, dorso ex fusco viridi, remigibus majoribus nigris, reliquis ex luteo, viridi, et rubro variis, tectricum macula rosea. Rostrum et orbitae incarnata."

Du Tertre's description is as follows:—"He is about as big as a fowl, has the beak and eyes bordered with red. All the feathers of the head, neck and belly are of a violet colour, a little mixed with black and green, shot like the throat of a pigeon. All the upper part of the back is green, strongly washed with brown. Outer primaries black, rest yellow, green and red."

No specimens in collections.

Habitat: Guadaloupe.

AMAZONA MARTINICANA CLARK.

(Plate [18].)

Perroquets Labat's Voy. aux iles de l'Amér. II p. 214 (1742).

Amazona martinicana Clark, Auk. XXII, p. 343 (1905).

Labat's description reads thus:—"Those of Dominica have some red feathers on the wings, under the throat, and in the tail; all the rest is green (Amazona bouqueti, W.R.). Those of Martinique have the same plumage as the last mentioned, but the top of the head is slate colour with a small amount of red."

No specimen now known.

Habitat: Martinique.

CONURUS LABATI ROTHSCH.

(Plate [16].)

Perriques Labat, Voy. aux iles de l'Amér. II p. 218 (1742).

Conurus labati Rothsch. Bull. B.O.C. XVI, p. 13 (1905); Proc. IV Orn. Congr., p. 202 (1907).

Labat's translated description of this bird is as follows:—"Those of Guadaloupe are about the size of a blackbird, entirely green, except a few small red feathers, which they have on their head. Their bill is white. They are very gentle, loving, and learn to speak easily."

No specimens known.

Habitat: Island of Guadaloupe.

NECROPSITTACUS MILNE-EDW.

Necropsittacus Milne-Edwards, Ann. Sc. Nat. (5) XIX, Art. 3, p. 18 (1874).

Milne-Edwards considered Necropsittacus closely allied to the genus Palaeornis, and at the same time to show affinities with the Loriidae. At the same time the two mandibles were sufficient, in his opinion, to show that this bird belonged to a little generic group standing near Palaeornis.

NECROPSITTACUS RODRICANUS (MILNE-EDW.)

Psittacus Rodricanus A. Milne-Edw., Ann. Sc. Nat. (5) VIII, pp. 151-155, pl. 7, ff. 1, 2 (1867).

Necropsittacus rodericanus A. Newt., P.Z.S. p. 41 (1875).

This parrot was described from a portion of the upper mandible by Professor Milne-Edwards, and then was more fully described by Dr. Günther and Sir Edward Newton, who examined a nearly complete skull and other bones.

A manuscript discovered in the Archives of the Ministry of Marine in Paris proves that this bird only became extinct at a not very distant date, it having been seen alive by the writer of the manuscript about the year 1731. In this manuscript the bird was said to have a body considerably larger than a pigeon, with a very long tail and a very large head and bill. Unfortunately the writer does not mention the colour, but adds that the smaller green and blue parrot (Palaeornis exsul) was much handsomer; so we can safely assume that our bird was of sombre colouration. It was undoubtedly closely allied to the genus Palaeornis. The two following, though much brighter coloured and but scantily described, apparently belong to the same genus.

Habitat: Rodriguez.

NECROPSITTACUS(?) BORBONICUS NOM. NOV.

(Plate [8].)

This parrot is described by the Sieur D.B. (Dubois) in the following terms:—"Body the size of a large pigeon, green; head, tail and upper part of wings the colour of fire." As he compares it with the other parrots which are true Palaeornis, it is evident that this bird must have been a Necropsittacus.

This description is the sole evidence we have of the existence of this bird.

Habitat: Bourbon or Réunion.

NECROPSITTACUS(?) FRANCICUS ROTHSCH.

Necropsittacus francicus Rothsch., Proceedings Int. Ornith. Congress 1905, p. 197 (1907).

Original description:—"Head and tail fiery red, rest of body and wings green." We only know this bird from the descriptions in the various "Voyages" to Mauritius in the 17th and early 18th centuries.

Habitat: Mauritius.

MASCARINUS LESSON.

Mascarinus Lesson, Traité d'Orn. p. 188 (1831—A mixture of forms. By elimination the name Mascarinus has been restricted to the Mascarine Parrot).

The generic affinities of this bird have been discussed by various authors. Wagler, Gray, Pelzeln, Hartlaub (1877) and Messrs. A. and E. Newton united it with the Vaza Parrots in the genus Coracopsis, Finsch included it, together with the Vazas and the Grey Parrot (Psittacus erithacus), in the genus Psittacus. Recent authors—Oustalet 1893, W. A. Forbes 1879, and Salvadori (Cat. B. XX, p. 421, 1891)—have admitted a separate genus, Mascarinus. This is evidently the proper course, and I agree with W. A. Forbes, Oustalet and Salvadori that its nearest affinities appear to be the genus Tanygnathus rather than Coracopsis, and that the place of Mascarinus is among the Palaeornithinae of Salvadori.

The large red bill, with distinctly ridged gonys, concealed nostrils and moderately long, strongly rounded tail, are peculiar characters. The colouration is unique. Only one species is known.

MASCARINUS MASCARINUS (L.)

MASCARINE PARROT.

(Plate [9].)

"Perroquets un peu plus gros que pigeons, ayant le plumage de couleur de petit gris, un chaperon noir sur la teste, le becq fort gros, & couleur de feu" Le Sieur D.B, (Dubois), Voyages aux Iles Dauphine ou Madagascar, et Bourbon ou Mascarenne. p. 172 (1674—"Bourbon ou Mascarenne").

Psittacus Mascarinus Brisson, Orn. IV., p. 315 (1760); Hahn, Orn. Atlas, Papageien p. 54, pl. 39 (1835).

Psittacus mascarin. Linnaeus, Mantissa Plantarum, regni animalis appendix p. 524 (1771—"Habitat in Mascarina." Ex Brisson).

Perroquet Mascarin Levaillant, Perroquets II, p. 171, pl. 189 (1805—"Madagascar," errore).

Mascarinus madagascariensis Lesson, Traité d'Orn, p. 189 (1831—"Madagascar," ex Levaillant).

Coracopsis mascarina Wagler, Mon. Psittac. p. 679 (1832); Pelzeln, Verh. Zool. Bot. Ges. Wien 1863, p. 934.

Mascarinus obscurus (non Psittacus obscurus L.) Bonaparte, Rev. & Mag. de Zool. 1854 p. 154 (Linnaeus, Psittacus obscurus—Syst. Nat. Ed. X, p. 97, 1758, ex Hasselquist M.S.—though identified by himself with the Mascarine Parrot in 1766—Syst. Nat. Ed. XII, I, p. 140—cannot be the same as P. mascarinus; the description disagrees entirely, and the bird was described from a specimen probably seen alive by Hasselquist, with uncertain locality. What Linnaeus' P. obscurus was, is difficult to say; if it was not for the long tail, one might consider it a variety of the Grey Parrot).

Psittacus madagascarensis Finsch, Papageien II pp. 306, 955 (1868—Finsch was not acquainted with the history of this Parrot, as he still considered Madagascar to be its home, and wondered why it had not been found there by recent collectors).

Psittacus madagascariensis Pelzeln, Ibis 1873, p. 32.

Mascarinus duboisi W. A. Forbes, Ibis 1879, pp. 304, 305 (figures), 306; Milne-Edwards & Oustalet, Centenaire Mus. d'Hist. Nat. pp. 191-205, pl. I (1893—excellent lengthy account).

Mascarinus mascarinus Salvadori, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. XX, p. 421 (1891—Réunion).

It has been mentioned above that "Le Sieur D.B." (Dubois) described this Parrot clearly in 1674, and that it lived on Réunion, and not on Madagascar. Linnaeus in 1771 (see above) was the first to bestow a scientific name on it, though Brisson had already again described it in 1760. Linnaeus' diagnosis is, as usual, rather poor, and not quite correct[^[1]], but his reference to Brisson leaves no doubt as to what he meant.

This parrot is one of the rarest of extinct birds, only two stuffed specimens being known. One normally coloured specimen is preserved in the Museum of Natural History in Paris, and it is evidently this which has been figured by Daubenton and Levaillant, and in the "Centenaire du Muséum d'Historie Naturelle." From the latter plate my figure has been taken.

The example in Vienna is unfortunately semi-albinistic, there being some white feathers on the back, wings and tail. Another normal individual, however, lived formerly in the Menagerie of the King of Bavaria, where it was depicted by Hahn in 1835. Unfortunately this specimen has not been preserved.

PALAEORNIS EXSUL NEWTON.

(Plate [19].)

Palaeornis exsul A. Newton, Ibis 1872, p. 33.

Leguat was the first to mention these parrots as "Perroquets verds et bleus," and that they were wonderfully good to eat and also delightful pets.

Professor Newton's description is as follows: "Female: Of moderate size. General appearance greyish-glaucous, darker above than beneath. From the corner of the mouth proceeds an ill-defined dull black chin stripe, which becomes broader as it passes backward and upward, ceasing somewhat abruptly on reaching the level of the ears. Head, nape and shoulders, upper wing-coverts, and rectrices above dull greyish-glaucous, the blue tinge in which predominates when the bird is seen against the light, and the green when seen in the contrary aspect; the outer rectrices paler. Rump verditer blue. Primaries with their outer, and most part of their inner, webs deep greenish blue, the former with narrow, lighter edges, and the latter broadly bordered with pitch black; shafts and lower surfaces greyish black. Secondaries much the same as the primaries, but of a still deeper shade. Breast dull greyish-glaucous, but lighter than the upper parts and passing on the belly into verditer, which becomes lighter and greener on the vent. Rectrices beneath yellowish grey, darker toward the tips of the longer feathers. Bill black."

The specimen was sent in spirits to Sir Edward Newton in 1871 by Mr. Jenner, the Magistrate of Rodriguez.

The male differs from the female in having the upper mandible crimson, fading into horn at the tip. Top of head more glaucous. Black stripe from nostril to eye. Black chin stripe prolonged almost to meet on nape of neck. Most of primaries with dull black patch on inner webs. Middle secondaries dusky black.

The male was sent to Sir Edward Newton in 1875 by Mr. J. Caldwell.

Probably almost if not quite extinct. Recent investigations about its status are very desirable.

Habitat: Rodriguez Island.

PALAEORNIS WARDI E. NEWTON.

(Plate [20].)

Palaeornis wardi E. Newton, P.Z.S. 1867, p. 346 (Seychelles).

The translation of Sir Edward Newton's diagnosis is as follows: "Similar to P. alexandri, but with a stouter bill, purple red shoulder patches, and the hind neck without a red band.

"Adult Male. Crown of head and throat bluish, cheeks ochraceous green, chin and line round base of mandible black, continued in a stripe from the gape to the hind neck; back and wings grass green; rump brighter; a single wide band (or patch) on the shoulders purplish red; remiges and rectrices deep green washed with blue, the latter yellowish, the former dusky below; belly yellowish green; bill vivid scarlet with paler tip; feet dusky. Total length 16 inches, wings 7.75, tail 9."

Female similar to the male but duller, and with the bill all black, and without the black mandibular stripe.

Formerly abundant on most of the islands in the Seychelles, especially Mahé, but now confined to the little islet of Silhouette, where it will in all probability become extinct. According to E. Newton its name was "Cateau vert."

Habitat: Seychelles Islands.

PALAEORNIS EQUES (BODD).

Psittaca borbonica torquata Briss., Orn. IV p. 328, pl. XXVII f. 1 (1760). (Bourbon.)

Psittacus alexandri var. γ Linnaeus, S.N. p. 142 (1766).

Perruche à collier de l'Isle de Bourbon Daubenton, Pl. enl. 215.

Perruche à double collier Buff., Hist. Nat. Ois. VI, p. 143 (1779).

Alexandrine Parrakeet var. C. Double Ringed Parrakeet Latham, Syn. I p. 326 (1781).

Psittacus eques Boddaert, Tabl. Pl. Enl. p. 13 (1783).

Psittacus semirostris Hermann, Obs. Zool. p. 125 (1804).

Psittacus bitorquatus Kuhl, Consp. Psitt. p. 92 (1820).

Rose Ringed Parrakeet var. B. Latham, Gen. Hist. II p. 161 (1822).

Psittacus bicollaris Vieillot, Enc. Meth. III p. 1385 (1823).

Palaeornis bitorquatus Vigors, Zool. Journ. II p. 51 (1825).

Palaeornis borbonicus Bp., Rev. and Mag. Zool. 1854, p. 152. No. 140.

There has been considerable confusion with regard to this parrot. It was first asserted that it occurred on both Bourbon and Mauritius. Then Professor Newton separated the Mauritius bird as Pal. echo. Salvadori, however, in Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. XX, p. 442, reunited the Bourbon and Mauritius birds, while quite unaccountably stating only Mauritius as the habitat.

The Abbé Dubois describes this bird as follows: "Green Parrots as large as pigeons having a black collar."

Now the species of Palaeornis from Rodriguez, the Seychelles, and the mainland of Africa are all distinct, and the other land birds of Mauritius are and were different from those of Bourbon. I therefore feel quite certain that Professor Newton is right, and that his Palaeornis echo is distinct from P. eques, though, unfortunately, we do not know in which way the two forms differed.

Habitat: Bourbon or Réunion, but now extinct. No specimens known.

PALAEORNIS ECHO NEWTON.

Palaeornis echo Newton, Ibis 1876, p. 284.

Palaeornis eques Salvadori, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. XX, p. 442 (1891).

Description of Male: Green, the occiput tinged with bluish; a narrow black stripe from the nostrils to the eyes; broad black mandibular stripes passing down and across the sides of the neck where they meet a pink collar, which is interrupted on the hind neck; under wing-coverts yellowish green; central tail feathers scarcely tinged with bluish; tail below dark yellowish grey; upper mandible red, under mandible almost black with only a brownish tinge in places. Iris yellow. Naked skin round eyes orange. Wing 7.5 inches, tail 8.75 inches, bill 9 inches. The female differs by the absence of the collar, no bluish tint on occiput, and the bill entirely blackish.

It differs from P. torquatus in the incomplete collar, darker green colour and broader tail feathers. This bird is still found in the interior of the island, but is rare and apparently on the verge of extinction.

Habitat: Mauritius.

Three specimens at Tring, four in the British Museum.

CYANORHAMPHUS ZEALANDICUS (LATHAM.)

Red Rumped Parrakeet Latham, Syn. I, p. 249, No. 50 (1781).

Psittacus novae seelandiae Gmelin (nec. Sparrm.), S.N. I, p. 328, No. 83 (1788).

Psittacus zealandicus Latham, Ind. Orn. I, p. 102, No. 58 (1790).

Psittacus novae-zealandiae Kuhl, Consp. Psitt. p. 44, var. 1 (1820).

Psittacus erythronotus Kuhl, Consp. Psitt. p. 45, No. 67 (1820).

Psittacus pacificus var. No. 3, Vieillot, Enc. Méth., p. 1387 (1823).

Platycercus pacificus, part. Vigors, Zool. Journ. I, p. 529 (1825).

Platycercus erythronotus Stephens, Gen. Zool. XIV., p. 129, No. 9 (1826).

Conurus phaeton Des Murs, Rev. Zool. 1845, p. 449.

Platycercus phaeton Des Murs, Icon. Orn. pl. 16 (1845).

Cyanorhamphus pacificus Bonaparte, Rev. et. Mag. 1854, p. 153, No. 184.

Cyanorhamphus erythronotus Gray, Hand-list II, p. 140, No. 8029 (1870).

Cyanorhamphus forsteri Finsch, Papag. II, p. 270 (1868).

This bird has received a variety of names owing to the adult bird being very different to the younger and quite young birds. Adult, forehead black; stripe from lores passing through eye almost to hind-neck scarlet; rump scarlet; back and breast dull green; cheeks, head, neck, belly, under-tail coverts and wing coverts, bright green. Flight-feathers blue on outer, brown on inner, webs; bend of wing blue; tail feathers blue, edged with green.

Young differs in having a dull bluish-black forehead, brownish head, back mixed brown and green, rump and eye stripe chestnut red, and the underside greyish green.

This species was confined to the Society Islands, where it was obtained during Cook's Voyage by Ellis and by Forster, and lastly by Lieutenant de Marolles in 1844. We only know for certain at the present day of the existence of two specimens, one in the British Museum, ex Massena collection, whose origin is doubtful, and one in Paris, collected by Lieutenant de Marolles. What became of the other two specimens of the latter's collecting, and of Forster's and Ellis' specimens, I cannot say.

Habitat: Society Islands.

Evidently extinct.

CYANORHAMPHUS ULIETANUS (GM.)

Society Parrot Latham, Syn. I p. 250 (1781).

Psittacus ulietanus Gmelin, S.N. I p. 328, n. 85 (1788).

Platycercus ulietanus Vig., Zool. I p. 533, Suppl. pl. 3 (1825).

Cyanorhamphus ulietanus Bonaparte, Rev. et Mag. de Zool. 1854, p. 153, n. 188.

Platycercus tannaensis Finsch, Papag. II, p. 272 (1868).

Psittacus fuscatus Pelz., Ibis 1873, p. 30.

Adult: "Olive brown, the head brown-black; rump and basal upper tail-coverts brown-red, the longest upper tail-coverts olive brown like the back; underparts olive-yellow; quills, primary-coverts, under wing coverts and tail-feathers grey; bill black, base of upper mandible grey; feet brown." (Salvadori, Cat. B. XX p. 579). Wing 5.3 inches, bill 0.8 inches, tarsus 0.8 inches, tail 5 inches.

Habitat: Ulietea, Society Islands (fide Latham).

The type from the Leverian Museum is in Vienna, and a specimen from Bullock's collection is in the British Museum. These are the only two specimens known, and as it is now more than a hundred years since anyone has procured a specimen, we may suppose that this is an extinct species. The specimen in Vienna, which I have recently been able to examine, has the head, back, wings, and tail deep umber-brown, the rump dark-crimson, upper tail-coverts olive, underside brownish yellow.

CYANORHAMPHUS SUBFLAVESCENS SALVADORI.

Parrot from Lord Howe Island Phillips, Bot. Bay, p. 225 (1789).

Cyanorhamphus subflavescens Salvadori, Ann. & Mag. (6) VII, p. 68 (1891).

Very similar to C. cooki and C. saisseti and intermediate in size. Above more yellowish than C. saisseti, below more greenish, tail shorter than in either of the latter.

This species is believed to be extinct. Last year I received some specimens of a Cyanorhamphus from an inhabitant of Lord Howe's Island, but from subsequent letters these appear to have been collected on Norfolk or Philip Island, and they certainly are C. cooki.

Habitat: Lord Howe's Island.

A pair in the British Museum appear to be the only known specimens.

BUBO(?) LEGUATI NOM. NOV.

Strix sp. Milne-Edwards, Ann. Sci. Nat. (5) XIX p. 13 (art. 3.) 1874.

Milne-Edwards had only a single tibio-tarsus of this form and described this bone, but refrained from giving it a specific name, though he stated it was probably a small Bubo, in the hopes of getting more material.

As, however, we have no further specimens, I think I am justified in naming it after Leguat, who first mentions Owls on Rodriguez. Milne-Edwards' description of this tibio-tarsus is that it equals in length that bone in Asio accipitrinus, but was distinguished from the latter by the strong inward curvature and the great development in width of its distal extremity.

Tibio-tarsus.

Habitat: Rodriguez.

SCOPS COMMERSONI OUST.

Scops commersoni Oustalet, Ann. Sci. Nat. (8) III, p. 35 fig. 3 (1896).

This owl, I believe, is not a true Scops, being much too big, but we must leave it in that genus for the present, as there are no specimens or bones extant, and only Jossigny's drawing to guide us as to its appearance. The first mention of owls on Mauritius was in the year 1606, when Admiral Matlief says that owls were common in the Island. Monsieur Desjardins, in 1837, gave the first accurate description of the bird, of which I here reproduce the translation. "The digits and even the tarsi are not feathered, only on the front portion of these latter one sees some short, stiff feathers running down to a point nearly to the centre. The digits are very strong, they being armed with hooked nails.

The beak is very stout, arched from its base; the upper mandible, which is much longer than the other and covering it, is as if cut square at the point. The nostrils pierce the bill pretty high up in the horny portion. The eyes, of which I could not see the colour, are round, and placed, like in the entire family, in front. They are surrounded by a circle or disc of stiff, thread-like feathers, which is interrupted at the sides. A sort of collar is perceptible on the throat. Two tufts, similar to those of the Eagle Owls and Eared Owls, and very apparent, are behind the eyes and towards the top of the occiput.

The wings are a little longer than the tail, the fourth and fifth primaries being the longest, the third and sixth are shorter, and the second still shorter, being equal to the eighth, and the first is shortest of all. The tail reaches to the end of the digits; it is rounded and not much lengthened: all the retrices are equal in length. The ear-tufts are brown, with some slight buff shading, the discal plumes being white marked with buff. All the upper side is of a dark brown colour, the feathers of the head, the neck and the back are edged with rufous, but not very distinctly so; this rufous colour is more apparent on the scapulars, and some of these even have on the outer web one or two whitish patches surrounded with brown.

The large tail feathers are less brown and more rufous in colour, with lighter rufous marbling mixed with brown.

The tertials and secondaries have a darker brown bar towards the centre, and their outer web is pleasantly marked with somewhat square ocelli or irregular bands of white, pale buff, and brown. The large primaries or

flight feathers present the same ornamentation, but more strongly developed, and the blotches are buffy white on the inner web, which produces a regular spotting on a brown ground colour; the tip of these large feathers is finely stippled with brown on a fairly pale ground; and there is a large patch of white on the wings in addition.

The throat and abdomen are nicely adorned with dark buff feathers, which have a black brown centre and two to four large round white spots. The large feathers on the flanks are whitish, with a brown shaft line and marked with buff. All the well feathered parts, underneath the feathers are covered by a very thick black down."

The colour of bill and feet is reddish brown. Total length, 13½ inches = 345 mm. Desjardins says the specimen he described was killed at the end of October, 1836, in the forest crowning the hills close to "Bamboo Creek." In 1837 several were still seen near "La Savane," and one was killed at Curepipe by Dr. Dobson of the 99th Regiment. This latter is believed to have been one of, if not the last of this species, so we have to thank that excellent naturalist, Desjardins, and Monsieur Jossigny, the companion of Commerson, that we know what this extinct species was like.

Habitat: Mauritius.

ATHENE MURIVORA MILNE-EDWARDS.

Strix (Athene) murivora Milne-Edwards, Ann. Sci. Nat. (5) XIX p. 13 (Art. 3.) (1874).

Professor Milne-Edwards described this bird from a tibio-tarsus and a tarso-metatarsus collected in Rodriguez by Sir Edward Newton, and says that he considers it to belong to the genus Athene, because the proportions of the tibio-tarsus and tarso-metatarsus agree with those of that genus. The most remarkable specific characters appear to be that the ridge to which the fibula is articulated is stout, and extends very far along the outer edge of the bone. The diaphysis is large and nearly straight; the distal extremity is furnished with two equal condyles separated by a deep channel.

Habitat: Rodriguez.

SCELOGLAUX RUFIFACIES BULLER.

Sceloglaux rufifacies Buller, Ibis 1904, p. 639; id. Suppl. B. New Zealand II, p. 65, pl. VII (1906).

Original description: "Adult female: Similar to Sceloglaux albifacies, but appreciably smaller; face dull rufous brown, instead of being white; crown and nape blackish brown; entire upper surface strongly suffused with rufous; quills marked with regular transverse bars and a terminal edging of rufous brown; tail-feathers uniform yellowish brown, obscurely barred with pale brown; bill lemon-yellow; feet dull yellow."

"Wairarapa district, near Wellington, North Island, in the summer 1868-9."

This supposed "species" is a very doubtful one. A close examination in the Tring Museum of the type (which was offered me for such a high price that I did not feel justified in buying it, fond as I am of possessing extinct forms, types and varieties) by Messrs. Hartert, Hellmayr and myself proved beyond doubt to all three of us that the specimen was not fully adult, but showed signs of immaturity. If I said to Sir Walter Buller that it was an extremely young, hardly fledged Sceloglaux this was certainly incorrect, and was perhaps just an exclamation after a hasty preliminary examination, for the bird is of course fully fledged and has passed, at least partially, through one moult of the feathers. On the other hand, both Professor Newton's and Dr. Sharpe's reputed statements that the owl in question is fully adult are not correct. It certainly shows unmistakable signs of immaturity, as noticed at once by Dr. Gadow (cf. Newton's letter on p. 66, l.c.), by Hartert, Hellmayr and myself. Moreover Professor Newton—though Buller says he "pronounced it to be an adult bird"—also admits that the bird "had moulted, though not necessarily to be in adult plumage," and he continues that he thinks the character of the markings continues to be juvenile.

Having thus discussed the age of this owl, the question must be considered if it is different from S. albifacies from the South Island. This is less easily done. Buller described it as a "new species," and mentions among the distinctive characters (see above) the colour of the tail. The tail, however, is "skillfully" (as Buller calls it, though I should use a less complimentary adverb) stuck in, and does not belong to a Sceloglaux, but to an Australian Ninox, and also some feathers on the neck are foreign. The wings being abraded, its slightly smaller length is not very significant. Certainly, however, the colouration in general is slightly more rufous than

in S. albifacies, though some of my specimens approach it almost completely, and the face is more rufescent. Professor Newton cautiously warned Sir Walter Buller, suggesting that S. albifacies might possibly have a red "phase," like Syrnium aluco, and this North Island specimen represented the latter. As for myself, I do not think that S. albifacies has two phases, as I have seen too many specimens, and found them to vary but little. I have now in my collection eight specimens from the South Island. On the other hand, I have not seen juvenile examples; but it is very likely that the rufous face of the North Island specimen is a character peculiar to the North Island form, which would then be a sub-species of S. albifacies from the South Island, and should be called S. albifacies rufifacies. The type from Wairapara is said to have been killed in the summer of 1868-9, and, since no further evidence of its existence has come forth, I presume that the North Island race of this owl must be extinct by this time.

STRIX NEWTONI NOM. NOV.

Strix sp. Newton and Gadow, Trans. Zool. Soc. XIII, p. 287 (1893).

Messrs. Newton and Gadow give the measurements of, and describe a pair of metatarsi procured with the remains described as Strix sauzieri, and state that they do not fit in with that species. For, as they are fully adult bones, it is impossible to attribute their much smaller size to youth. They then add a sentence of which this is the first part: "Unless we assume, what is unlikely, that the Island of Mauritius possessed two different species of Strix, we have to conclude that the short pair of metatarsals belonged to a small individual of Strix sauzieri, ——." Evidently Messrs. Gadow and Newton, when they wrote this, did not remember the fact that throughout a very large portion of the range of Strix flammea, its various geographical races are found side by side with another species of the group of Strix, namely, S. candida and S. capensis, popularly called "Grass owls"; these in nearly every case have the legs considerably longer than in the true Barn Owls (Strix flammea and its races).

Therefore I consider it not in the least unlikely that two species of Strix inhabited Mauritius, and that Strix sauzieri was the Mauritian representative of the "Grass Owls," while these two short metatarsals belonged to the representative of the "Barn Owls." I therefore have much pleasure in naming this form after the collector of these bones, the late Sir Edward Newton.

Length of tarso-metatarsi, 56 mm.

Habitat: Mauritius.

STRIX SAUZIERI NEWT. & GAD.

Strix sauzieri Newton & Gadow, Trans. Zool. Soc. XIII, p. 286, pl. XXXIII, figs. 11-18 (1893).

Messrs. Newton and Gadow describe this species from four metatarsi, three tibiae, and two humeri. They state that the relative length of the tibia to the metatarsus is very constant and characteristic of the various families and genera of owls. In the present instance this comparison indicates a species of Strix.

The longer and higher cnemial process of the tibia and the shortness of the humerus serve amply to justify the specific separation of this Mauritian owl.

The following are the measurements:—

Habitat: Mauritius.

"CIRCUS HAMILTONI" FORBES.

Circus hamiltoni Forbes, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIV, p. 186 (1892—no proper description).

A very large harrier, much larger than Circus gouldi, but not so big as Harpagornis.

Habitat: Middle Island, New Zealand.

"CIRCUS TEAUTEENSIS" FORBES.

Circus teauteensis Forbes, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIV, p. 186 (1892—no proper description).

Another very large harrier from Teaute, which has never yet been properly described.

Habitat: Middle Island, New Zealand.

ASTUR ALPHONSI NEWT. & GAD.

Astur sp. Milne-Edwards, Ann. Sci. Nat. (5) XIX, Art. II, pp. 25, 26, pl. 15 fig. 2. (1874).

Astur alphonsi Newton and Gadow, Trans. Zool. Soc. XIII p. 285, pl. XXXIII, figs. 9, 10. (1893).

Messrs. Newton and Gadow bestowed the name Astur alphonsi on a pair of tibiae, a pair of metatarsals, and the metacarpals of the left side of a goshawk apparently of the same size and relative proportions as A. melanoleucus of South Africa. They justified their description of this goshawk as a distinct species, first of all by the fact that most of the Mascarene extinct species were distinct; and then because the bony ridge for the M. flexor digitorum communis was more strongly developed, the fibula reached further down the tibia, the peroneal crest was straighter and longer, and the cnemial crest slanted more gradually into the anterior inner edge of the shaft of the tibia.

Milne-Edwards gives the measurements of the solitary tarso-metatarsus of this bird which he had for examination as follows:—

Messrs. Gadow and Newton give the length of their tarso-metatarsi as 81 mm., of their tibiae as 117 mm., and of the metacarpals as 55 mm.

Habitat: Mauritius.

Seven tarsi in the Tring Museum.

HARPAGORNIS HAAST.

Allied to Aquila, from which it is distinguished by the ulna being relatively shorter and the tarso-metatarsus stouter.

HARPAGORNIS MOOREI HAAST.

Harpagornis moorei Haast, Trans. N.Z. Inst. IV, p. 192 (1872).

Description of femur (from Haast): The cylindrical shaft bent forward, and above the distal extremity it is slightly curved back. The hollow on the top of the head is very large and measures .42 inch across.

The trochanteric ridge is well developed and the outer side is very rough, showing that muscles of great strength and thickness must have been attached to it.

The inter-muscular linear ridges are well raised above the shaft, of which the one extending from the fore and outer angle of the epitrochanteric articular surface to the outer condyle is the most prominent. The pits for the attachment of the ligaments in the inter-condyloid fossa are strongly marked. The femur is pneumatic, the proximal orifice is large and ear-shaped, resembling in form most closely that of the Australian Sea Eagle.

Type locality: Glenmark Swamp.

Habitat: New Zealand.

Type bones: 1 left femur, 2 ungual phalanges, and 1 rib.

For a more detailed description my readers must refer to the Transactions of the New Zealand Institute VI, pp. 64-75 (1874).

CARBO PERSPICILLATUS (PALL.)

(Plate [39].)

Phalacrocorax perspicillatus Pallas, Zoogr. Rosso.-Asiat. II, p. 305 (1827—Berings Island); Gould, Zool. Voy. Sulphur, p. 49, pl. XXXII (1844); Stejneger, Bull. U.S. Nat. Mus., No. 29, p. 180 (1885); id. Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. XII, pp. 83-94, pls. II-IV (1889—Osteology); Grant, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. XXVI, p. 357 (1898).

Graculus perspicillatus Elliot, New and heret. unfig. sp. N. Amer. B. II, part 14, No. 3, text and plate (1869).

Pallasicarbo perspicillatus Coues, Osprey III, p. 144 (1899).

Pallas gives the first recognizable description of this bird, which, as translated from the Latin, is as follows: "Of the size of a very large goose. Of the shape of the former (sc. Cormorants), which it also resembles in the white patches on the flanks. The body is entirely black. A few long, white, narrow pendant plumes round the neck, as in Herons. Occiput with a huge tuft, doubly crested. Skin round the base of the bill bare, red, blue and white, mixed, as in a turkey. Round the eyes a thick, bare white patch of skin, about six lines wide, like a pair of spectacles. Weight 12 to 14 pounds. Female smaller, without crest and spectacles. (From Steller.)"

Steller, who was shipwrecked on Bering Island in 1741, was the discoverer of C. perspicillatus, and Pallas took his diagnosis from Steller's notes.

The Spectacled or Pallas's Cormorant is one of the rarest of all birds. It is generally said that four specimens are known, but five are really in existence: Two in the St. Petersburg Museum, one in Leyden, and two in London. One of these latter is perfect, while the other has no tail. Probably all five have been obtained by Kuprianoff, the Russian Governor at Sitka, who, in 1839, gave one to Captain Belcher, and sent some others to St. Petersburg. The careful researches of Stejneger and others on Bering Island have clearly shown that this Cormorant exists no longer. Formerly it is said to have been numerous, but the natives were fond of its flesh, which formed their principal diet when other meat was difficult to obtain. Probably it would not so soon have become extinct if it had not been that their rather short wings resulted in a certain slowness of locomotion on land and in the air. A good description is given in the Catalogue of Birds, and a still more detailed one by Stejneger (Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. 1899, p. 86) from Brandt's manuscript.

Habitat: Bering Island.

CARBO MAJOR (FORBES).

Phalacrocorax novaezealandiae var. major Forbes, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIV, p. 189 (1892—no proper description).

Dr. Forbes only informed us that this shag was of greater dimensions than Ph. novaezealandiae (a very closely allied form of Ph. carbo). It would be interesting to know more about it, and, especially, if this extinct form was incapable of flight, like Ph. harrisi of the Galápagos Islands.

Habitat: New Zealand.

PLOTUS NANUS NEWT. & GAD.

Plotus nanus Newton and Gadow, Trans. Zool. Soc. XIII p. 288, pl. XXXIV figs 1-5. (1893).

The humerus, the pelvis with sacrum, and the tibia were the materials on which our authors founded this new species. They state that all the strongly developed characters in these bones leave no possible doubt as to its being a species of Plotus, and its diminutive size at once distinguishes it from the three known species—P. anhinga, P. melanogaster, and P. novaehollandiae.

The measurements are as follows:—

Distance from acetabular axis to anterior end of sacrum 30 mm.

Distance between ventral inner margins of the acetabula 14.5 mm.

Habitat: Mauritius. (Also recorded from Madagascar.)

"CHENOPIS SUMNERENSIS" FORBES.

Chenopis sumnerensis Forbes, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIV, p. 188 (1892) (Nomen nudum).

This appears to have been a very large species, with not very great powers of flight, if not flightless.

Habitat: New Zealand and Chatham Islands.

Bones from Chatham Islands in my collection.

CHENALOPEX SIRABENSIS ANDREWS.

Chenalopex sirabensis Andrews, Ibis 1897, p. 355, pl. IX, figs. 1-3.

This species of which skull, sternum, pelvis, the bones of fore and hind limbs, &c., are preserved, appears to be closely allied to Chenalopex aegyptiacus, but has such a number of small differences that Mr. Andrews is, I think, quite justified in separating it; I do not, however, agree with him when he suggests that perhaps it is the same as Newton and Gadow's Sarcidiornis mauritianus, although many of the bones agree. Of course, his line of comparison was strengthened by the fact of subfossil bones of Plotus nanus occurring both in Mauritius and Madagascar; but it does not follow that because in one family of birds the same species occurred in two places the others must do likewise, and, therefore, one must not necessarily regard a certain similarity of osteological characters as proof of identity. I must here again refer my readers to Mr. Andrews' very full description.

Habitat: Sirabé in C. Madagascar.

The measurements are:—

The smaller bones, undoubtedly, belonged to female, and the larger to male individuals.

CENTRORNIS ANDREWS.

Allied to Chenalopex and Chenopis, but differs from Chenalopex in the form and proportion of its metatarsus, and from all other Anserine forms by the extreme length and slenderness of the shaft of the tibio-tarsus and the relative shortness of the fibular crest. From Chenopis it differs in several respects, and the very long fibular crest of the latter at once separates them.

CENTRORNIS MAJORI ANDREWS.

Centrornis majori Andrews, Ibis 1897, p. 344, pl. VIII.

This species was discovered by Dr. Forsyth Major and Monsieur Robert in the bed of an old lake at Sirabé, Central Madagascar, in 1896-1897. It was similar in many respects to Sarcidiornis and Chenalopex but differed in its large size and the great length of its legs. Indeed, judging from the slenderness of the metatarsus and femur and the slight degree of inflection of the lower end of the long tibia, it seems probable that this bird was ill adapted for swimming, though a good runner. The wings were long and powerful and armed with a long spur. I must refer my readers for a fuller description to Mr. Andrews, as quoted above.

The measurements are:—

Habitat: Madagascar.

CNEMIORNIS OWEN.

Skull short and massive, with beak rounded and stout. Carina of sternum aborted. Limb-bones short and very stout, the ulna being shorter than the humerus, and having very prominent tubercles for the secondaries; cnemial crest of tibia greatly developed. No foramen between third and fourth trochleae of tarso-metatarsus. Spines of dorsal vertebrae tall. The power of flight was absent. The chief differences from Cereopsis were the presence of extra pre-sacral vertebrae, so that two only instead of three ribs articulate with the sacrum; and an elevated pent-roof arrangement of the ossa innominata, which indicate more decided cursorial habits.

CNEMIORNIS CALCITRANS OWEN.

Cnemiornis calcitrans Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc. V, p. 396 (1865).

"The type species. Very considerably larger than the existing Cereopsis novaehollandiae, with the limbs relatively much stouter and shorter" (Lydekker).

Habitat: Middle Island, New Zealand.

For full description see Trans. N. Z. Inst. VI, pp. 76-84, pls. X-XII (1874).

"CNEMIORNIS GRACILIS" FORBES.

Cnemiornis gracilis Forbes, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIV, p. 187 (1892) (Nomen nudum).

"A most elegantly moulded goose from the North Island." Unfortunately this is all that has been published about this form!

Habitat: North Island, New Zealand.

CNEMIORNIS MINOR FORBES.

Cnemiornis minor Forbes, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIV, p. 187 (1892); vide also Trans. N.Z. Inst. VI, pp. 76-84 (Hector).

This species appears to be distinguished from Cnemiornis calcitrans by its very small size, being hardly bigger than Cereopsis novaehollandiae.

Habitat: Middle Island, New Zealand.

CEREOPSIS NOVAEZEALANDIAE FORBES.

Cereopsis novaezealandiae Forbes, Trans. N. Zealand Inst. XXIV, p. 188 (1892).

This species was founded on an incomplete skull, and differed from C. novaehollandiae by its slightly larger size.

Habitat: New Zealand.

SARCIDIORNIS MAURITIANUS NEWT. & GAD.

Sarcidiornis mauritianus Newton & Gadow, Trans. Zool. Soc. XIII, p. 290, pl. XXXIV, figs. 9-10.

The evidence on which this species is founded is a single left metacarpal and an incomplete left half of the pelvis. Its specific character is the very large size as compared to the two existing species.

Habitat: Mauritius.

In an old work entitled "Memorandums concerning India" by J. Marshall (1668) in the article on the Island of Mauritius, there occurs this passage: "They are many Geese; the halfe of their wings towards the end are black and the other halfe white; they are not large, but fat and good. Plenty of Ducks." As there is no mention of the caruncle on the bill here or in other authors alluding to geese in Mauritius, Oustalet doubted that these geese were this Sarcidiornis, but I believe this merely to have been an oversight of Marshall's and that his description goes far to prove the distinctness of Newton and Gadow's species.

The allusion to the small size also points to the geese of Marshall being the Sarcidiornis. L'Abbé Dubois in "Les Voyages du Sieur D.B." records the fact that on Bourbon were some wild geese slightly smaller than the geese of Europe but having the same plumage. Their bill and feet were red. It is also probable that wild geese were found on Rodriguez. There is nothing to show what these Bourbon geese were, and as no osseous remains of such birds have been found as yet it is impossible to do more than mention the fact of such birds having been recorded.

ANAS FINSCHI VAN BENEDEN.

Anas finschi Van Beneden, Journ. Zool. IV, p. 267 (1875); Ann. de la Soc. Geol. Belg. II, p. 123 (1876).

This duck is most peculiar, as it stands intermediate between Querquedula and Dendrocygna in structure, and its nearest known ally seems to be the extinct A. blanchardi of Europe, and of living forms apparently Clangula clangula.

Skull nearest to that of Clangula clangula but wider, nostrils more elongated, eye-sockets smaller, and the whole skull more regularly rounded off. Sternum differs from that of C. clangula by having the notch lower, more faint behind and shorter in front. Clavicle and coracoid resemble those of Fuligula marila. Humerus larger and stronger than in F. marila and C. clangula, as are the femur, tibio-tarsus and tarso-metatarsus, which are almost double as long and thick.

Judging from the shape of its leg-bones this bird must have been a strong runner, and probably at the same time was a poor flyer.

Habitat: Middle Island, New Zealand.

ANAS THEODORI NEWT. & GAD.

Anas theodori Newton & Gadow, Trans. Zool. Soc. XIII, p. 291, pl. XXXIV, figs 11-17 (1893—Mauritius).

Messrs. Newton and Gadow founded this species on a fragment of a sternum, a pair of coracoids, eight humeri, and a pair of tarso-metatarsi. These are referable to a duck of larger size than Nettion bernieri, and somewhat intermediate between N. punctata and Anas melleri.

The sternum differs from that of A. melleri by the lesser height of the keel and by the shape and direction of the anterior margin of the latter. The coracoid is longer and larger than in N. bernieri, but is much shorter than in A. melleri, though agreeing with that of the latter in shape, and by the plain almost ridgeless ventral surface of the shaft. The seven humeri vary in length from 70-78 mm., and agree in size with those of N. punctata, thus proving our species to be smaller than A. melleri.

The two tarso-metatarsi are in poor condition; the right one measuring 42 mm. in length, thus indicating that A. theodori was a bird with a shorter foot than A. melleri.

Habitat: Mauritius.

CAMPTOLAIMUS LABRADORIA (GM.)

(Plate [36].)

Anas labradoria Gmelin, Syst. Nat. I, 2, p. 537 (1788—"Habitat gregaria in America, boreali." Ex Pennant and Latham.)

Anas labradora Latham, Ind. Orn. II, p. 859 (1790).

Rhynchaspis labradora Stephens, in Shaw's Gen. Zool. XII, 2, p. 121 (1824).

Fuligula labradora Bonaparte, Ann. Lyceum N.Y. II, p. 391 (1826).

Somateria labradora Boie, Isis 1828, p. 329.

Kamptorhynchus labradorus Eyton, Mon. Anat. p. 151 (1838).

Fuligula grisea Leib, Journ. Acad. Sc. Philad. VIII, p. 170 (1840—young bird).

Camptolaimus labradorus Gray, List. Gen. B. ed. 2, p. 95 (1841); Dutcher, Auk. 1891, p. 201, pl. II; 1894, pp. 4-12; Hartl. Abh. naturw. Ver. Bremen XVI, p. 23 (1895).

Camptolaemus labradorius Baird, B.N. Amer. p. 803 (1858); Baird, Brewer and Ridgway, Water—B. N. Amer. II, p. 63 (1884); Milne-Edw. and Oustalet, Centen. Mus. d'Hist. Nat., Notice Ois. éteint. p. 51, pl. IV (1893); Salvadori, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. XXVII, p. 416 (1895).

The adult male and a young male, both in my museum, are represented on plate [36], but the young bird became too rufous, through the colour type reproduction, and should be somewhat more mouse-gray. Though first technically named by Gmelin in 1788, this duck was first described in 1785 by Pennant, in the Arctic Zoology II, p. 559, as follows:—

"Pied Duck. With the lower part of the bill black, the upper yellow, on the summit of the head is an oblong black spot; forehead, cheeks, rest of the head and neck, white; the lower part encircled with black; scapulars and coverts of wings white; back, breast, belly, and primaries, black; tail cuneiform, and dusky; legs black. The bill of the supposed female? resembles that of the male, head and neck mottled with cinereous brown and dirty white; primaries dusky; speculum white; back, breast, and belly clouded with different shades of ash-colour; tail dusky and cuneiform; legs black. Size of a common Wild Duck.

"Sent from Connecticut, to Mrs. Blackburn. Possibly the great flocks of pretty Pied Ducks, which whistled as they flew, or as they fed, seen by Mr. Lawson in the western branch of Cape Fear inlet, were of this kind."

The Labrador-Duck is one of those birds, the disappearance of which is not easily explained. As Mr. Dutcher truly said, "we can speculate as to the cause of its disappearance, but we have no facts to warrant a conclusion." Formerly Camptolaimus was of regular occurrence along the northern Atlantic shores of North America, in winter south to New Jersey and New York. It has often been sold on the markets of New York and Baltimore, and nobody anticipated even fifty years ago that they might become extinct, but they

appear never to have been very numerous, at least we have no proof of this. It is true that Professor Newton tells us that this duck used to breed on rocky islets, and that "its fate is easily understood," since "man began yearly to visit its breeding haunts, and, not content in plundering its nests, mercilessly to shoot the birds." This, however, seems to be mere conjecture, as we do not know for certain where the breeding haunts of this Duck have been, and that anyone has ever visited them. All information known about the breeding of this bird is that of Audubon, who says that his son was shown empty nests on the top of bushes, which a clerk of the fishing establishment told him were those of the Labrador Duck. This information is certainly too uncertain to draw any conclusions from, but the breeding places might just as well have been much further to the north, and probably were.

The number of specimens extant is 48.

Amiens, Town Museum: 1 ♂ ad. (Auk. 1897, p. 87).

Berlin Museum: 1, bought from Salmin (Hartl. p. 23).

Paris: ♂ adult, presented 1810 by M. Hyde de Neuville.

London, British Museum: 2, a ♂ ad. and a ♀ ad., neither of them with exact locality or date.

Liverpool: 2 ♂ ad., 1 ♀, 1 ♂ jun.

Cambridge: 1 ♂

Dublin: 1 fine mounted ♂ (Dr. Scharff in litt.)

Tring: 1 ♂ ad., 1 ♂ jun. (See below.)

Brussels: 1 ♂ ad.

St. Petersburg: 1 ♂ ad., purchased from Salmin.

Heine Museum in Germany: 1 poor specimen.

Munich: The Museum possesses a male from the collection of the Duke of Leuchtenberg.

Dresden: 1 ♂ and two doubtful eggs—the latter doubtless wrong I should say.

Vienna: 1 ♂ ad., exchanged from Baron von Lederer in 1830. Locality New York; 1 ♀ ad., bought from Brandt in Hamburg in 1846, for 4 Gulden!

Leiden Museum: ♂ ♀, from the Prince of Wied.

American Museum, New York: 7, three of which formerly belonged to George N. Lawrence.

Long Island Historical Society, Brooklyn: 1 ♂ ad.

Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, N. York: 1 ♂ ad.

New York State Museum, Albany: ♂ ♀ ad.

Cory collection: ♂ ♀ ad.

University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont: 1 ♂ ad.

Philadelphia: 2 ♂ jun., 1 ♀

U.S. National Museum, Washington: 2 ♂, 1 ♀, 1 ♂ jun.

Collection of Mr. William Brewster: 1 ♂ jun., 1 ♀

Boston Society of Natural History: 1 ♂ jun.

Collection of Dalhousie College, Halifax: ♂ ♀

This makes a total of 48 known specimens.

The last specimens killed were those shot in May, 1871, at Grand Manan Island, the date of which is absolutely certain, and the specimen bought from a Mr. J. G. Bell in 1879, for the Smithsonian Institution, which is said to have been shot in 1875, but this date seems not quite certain (Cf. Auk, 1894, p. 9). That several other specimens were shot later than 1852 is perfectly certain. As the specimen of 1875, or thereabouts, is a young male, Mr. Lawrence's question about the old birds is certainly justified. As, however, no Labrador Duck has been recorded later than 1871 or 1875 we may suppose that it is now extinct.

My young male was bought in the Fulton Market, New York, about 1860, and probably came from Long Island. It was mounted by John Bell, a bird-stuffer, through whose hands several Labrador Ducks have gone, and is in the finest possible condition. I bought this bird from the late Gordon Plummer, shortly before his death. He died at his home in Brookline, Mass., in November, 1893. (Cf. Auk, 1891, p. 206.)

My adult male is the one of which the history is given in Auk, 1894, p. 176. It is described there in detail and then added: "Shot in the bay of Laprairie this spring (1862) by a habitant, and purchased by Mr. Thompson of this city, who has kindly placed it at my disposal for examination." Mr. William Dutcher of New York City bought this specimen from the widow of the Mr. Thompson, mentioned in the above note as the original owner, and I purchased it from Mr. William Dutcher, who informs me that "the Bay of Laprairie" is simply a name given to a wide part of the River St. Lawrence, just south of Montreal, Quebec. The name is found on good maps of Quebec.

"BIZIURA LAUTOURI" FORBES.

Biziura lautouri Forbes, Trans. N.Z. Inst. XXIV, p. 188 (1892—nomen nudum).

Dr. Forbes, unfortunately, gives no description whatever of this bird. It would be interesting to know something about it, and especially if its powers of flight were impaired, as it seems to have been the case in so many extinct birds.

ARDEA MEGACEPHALA MILNE-EDWARDS.

Butors Leguat, Relation du Voyage (1708).

Ardea megacephala Milne-Edwards, Ann. Sci. Nat. (5) XIX, 1874, p. 10.

Leguat's description, here translated, is as follows:—"We had Bitterns as big and as fat as capons. They are tamer and more easily caught than the 'gelinotes.'" He also says, "The lizards often serve as prey for the birds, especially for the Bitterns. When we shook them down from the branches with a pole, these birds ran up and gobbled them down in front of us, in spite of all we could do to prevent them; and even if we only pretended to do so they came in the same manner and always followed us about."

Milne-Edwards remarks, among other notes, that "This bird is not a true Bittern, but its head is so large and its feet so short that it is easy to understand that Leguat should have called it so."

The bony structure of the head is remarkable on account of its massive and thick proportions; the skull itself is strongly enlarged posteriorly, and the temporal fossae are bordered by very pronounced ridges, especially those on the occipital region. The upper side of the skull is hardly convex, and the interorbital region is large, but only slightly depressed along its middle line. The bill is stout, almost straight, a good deal enlarged at its base and rounded beneath. The nostrils are large and preceded by a large groove, which extends very far towards the tip.

It is impossible to confound this skull with that of any Bittern, the latter having the beak relatively slender and only barely exceeding the skull in length. These also have the skull much constricted at the temporal region. The fossil skull from Rodriguez therefore presents characters essentially those of a Heron, but differs from all known species in its massive appearance. In the Grey, Purple and Goliath Herons, as well as in the Egrettes, the head is narrower, more elongated, the bill less conical and less strong. In Ardea atricollis, now inhabiting Madagascar, the beak much resembles that of our extinct species, but it is longer and less enlarged at the base. The interorbital area is much wider, while on the other hand the hinder portion of the skull is narrower and more elongated, which gives to the skull a totally different aspect.

The feet relatively to the head are extremely short, and from this I conclude that we know no species of Heron which can be compared to that of Rodriguez. Nevertheless, the tarso-metatarsus presents all the characters

of Ardea, and is far removed from that of Botaurus. The tibia is big and short; it surpasses in length the tarso-metatarsus by about a third, as is usual in the Herons; but the femur on the contrary is strongly developed, being quite as large as in the Ardea cinerea; which shows us that the body of this creature was of large size, and that the reduction in size of the feet had only taken place at their extremities.

The sternum is puny and small as compared with the creature's size. It is clearly that of a bird not furnished with powerful wings, and is even much less elongated than in the Bittern, but the coracoidal bones are very long and slender. The wings also were short and feeble, the humerus being hardly as big as in Butorides atricapilla. It is conspicuously slenderer and shorter than in the Bittern. The main body of the bone is slightly curved on the outside, and the lower articular condyle is large and flattened. I have not been able to examine any bone of the "manus," but the metacarpal bone shows exactly the same proportions for the wing as does the humerus, as it also barely reaches the size of that of Butorides atricapilla. The measurements are as follows:—

The anonymous author of the manuscript "Rélation de l'île Rodrigue" (see Ann. Sci. Nat. (6) II p. 133 et seq. 1875) about the year 1830 mentions this bird as follows:—"There are not a few Bitterns which are birds which only fly a very little, and run uncommonly well when they are chased. They are of the size of an Egret and something like them."

Habitat: Rodriguez Island.

2 Humeri, 2 Femora, 2 Tibiae, and 2 Metatarsi in the Tring Museum.

ARDEA DUBOISI NOM. NOV.

Butors ou Grands Gauziers Dubois, Les Voyages faits par le Sieur D.B. (1674) p. 169.

L'Abbé Dubois is the only author who has, as far as I can ascertain, told us that the Island of Réunion also had a large almost flightless Heron as well as Mauritius and Rodriguez; and so feeling sure that it, like most other birds of this island, was distinct I name it after him.

The translation of his original description is as follows:—"Bitterns or Great Egrets, large as capons, but very fat and good. They have grey plumage, each feather spotted with white, the neck and beak like a Heron, and the feet green, made like the feet of Poullets d'Inde (Porphyrio, W.R.). This bird lives on fish."

Habitat: Réunion or Bourbon.

ARDEA MAURITIANA (NEWT. & GAD.)

Butorides mauritianus Newton & Gadow, Trans. Zool. Soc. vol. XIII, p. 289 (1893).

The bones on which this species is founded are a pair of ulnae, one radius, four metatarsi, and one coracoid. The description is as follows:—"The bones in question are all considerably shorter than the corresponding bones of A. (Nycticorax) megacephala. The metatarsi agree otherwise in every detail with those of the latter species; this relative stoutness indicates that they belonged to a Night-Heron or Bittern like A. megacephala. The two ulnae cannot, unfortunately, be compared with those of A. megacephala; their length, 110 mm., compared with the length of the humerus of A. megacephala, 119 mm., shows, however, likewise that they were those of a considerably smaller bird. The single left coracoid agrees in all the features of its dorsal or scapular half with A. megacephala, but its ventral or sternal half differs considerably, first by the much more strongly marked ridge of the linea intermuscularis on its ventral surface, secondly by the almost straight instead of inwardly curved margin between the processus lateralis and the lateral distal corner of the sternal articulation, thirdly by a very low but very distinct and sharp ridge, which arises from the median margin of the coracoid, a little above its median articulating corner. This roughness or prominent ridge is entirely absent in A. megacephala and in all other Herons which we have been able to examine, but at least a slight indication of it occurs in an individually varying degree in Nycticorax and Botaurus. That this coracoid bone belonged, however, to an Ardeine bird is clearly indicated by its whole configuration, notably by the shape and position of the precoracoid process, the various articulating facets at the dorsal end, and the prominent lip on the visceral or internal surface of the median portion of the sternal articulating facet."

The following are the measurements:—

Habitat: Mauritius.

Although megacephala and mauritiana have been placed in Ardea and Butorides respectively, from the short, stout legs and general build, I am inclined to think that all three of these Herons belong to the genus Nycticorax.

PROSOBONIA BP.

This genus is, in the Catalogue of Birds, placed in a section with somewhat long tarsus, the latter being longer than the culmen, containing in addition to Prosobonia the genera Tringites, and Aechmorhynchus (see afterwards), and it differs from the latter by its long hind toe, from the former by its square tail. The position of this singular bird is, however, not quite certain. The late Henry Seebohm placed it in the genus Phegornis, though the latter has no hind toe whatever, and it has even—but doubtless wrongly—been suggested that it belonged to the Rallidae, rather than to the Charadriidae. We know only one species. It is true that Dr. Sharpe bestowed a new name on the figure of Ellis, which is said to have been taken from an Eimeo-specimen, but it is hardly creditable that it belongs to a different species. Latham appears to have had three specimens, which were all three different from each other. Both Forster and Ellis, in their unpublished drawings in the British Museum, as well as Latham, evidently considered all three to belong to the same species, and it is not advisable now to over-rule their verdict, given with the specimens before them, merely on account of the different plumages, since we all know that most waders, and especially brightly-coloured ones, differ considerably in plumage, according to age and seasons. We are convinced that "P. ellisi" has been a younger bird. Sharpe attaches importance to the different habitat, but this is no argument in this instance, because Eimeo is, at the nearest point, not more than seven and a half miles from Tahiti,[^[2]] and it is quite against all precedents among Charadriidae and beyond all plausibility that two such closely situated islands have closely allied forms of a Wader.

PROSOBONIA LEUCOPTERA (GM.)

(Plate [35].)

White-winged Sandpiper Latham, Gen. Syn. III, pt. 1, p. 172, pl. LXXXII (1785—Otaheite and Eimeo).

Tringa leucoptera Gmelin, Syst. Nat. I, p. 678 (1788—ex Latham!); Westermann, Bijdr. Dierk. I, p. 51, pl. 15 (1854—Figure of the type).

Totanus leucopterus Vieillot, Nouv. Dict. d'Hist. Nat. (Ed. II) VI, p. 396 (1817).

Calidris leucopterus Cuvier, Règne Anim. I, p. 526 (1829).

Tringa pyrrhetraea Lichtenstein, Forster's descr. anim. p. 174 (1844—Otaheiti).

Prosobonia leucoptera Bonaparte, Compt. Rend. XXXI, p. 562 (1850); Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. XXIV, p. 525 (1896).

Tringoides leucopterus Gray, Handl. B. III, p. 46 (1871).

Phegornis leucopterus Seebohm, Geogr. Distrib. Charad. p. 452 pl. 18 (1888).

Prosobonia ellisi Sharpe, Bull. B.O.C. XVI, p. 86 (1906—"Eimeo").

Dr. Sharpe's description, made from the type in the Leyden Museum, is as follows: "Adult. General colour of upper surface blackish brown; the lower back and rump ferruginous; centre tail-feathers blackish, the rest rufous, banded with black, less distinctly on the two next the middle pair; wing-coverts blackish, with a white spot near the carpal bend of the wing, formed by some of the lesser coverts; crown of head blackish, the hind-neck browner, mixed with black; sides of face brown, the lores and ear-coverts slightly more reddish, behind the eye a little white spot; cheeks and under surface of body ferruginous red, the throat buffy white. Length 6.7 inches, culmen 0.9, wing 4.45, tail 2.15, tarsus 1.3 (Mus. Lugd.)"

We know nothing of this bird, but the one specimen in the Leyden Museum, which is the type, or at least one of the types. As no other specimens have been obtained for nearly a century and a quarter, there is every reason to fear that this bird is extinct. My plate has been made up by Mr. Lodge from the unpublished drawings of Ellis and Forster in the British Museum.

Habitat: Tahiti, and the adjacent islet of Eimeo.

AECHMORHYNCHUS COUES.

This genus appears to be closely allied to Prosobonia, but has a much shorter hind toe. Its colouration is very different, and quite that of a Sandpiper, while the pattern of Prosobonia is most singular. Seebohm placed Aechmorhynchus, together with Prosobonia, in the genus Phegornis.

We know only one species.

AECHMORHYNCHUS CANCELLATA (GM.)

(Plate [35].)

Barred Phalarope Latham, Gen. Syn. III. pt. 1, p. 274 (1785—Christmas Island in the Pacific Ocean).

Tringa cancellata Gmelin, Syst. Nat. I, p. 675 (1788—ex Latham).

Tringa parvirostris Peale, U.S. Expl. Exp., Birds p. 235, pl. LXVI, 2 (1848—Paumotu) Cassin, U.S. Expl. Exp. p. 321, pl. 38, 2 (1858—Paumotu).

Totanus (Tryngites?) cancellatus Gray, Cat. B. Trop. Islands Pac. Ocean, p. 51 (1859).

Phegornis cancellatus Seebohm, Geogr. Distrib. Charadr. p. 451, pl. 17 (1888).

Aechmorhynchus cancellatus Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. XXIV, p. 525 (1896).

"Bill short, straight, and slender; wings long, first, second, and third quills very nearly equal; tertiaries but very little longer than the secondaries; tail rather long, wide, rounded; legs and toes long, the former robust; tibia feathered for more than half its length. A distinct stripe over and behind the eye ashy-white. Entire upper parts umber-brown, unspotted on the top of the head, but on the other upper parts edged and tipped with ashy-white and reddish fulvous. Tail-feathers umber-brown, with irregular and imperfect transverse narrow bands of ashy and pale reddish-white, and tipped with the same. Underparts white, with a tinge of ashy; throat and middle of the abdomen unspotted; breast, sides, and under coverts of the tail spotted, and with irregular transverse bars of brown, the latter most apparent on the sides, flanks, and under tail-coverts. Under wing-coverts ashy-white, irregularly spotted with brown. Bill greenish, darker at the tip; legs dark green. Sexes very nearly alike, female slightly paler. (Cassin.)"

I have here given the synonymy of this bird, as it has now been generally accepted by Seebohm, Sharpe, and others. An actual comparison of the types would, however, be very desirable, but, unfortunately, we do not know where the type of Latham is, and if it still exists. Christmas Island lies much to the north of the Paumotu group! As no specimens have been obtained since the U.S. Exploring Expedition, we may safely suppose that the species has ceased to exist for some reason.

Habitat: "Christmas Island in the Pacific Ocean and Paumotu Islands."

GALLINAGO CHATHAMICA FORBES.

Gallinago chathamica Forbes, Ibis 1893, p. 545.

Evidently a species allied to G. pusilla, but very much larger. Bill three inches long.

Habitat: Chatham Islands.

Several skulls and a few bones in the Tring Museum. This is a snipe only a little larger than the existing Gallinago aucklandica.

HYPOTAENIDIA (?) PACIFICUS (GM.)

(Plate [26].)

Pacific rail Latham, Gen. Syn. III, pt. I, p. 255 (1785).

Rallus pacificus Gmelin, Syst. Nat. I, p. 717 (1788).

Forster's description is as follows, in translation: "Black with white spots or bars; abdomen, throat, and eyebrow white; hind neck ferruginous; breast grey; bill blood-red; iris red. Bill straight, compressed, narrowed at the top, thicker at the base, and blood-red. The mandibles subequal, pointed; the upper slightly curved, with the tip pale fuscous; gape medium. Nostrils almost at the base of bill, linear. Eyes placed above the gape of the mouth. Iris blood-red. Feet four-toed, split, built for running, flesh coloured. Femora semi-bare, slender, of medium length.

"Tibiae slightly compressed, shorter than the femora. Four toes, slender, of which three point forward (are front toes). The middle one almost as long as the Tibia, the side ones of equal length shorter, the back one short, raised from the ground. Nails short, small, slightly incurved, pointed, and light coloured. Head oval, slightly depressed, fuscous. A superciliary line from bill to occiput whitish. Throat white. Hindneck ferruginous. Neck very short. Back and rump black, sparsely dotted with minute white dots. Breast bluish grey. Abdomen, crissum, and loins white. Wings short, wholly black, variegated with broken white bands. Remiges short. Rectrices extremely short, black spotted with white, hardly to be distinguished from the coverts.

Mr. Keulemans' plate was done from Forster's unpublished drawing in the British Museum, and no specimen is in existence. The legs should, however, be less bright red, more flesh-colour.

Habitat: Tahiti, but evidently long extinct.

This bird, according to Forster, was called "Oomnaa" or "Eboonaa," on Otaheite, and the neighbouring islands.