Notes on the New Zealand Hawk.

Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Volume 5, 1872, Page 427

3. The President read “Notes by Dr. Buller on the New Zealand Hawk,” which had been contributed in a letter to the “Ibis,” a London scientific journal. In it Dr. Buller asserts his belief that there are in reality in New Zealand two distinct species of hawks, resembling each other in plumage in both the young and adult states, but differing appreciably in size. This had been questioned by Dr. Otto Finsch, of Bremen, and Dr. Buller gave his argument in support of his theory. He also says “with regard to the data furnished in Capt. Hutton's catalogue, I would simply remark that there is no evidence whatever of the sex having been, in a single case, determined by dissection.” With reference to this Capt. Hutton remarked that the specimens he had reported on were marked by Dr. Buller himself, who probably had made a mistake in the symbols commonly used for distinguishing the sexes. 4. “On the Geographical Relations of the New Zealand Fauna,” by Capt. F. W. Hutton, C.M.Z.S. (See Transactions, p. 227.) Part only of this paper was read, and discussion was deferred till next meeting.