Art. XXX.–On some additions to the Collection of Birds in the Colonial Museum.

Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Volume 7, 1874, Page 224

Art. XXX.–On some additions to the Collection of Birds in the Colonial Museum. By Walter. L. Buller, D.Sc., F.L.S., etc. [Read before the Wellington Philosophical Society, 10th February, 1875.] I Have much pleasure in laying before the Society this evening several ornithological novelties lately added to the collection in the Colonial Museum, and kindly submitted to me by Dr. Hector for determination. Numenius Uropygialis, Gould. The first specimen to be noticed is an example of the Australian Whimbrel, obtained a short time since by Mr. Liardet in the Wairau, and presented to the Museum by our Vice-President, W. T. L. Travers, Esq., F.L.S. I have carefully compared the specimen with the descriptions of this and the allied species in Gould's Birds of Australia, and in Finscb and Hartlaub's Birds of Central Polynesia, and I feel no hesitation in assigning it to Numenius uropygialis. Gould states that this form is somewhat smaller than the European bird, Numenius phœopus (=femoralis, Peale); and the New Zealand example, as will be seen from the following comparative statement of measurements is even smaller than Gould's type. The colours and markings of the plumage, however, leave no doubt on my mind that it is the species described by Mr. Gould under the above name; and we may, I think, safely conclude that the example before us is an accidental straggler from Australia. Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus. In. In. In. In. N. uropygialis, according to Gould 3 9·5 3 2·25 New Zealand example 2·4 8·75 3·25 2·2 2. Numenius Cyanopus, Vieillot. In company with the bird noticed above, Mr. Liardet observed, and afterwards succeeded in shooting, a fine specimen of the Australian Curlew,

(Numenius cyanopus). I have not myself seen it, but Dr. Hector, through whose hands it passed, had no difficulty in determining the species by comparing it with Australian examples in the Colonial Museum. 3. Himantopus Novæ-Zealandiæ, Gould. Among, the specimens on the table there is a remarkable albino variety of the Black Stilt, also obtained by Liardet in the Wairau, and purchased by Dr. Hector. The entire plumage is white, clouded with smoky grey on the crown and sides of the head, and on the upper surface of the body. There are a few straggling black feathers on the wings, back and rump, and the under surface of the quills is mottled with grey. The primaries and secondaries, it may be further mentioned, are much abraded or worn on both sides of the shaft. 4. Anas Superciliosa, Gmelin. The specimen exhibited, which was obtained in the Wairarapa Lake, appears to me to be merely an abnormal variety of the common Grey Duck. It is much larger than ordinary examples, and presents some peculiar markings in the plumage. There is a broad irregular patch of white on the lower part of the foreneck; the speculum on the wings is nearly obliterated, the secondaries being dull white on their outer webs, while their coverts have a broad terminal band of pale brown and white. The two outer primaries in one wing, and the second and third in the other, are entirely white. There are likewise some eccentric markings on the feathers of the crop and sides of the breast. These individual peculiarities may be due, as Dr. Hector has suggested, to hybridization–possibly the result of a cross with the domestic duck. 5. Stercorarius ParasiticusLinn. The Colonial Museum has recently received a fresh specimen of Buffon's Skua, in immature plumage, but I have not yet been able to ascertain where it was killed. This is only the second recorded instance of the occurrence of this species in New Zealand. (See Birds of New Zealand, p. 268). 6. Phalacrocorax Brevirostris, Gould. The specimen now exhibited to the meeting would seem to favour the view held by some collectors that there is a small Black Shag in New Zealand distinct from P. brevirostris. The young of that species is known to be entirely black (see Birds of New Zealand, p. 330); but here we have an adult bird exhibiting a seasonal change of plumage from a rusty or brownish black to the glossy black, and without any indication of white on the throat or foreneck. For the present, however, we must treat it as a melanoid variety of the common species.