streaking on the back than many females in addition to a darker plumage tint not customarily present in females. It is the only skin from the southern end of the North Island; and as it might be wrongly sexed no conclusions can be drawn. There is a noteable absence in collections of skins from Kapiti where the bird was common even before the island was declared a sanctuary. The same insufficiency of material prevents adequate assessment of size variation. The 2 males from “Auckland” and Little Barrier have longer wings than the mean of 10 from Rotorua, and the 2 males from Wanganui have shorter wings. This suggestion of a latitudinal cline similar to that found in the South Island must await confirmation by larger series. The Kaitoke skin, for what it is worth, whether male or female, does not fit in with a regular gradient. (Fig. 15.) Dimensions: See Table 8. Table 8—Dimensions of Pelroica (Miro) australis longipes (Lesson) Collection and number Locality Date Sex Wing Tail Tarsns Mid-toe Culmen C.M.1083.3 Auckland 1886 ♂ 92 65 36 — — C.M.1083.5 Little Barrier Id. Nov. 1884 ♂ 95 62 34 25 17 C.M.1083.9 Mamaku, Rotorua 26/4/28 ♂ 95 61 38 — 17 C.M.1083.17 Mamaku, Rotorua 24/12/24 ♂ 94 66 38 — 17 C.M.1083.14 Mamaku, Rotorua 22/5/29 ♂ 92 66 37 25 17 C.M.1083.7 Mamaku, Rotorua 20/5/29 ♂ 89 60 35 23.5 16 H.G.D.16 Wanganui, River — ♂ 88.5 65 36.5 — 17 A.M.26.6 Mamaku, Rotorua — ♀ 89 60 35 24.5 — C.M.1083.15 Mamaku, Rotorua 31/8/30 ♀ 87 61 38 26 16 C.M.1083.8 Mamaku, Rotorua 27/11/27 ♀ 87 60 36 — — C.M.1083.4 Kaitoke Range 1880 ♀ 95 68 37 24 16 Males (15 measured): wing 85–95 (mean 90·7, σ = 2·9); tail 59–67 (mean 64, σ = 2·4); tarsus 34–38 (mean 36·2, σ = 1·36); middle toe 23·5–25; culmen 15·5–17; bill from skull 19–21. Females (4 measured): wing 87–95 (mean 89·5); tail 60–68 (mean 64·5); tarsus 24–26. Proportions: Tail/wing ratio (19 skins), 64–72·9, mean 70%, σ = 2·76. Tarsus/wing ratio 36–44, mean 40·3%, σ = 2·02. The tail/wing ratio is significantly different from that of australis (mean 74%) (t = 5), but significance cannot be claimed for the slight difference in tarsus/tail ratio (t = 2). Distribution: An attempt to summarise the present distribution of Miro australis was made in N.Z. Bird Notes, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 24–5. From that paper and from records subsequently received, the present account is compiled. (Fig. 14.) In 1888 Buller announced that the robin had become one of the rarest of native birds, that it was seldom met with on the mainland, and that its doom was sealed. In 1905 he recorded “that the last heard-of pair” was seen at Papaitonga Lake (Levin), in 1898. Drummond, in 1907 (also Fulton, 1908) listed the robin as surviving in 12 North Island mainland localities, but owing to the frequency with which tits have been reported as robins, it is unsafe to accept any of these records of “robins” that are not also accompanied by records of tits: some 5 localities remain after rejecting such doubtful records. Myers (1923) noted its survival in four mainland localities and two