184 bulletin: museum of comparative zoology. 



No. Sex Locality Wing Tail Culmen Tarsus 



U.S.N.M. 212,148 cf Kusaie, East- 8 Feb., 



ern Carolines 1900 277.0 1.'3S.2 42.0 26.0 

 " 212,147 c^ Funafuti, El- 24 Dec, 



lice Islands 1899 267.0 153.0 40.0 23.0 



" 212,146 cf Makeino, Pau- 22 Oct., 



motu Islands 1899 284.0 170.0 41.. 5 25.0 

 " 212,145 d' Makatea, Pau- S Oct., 



motu Islands 1899 285.0 166.0 43.0 24.0 



24. Megalopterus melanogenys (G. R. Gray). 



Anous melanogenys Gray, Gen. birds, 1846, 3, p. 658, pi. 182. (No type-locality 

 assigned). 



Three specimens come from the Paumotu Islands, a male taken at 

 Rangiroa, 21 September, 1899, a female at Makemo, 22 October, 1899, 

 and a third specimen that bears neither locality nor date. These 

 birds are all fully adult. From lack of sufficient material for com- 

 parison it is not practicable at present to designate to what subspecies 

 the birds from the Low Archipelago belong. Mathews (Nov. zool., 

 1911, 18, p. 4) finds that Megalopterus Boie (Isis, 1826, p. 980) pre- 

 occupies Micranous Saunders (Bull. 23 Brit, ornith. club, 1895, p. 19). 

 Mathews (Birds of Australia, 1912, 2, pt. 4, p. 420) states further that 

 the name Aiioiis mitudus Boie (Isis, 1844, p. 188) "is applicable to 

 this species only, the bill ^characters being diagnostic." As Boie, in 

 describing the bill, remarks simply " Schnabel und Fiisse schwarz, 

 ersterer sehr schwach," his statement might apply to either the 

 present species or to M. tcnuiroslris. As the name cannot be fixed it 

 must be abandoned. The next available name is Anous melanogenys 

 G. R. Gray (Gen. birds, Jany., 1846, 3, p. 658). This preoccupies 

 the name Anous leucocapillus Gould (Proc. Zool. soc. London, 1845, 

 [Feby., 1846], p. 103) as this designation although in the volume of the 

 Proceedings of the Zoological Society for 1845 was not actually pub- 

 lished until February, 1846. The species therefore will stand as 

 Megalopterus melanogenys. 



25. Procelsterna cerulea (F. D. Bennett). 



Sterna cerulea Bennett, Narrative whaling voyage, 1S40, 2, p. 248. ("Christ- 

 mas Island and other low coral formations of the Pacific"). 



One specimen was taken, an adult female from Rangiroa, Paumotu 



