776 THE BIRDS OF LORD HOWE AND NORKOLK ISLANDS, 



bers. The bill of this bird is red and ver\' strong, thick and 

 sharp pointed." On p. 225 is given Lieut. Watts's account of the 

 discovery of Lord Howe Island, and amongst the birds are listed 

 "a new species, apparently, of the coote, and also of the rail." 

 On p. 250, Captain Marshall, who called at Lord Howe Island, 

 refers to a bird " somewhat resembling a Guinea-hen." On p. 161 

 is described the Norfolk Island Petrel, about which is written : — 

 "This inhabits Norfolk Island, and burrows in the sand like a 

 rabbit, lying hid in the holes throughout the day, and coming 

 out of evenings in quest of food. This bird appears to diflfer so 

 very little from the dark grey Petrel of Cook's " Voyage,"( Vol. i., 

 p. 258), that it is not improbable that it may prove to be the same 

 species. This is described in the "General Synopsis of Biids," 

 (Vol. vi., p..399), under the name of Grey Petrel." A Plate is 

 given, which suggests Oestrelata, though the d(;scription agrees 

 better with Piijf'inus yrif^ens Gm.; of this, more later. On p.273 

 the White Gallinule is described as from Lord Howe Island, 

 Norfolk Lsland, and other places," and is accompanied l)y a plate. 



In Collins' "Account of the English Colony in New South 

 Wales,"(1798, p.23), we have :— "It[Lord Howe Island] abound- 

 ed with a new species of fowl, and a small brown bird, the flesh 

 of which was ver}' fine eating." 



Much has been written about the Wliite Gallinule, but I con- 

 tend that a perusal of the preceding implies that it occurred solel}'' 

 on Lord Howe Island, and that the Norfolk Island habitat, intro- 

 duced by the editor of Phillip's " Voyage," is erroneous. In 

 favor of this view we have, first. Captain Cook does not notice it; 

 Ijieut. King, in Hunter's " Historical Account," does not men- 

 tion it; and then Hunter himself, recording the lack of food, and 

 the finding of the " Bird of Providence," has nothing to say re- 

 garding it. Surely it is feasible to suppose that a starving man 

 would have had some remarks to make about it. Lieut. King 

 gives quite a detailed account of the avifauna without a word of 

 it; and it is worth pointing out that, when it is introduced as an 

 inhabitant of Norfolk Island in Phillip's " Voyage," it is in a 

 summary of King's papers. In Hill's " Lord Howe Island, "(p. 8), 



