BuLLER. — On Nciv Zealand Birds. 83 



Chatham Island form), or with P. cirrliatus, Gmehu, from 

 Magellan Straits. " 



I received at the same time two immature birds — in the 

 first year's plamage, which is very different from that of the 

 adult. The alar bar of white is absent, and there are no 

 dorsal spots. The blue orbits are wanting, and there is no 

 appearance of caruncles on the side of the forehead ; added to 

 which, the loral space, which is bare in the adult, has its 

 surface covered with extremely minute feathers. The irides 

 are dull greenish-grey ; the sides of the lower mandible and 

 the naked gular pouch, as well as the legs, are flesh-white. 

 The plumage of this young state is fully described in my 

 "Birds of New Zealand" (vol. ii., p. 174), where, with much 

 hesitation, I treated the bird as a new species under the 

 distinctive name of Phalacrocorax liuttoni. 



The breeding-season of this species appears to extend over 

 several months. In July last Captain Fairchild visited the 

 "White Eocks, and found both eggs and young in the nests. 

 Of the latter he brought over about half a dozen, which were 

 forwarded by His Excellency the Governor to the Zoological 

 Society of London. On his recent visit (some three months 

 later) he again found both eggs and young. Of the former he 

 has given me specimens ; of the latter he brought away all 

 that remained (five nestlings of difi'erent ages and sizes), 

 which will be forwarded by Lord Onslow to London by the 

 " Tainui" this month. 



The egg of this species is of a delicate pale-blue colour, 

 and a perfect ellipsis in shape, measuring 2-5in. in length by 

 l-5in. in breadth. 



The only colony of these Shags of which we have any 

 positive knowledge is that inhabiting the White Eocks in 

 Queen Charlotte Sound, and numbering, according to Captain 

 Fairchild's estimate, about fifty birds. All the specimens 

 collected by Mr. Henry Travers, notices of which have from 

 time to time been communicated to the Society, came from 

 this locality. And it is worth remembering that Latham, 

 who originally described the species, states that it inhabits 

 New Zealand as well as South America, being "found in 

 Queen Charlotte Sound, but not in plenty." 



In my account of Phalacrocorax carunculatus in "The 

 Birds of New Zealand" (vol. ii., pp. 160, 161), I have 

 quoted Mr. Percy Seymour's remarks respecting a colony 



* Dr. Kidder refers a Shag he brought from Kerguelen Island to 

 P. carunculatus, Gmelin, of which he makes P. cirrliatus, Gmehn, a 

 synonym. But he states that " during the breeding-season the bird 

 carries an erectile crest of about a dozen small plumes upon the top of 

 the head ; tarsus and foot yellow." Is nob Kidder's bird the true 

 P. cirrliatus or " Tufted Shag" of Gmelin ? 



