BuLLEB. — On Neio Zealand Ornithology. 349 



the collection made by the "Challenger" Expedition, from 

 Betsy Cove and Christmas Harbour, in Kerguelen Island. 



A^nother species of Tern obtained by Mr. Bethune at the 

 Auckland Islands may, however, prove to be new. It is 

 similar in plumage to Sterna frontalis, but is appreciably 

 larger, with a longer and more robust bill. Like the last- 

 named species it is gregarious, hunting in flocks, whereas 

 Sterna viitata flies in pairs. The specimen shown to me gave 

 the following measurements : — ''■' 



Extreme length, 17-75in. ; extent of wings, 28-5in. ; wing 

 from flexure, llin. ; tail, 7iu. ; bill, along the ridge 2in., 

 along the edge of lower mandible 2-5in.; tarsus, lin. ; 

 middle toe and claw, l-25in. If new, it may be thus diag- 

 nosed : — 



Ad. ytil. cestiv. similis S. frontali sed paullo major : rostro 

 et pedibus conspicue majoribus. 



I cannot, however, venture to bestow a specific name, 

 because, before the bird was submitted to me, a specimen was 

 given by Mr. Bethune to Dr. Collins, who, I am informed, 

 took it with him to England. If still wdthout an appellation 

 it might appropriately be named Sterna bethunei. 



Platalea regia, Gould. (Eoyal Spoonbill.) 



In vol. ix. of our Transactions, pages 337-338, I gave 

 an account of the occurrence of this fine Australian bird at 

 Manawatu. The specimen, for wdiich I was indebted to the 

 kind assistance of Mr. C. Hulke, is now in the mounted col- 

 lection of the Colonial Museum. I am informed by Mr. W. 

 Townson, of Westport, that another specimen was shot on 

 the Buller Eiver about January, 1892, and is still preserved 

 in Dr. Gaze's collection. 



Phalacrocorax colensoi, Buller. (Auckland Island Shag.) 

 Since writing the notes on the Auckland Island Shag 

 which appeared in the last volume of our Transactions, I have 

 had an opportunity of examining two more specimens (male 

 and female). The male bird of these is without a crest, but 

 has a broad irregular white dorsal patch, and the white alar 

 bar long, narrow, and distinct. The female is also crestless, 

 and exhibits only an indication of a dorsal spot in a few white 

 feathers. The alar bar is very irregular, being represented in 

 the left wing by only a few scattered white feathers. In both 

 birds the white streak on the fore-neck commences within the 

 angle formed by the crura of the lower mandible, and in- 



* One of the measurements — the extent of wings — was furnished to 

 me by the collector, having heen taken when the bird was fresh ; the 

 other measurements are from the dried skm. 



