BuLLEE. — On the Ornithology of New Zealand. 23 



Olareola grallaria, Temminck. (Australian Pratincole.) 



Regarding the occurrence of this widely spread species, I 

 have received the following particulars from Mr. William 

 Townson, to whom the specimen belongs : " The bird was 

 first seen by Mr. J. B. McKenzie, an agent for the National 

 Mutual Life, and he came back from the beach for a gun, and 

 on his return shot the bird and brought it to me. I remem- 

 bered seeing either the bird or a plate of it, and on turning up 

 the 'Royal Natural History' I found an illustration of it, and 

 a pretty"^ full description. The hind-toe, forked tail, and the 

 black hne bordering the buff-coloured throat are sufficiently 

 distinctive, the only point omitted in the description being the 

 scarlet margin to the gape. The bird was seen hawking after 

 flies on the beach. It proved to be a male, and the stomach 

 <jontained the remains of insects and beetles. It seemed quite 

 at home with its surroundings, and I found it in perfect 

 plumage, without any stains of travel or any mai'ks of having 

 been in confinement — so different from an Australian Curlew 

 in m}' possession, which was shot on the same beach, and 

 which was ragged and frayed out as though it had been beat- 

 ing up against head weather for a week. Two years ago I 

 was at Mokihinui, and saw a couple of Australian Tree- 

 swallows hunting flies about the head of an old rata in a 

 bush-clearing. I watched them for some. time, but did not 

 manage to get a specimen." 



Writing of this species, in his "Birds of Australia," Mr. 

 Gould says it " possesses several remarkable specific distinc- 

 tions, the great length of the tarsi and primaries, which, com- 

 bined with the graceful contour of its body and the small size 

 of its head, render it the most elegant species of the genus 

 that has yet been discovered." 



Stercorarius crepidatus, Vieill. (Richardson's Skua.) 



Mr. A. T. Pycroft sends me the following interesting note 

 from the Bay of Islands: "Skua-gulls are sometimes seen 

 here in the summer. Only a fortnight ago, when I was out 

 fishing at the Rawhiti, I saw three of these birds. As a rule, 

 I have found them following flocks of the Antarctic Tern, 

 when the latter are fishing. The Skua singles out a Tern 

 which has a fish, and frightens it so that the Tern cries out, 

 and, as a rule, drops the fish ; then the Skua, with great 

 quickness, secures the prize before it reaches the water. 

 While this is going on some of the other Terns fly round the 

 assailant screeching, but they do not venture to attack it. 

 Shortly after I came here, when pulhng up the Waikare 

 River, I saw a Tern trying to evade the attack of a larger bird 

 of dark plumage ; however, the poor Tern had no chance 

 against its powerful enemy, who struck it, causing it to fall 



