BuLLER. — On the Ornithology of Nezv Zealand. 31 



its long forked tail being alternately opened and closed like a 

 pair of shears. It has marvellous powers of flight, and when 

 soaring there is scarcely any visible movement of the wings, 

 but there is a rapid movement of the head, first to one side, 

 then to the other. When in pursuit of its victims, to compel 

 them to disgorge, the whole character of the bird is changed ; 

 but I had no opportunity of witnessing this, the sea being too 

 calm for fishing. Captain Langdale informed me that a few 

 days before my visit he shot one with his rifle at a consider- 

 able altitude, and it came down with a crash on the roof of 

 his house. 



Diomedea regia, Buller. (The Eoyal Albatros.) 



As we left the New Zealand coast (on the 11th September) 

 for Fiji several birds followed our steamer all rlay, although 

 it was perfectly calm. One fine Diomedea regia — readily dis- 

 tinguishable on the wing from Dioviedea exulans by the splash 

 of white on the humeral flexure — several of the latter, and 

 also of Diomedea melanoj^hrys, were in our wake till nightfall. 

 There were two or three of the Giant Petrel and a few Cape 

 Pigeons. It was a pleasant diversion to watch their aerial 

 movements from the deck of the steamer, and it seemed to 

 me that Diomedea melanoi^hrys was decidedly the smartest 

 and handsomest of the whole group, its movements on the 

 wing being peculiarly light and graceful. On the following 

 morning, with a gentle trade-wind blowing, a single Albatros 

 appeared for a short time, and another swept over our stern 

 at noon, and then winged its way ofi' into the watery expanse. 

 And we had not another glimpse of bird-life till we approached 

 the coral reefs of Fiji. Of course, this in no way surprised us, 

 because it is notorious that as we approach the tropics sea- 

 birds disappear. Captain Beaumont (of the s.s. "Flora") 

 tells me that in winter he has sometimes carried the Albatros 

 with him as far as the Tonga reefs, but never in the summer 

 months. 



Prion turtur, Kuhl. (The Dove Petrel.) 



Mr. Lyall writes me from Stephens Island : " The Dove 

 Petrels are here in thousands ; the ground is covered with 

 them as thick as they can find sitting-room. They begin to 

 assemble as soon as darkness sets in, and the noise they make 

 is something astonishing." 



CBstrelata axillaris, Salvin. 



A specimen of this rare Petrel, hitherto recorded only as 

 from the Chatham Islands, was picked up, not long since, on 

 the Wairarapa Plains, where also stray individuals of Prion 

 Uirttir are often found, driven inland by stress of weather. 



