518 NOTES ON THE RED-CROWNED PARRAKEET OF NORFOLK ISLAND, 



In the July number of "The Ibis," Count Salvador! has referred 

 to the above notes and makes the following remarks : — " Mr. 

 North, who does not seem to have ever seen a Cyanorhamphus 

 from Norfolk Island, is mistaken as regards my admitting that 

 the type of C. cooki ever came from New Zealand. In fact, as the 

 ' habitat' of this species (op. cit. p. 585*), I have given 'Norfolk 

 Island ' only. The locality ' New Zealand ' to specimen a (the 

 type of Platycercus cooki) is included between square brackets, 

 which means that, according to my belief, it is wrong. In fact, 

 the alleged locality is not supported by any reliable authority, the 

 specimen having belonged to the old 'Bullock Collection.' In 

 conclusion I may say that I am quite persuaded that the type of 

 C. cooki (like the type of C. rayneri) is a specimen from Norfolk 

 Island, which has been wrongly labelled ' New Zealand,' and that 

 C. cooki is a perfectly distinct species, quite different from C. 

 novcB-zealandice. If the Australian and New Zealandian natura- 

 lists will take the trouble to bring together specimens of the genus 

 Cyanorhamjyhus from the different islands, they will find that they 

 belong to insular forms perfectly distinct from one another." 



As Count Salvadori correctly surmised, I had not at that time 

 seen a specimen of Cyariorhamj^hns from Norfolk Island, and my 

 remarks that the insular form might prove to be a by no means 

 constant variety of C. novce-zealandice were principally founded 

 upon Gray's meagre and misleading original description of C. 

 cooki, and the habitat given by him to the type specimen, and did 

 not refer to Count Salvadori at all beyond the fact that he had 

 examined the types of G. rayneri and C. cooki and pronounced 

 them to be one and the same sj^ecies. 



From Dr. P. Herbert Metcalfe, the Resident Medical Officer at 

 Norfolk Island, I have recently received in spirits two specimens 

 of the Red-crowned Parrakeet, procured on the island on the 3rd 

 of October, 1893, and which have been since skinned, and are 

 exhibited here this evening. Immediately upon examining the 

 specimens I found them to be quite different and specifically 



* Brit. Mus. Cat. Vol. xx. 1892. 



