13 



Herodias matook. 



Ardea jugulavis, Forst. Desc. Anim. p. 172. Icon. ined. 

 114. Wagl. Syst.Av. 



Blue Heron, Lath. Syn. v. 79. 



Ardea carulea, var. y. Gmel. Si/st. Nat. i. 631. 



Ardea Matook, Vieill. N. Diet. Hist. Nat. xiv. 416. 



New Zealand Heron, Lath. Hist, of Birds, ix. 128. 



Ashy blue ; throat and a line down the middle of the 

 fore part of neck, white. 



Length, 1 foot llj inches; bill from gape, 4 inches; 

 wings lOl^ inches ; tarsi, 3| inches. 



" In nova Zeelandia ad ^Estuarium Reginse Charlottae." 



It is known to the natives of Queen Charlotte's Sound 

 by the name of Matook. 



BOTAUBUS MELANOTOS. 



Botaurus melanotus, G. R. Gray, App. in Bieff. New 

 Zealand, ii. p 196. 



Ardea (Botaurus) australis, Cuv.? Less. Tr. d" Orn. 572. 



Blackish brown on the back, with some of the feathers 

 and wings reticulated with yellowish white ; head, neck, 

 quills, secondaries and tail dirty brown ; sides of the head, 

 throat and streaks down some of the feathers and beneath 

 the body yellowish white, the two latter with blackish 

 brown streaks, more or less perfect, down several of the 

 feathers. 



Length, 2 feet 2 inches ; bill from the gape, 3j inches ; 

 wings, 12j inches ; tarsi, 3f inches. 



Young. Blackish brown, reticulated all over with yel- 

 lowish white. 



This species is the Matuku or Matuku urepo of the na- 

 tives, and the Crane of the Missionaries. It is also found 

 in Australia. 



Family, Scolopacid.e. 

 Subfamily, Limosin<e. 



LiMOSA LAPPONICA, VAR. NoVjE ZeALANDI^. 



Greyish brown, with the middle of each feather fuscous, 

 and some of the feathers more or less marked with white 

 on the edges ; quills brownish black, with white shafts ; 

 throat and fore part of neck brownish white, streaked with 

 darker and tinged with rufous ; breast and abdomen pink- 

 ish white ; sides and sometimes the under tail-coverts irre- 

 gularly banded or streaked with brownish black ; uropy- 

 gium white, inegularly marked with brownish black. 



Length, 1 foot 3 inches ; bill from gape, 3f inches ; 

 wings, 9 inches ; tarsi, 2 inches. 



According to Mr. P. Earl's notes, this species is called 

 Ririwaka by the natives at Waikouaiti, and was found in 

 abundance on the sea-shore in summer, but almost unap- 

 proachable on account of its shyness. 



Subfamily, Recurvirostrinw. 

 H1.MANT0PUS Nov^ Zealandi^. 



Himantopus novse Zealandiae, Gould, Proc. Z. S. 1841, 

 p. : BirdsofAustr.pl. 



Himantopus melas, Homb. et Jacq. Ann. des Sci. Nat. 

 1841, 320. Voy. a Pol Sud, Ois. t. iQ,f. 2. 



Male. Back and wings shining greenish black ; head 

 and beneath the body sooty black ; throat cinereous. 



Length, 13:|- inches ; bill from gape, 2f inches; wings, 

 9} inches ; tarsi, 3 inches. 



Female. Top and sides of head, back of neck, and ab- 

 domen sooty black ; back, wings and tail shining greenish 

 black; forehead, cheeks, fore part and sides of neck, breast 

 and fore part of abdomen, white. 



Length, 1 foot 32- inches ; bill from gape, 2j inches ; 

 wings, 9| inches ; tarsi, 3^ inches. 



The natives, according to Dr. Dieffenbach, have named 

 this bird Tutumata. " At Mataineka in South Island," 

 says Mr. P. Earl, " it is called Poako. They are generally 

 found feeding among ducks ; and at the approach of dan- 

 ger, utter a peculiar cry, at hearing which the ducks in- 

 stantly take flight. The young are mottled, even after 

 they fly." 



Subfamil}', Scolopacina. 



Gallinago Accklandica. 



Plate 13. 



Top of the head rufous, mixed with dark brown, with a 

 narrow fulvous line down the middle ; front and cheeks 

 fiilvous white, the fonner with a short brown line from the 

 culmen, another broader from the nostrils passing under the 

 eyes to the occiput, a third on each cheek running in an 

 oblique direction ; neck and breast fulvous white, with a 

 brown mark in the middle of each margin ; back, scapu- 

 lars and wings fulvous, marked with blotches and narrow 

 interrupted bands of black ; abdomen fulvous white ; bill 

 and feet pale horn-colour. 



Length, 9 inches ; bill from gape, 2 inches 4 lines ; 

 wings, 4j inches ; tarsi, 1 inch. 



Three specimens of this new species were procured by 

 the Expedition on Auckland Island. 



Family, Rallid.e. 

 Subfamily, Rallinee. 



OCYDROMUS australis. 



Plate 14. 



Rallus troglodytes, Forst. Desc. Anim. p. 110. Icon, in- 

 ed. 126. 



Troglodyte Rail, Lath. Syn. v. 229. 



Rallus australis, Sparrm. Mus. Carls, t. 14. 



Ocydromus australis, Strickl. Ann. Nat. Hist. 



Adult. Yellowish olivaceous, with the middle of each 

 feather brownish black ; eyebrows, cheeks and throat pale 

 cinereous ; wing-coverts brownish black, irregularly band- 

 ed with yellowish white or rufous white ; quills black, irre- 

 gularly banded with pale ferruginous ; abdomen and sides 

 greyish olivaceous, narrowly banded with yellowish white ; 

 under tail-coverts pale ferruginous, banded with black ; 

 tsdl brownish black, margined with olivaceous and spotted 

 on the sides near the base with rufous. 



Length, 1 foot 9 inches; bill from gape, 2 inches 4 lines; 

 wings 7f inches ; larsi, 2 inches 2 lines. 



Young. Rufous, with the centre of each feather brown- 

 ish black ; eyebrows, cheeks, throat, breast and abdomen 

 cinereous, with a part of the neck and breast tinged with 



