214 Correspondence. fisfXn 



for sending me a copy of your address on nomenclature. I see 

 ' eye to eye ' with you, and agree with every word you say. I 

 congratulate you on coming out into the open and figliting against 

 those who are carrying nomenclature to an absurdity with their 

 slavish adherence to the fossilized ' law of priority,' and I agree 

 with you that the cumbrous present-day system of nomenclature, 

 with its numerous trinomial names and its unnecessary multiplica- 

 tion of species has done more to depopularize the study of orni- 

 thology than anything else. I hope, with you, that the R.A.O.U. 

 will continue to retain the old Gouldian names, which are almost 

 household names, and will not be drawn into the battle of names." 

 —I am, &c., A. J. CAMPBELL. 



Surrey Hills, Victoria, 22/11/18. 



WHAT ARE AUSTRALIAN SEAS ? 



To the Editors of " The Emit." 



Dear Sirs, — As you remark in your comments, Mr. Mathews's 

 article in The Emu (vol. xviii., p. 83, October, 1918), entitled 

 " What are Australian Petrels ? " is very suggestive, and I hope 

 you can find space for the following reflections and remarks on 

 the subject. 



The obvious answer to Mr. Mathews's question is that Australian 

 Petrels are species which occur on the Australian continent and 

 the islands adjacent thereto and in Australian seas. It might 

 have been supposed that some definition of these areas would 

 have been given by those who have prepared lists of Australian 

 birds, but, at all events in the two most recent lists — viz., the 

 R.A.O.U. " Check-list," 1913, and Mathews's " List," i9i3^no 

 definition of the area regarded as " Australian " is given. Both 

 these lists include the birds found in the Commonwealth — -i.e., 

 Australia and Tasmania and the islands lying close to the coast — 

 and exclude those of the dependencies of Papua, Norfolk Island, 

 Lord Howe Island, and Macquaric Island, so that no difficulty 

 arises as to Australian land-birds. With regard to sea-birds, 

 however, the case is quite different, and before we can answer 

 Mr. Mathews's question as to " What are Australian Petrels ? " 

 we must agree as to " What are Australian Seas ? " 



It is well known that, according to international law, a country 

 is regarded as owning the seas within three miles of its coast. In 

 the case of bays and gulfs, a line is drawn from one headland to 

 the other, and the water enclosed thereby is regarded as 

 territorial. There can be no doubt that we are entitled to regard 

 any Petrels found within these limits as Australian Petrels. In 

 this category we have those species which breed on the mainland 

 or islands off the coast, and those seen or obtained on the coast 

 or in territorial waters. The chief areas of territorial waters on 

 the coast of Australia are Port Phillip, Western Port, and Corner 



