GRALL^. 



59 



84. Gallinago pusilla. Buller. 



Little Snipe. 



Above, rufous-brown, spotted witli black and fulvous ; below, brownish-white, spotted 

 on the breast with brown ; a brownish-white longitudinal line on the top of the head, and a 

 brown line from the nostrils to the eye. 



L., 8; W., 4; B., 1-7; T., -75. 



Sab. — Little Barrier Island, and Chatham Islands. 



" Judging from the measurements of specimens recently obtained 

 in the Chatham Islands (cf. Finsch, I.F.O. 1874^ p. 197), I am in- 

 clined to regard G. jmsilla as a smaller species than G. Aucklandica, 

 which from its constantly lesser dimensions may well be kept 

 distinct.'^ — Sharpe. 



EALLID^. 



Bill, rather long, cvirved at the apex ; wings, moderate, or short, rounded ; toes, long ; 

 claws, short. 



OcTDEOMUS. Wagl. 



Bill, rather long and strong, slightly arched ; wings, very short, secondaries and coverts 

 lengthened ; tail, soft ; tarsi, strong, shorter than the middle toe ; hind toe, short ; wings 

 armed with a spur. 



New Caledonia, Lord Howe's Island, 



85. Ocydromus earli. Graij. 



NOETHEEN WOODHEN. WeKA. 



(Plate XXV.) 



Brownish-rufous, streaked with brownish-black ; chin, cheeks, throat, and abdomen, 

 grey ; breast, tinged with rufous ; quills, black, margined on the outer and irregularly 

 banded on the inner web with reddish-fulvous. 



L., 19 ; W., 7 ; B., 1-75 ; T., 2-25. 



Hah. — North Island. 



" The Woodhen is furnished with ample wings, but they are so 

 feebly developed as to render the bird quite incapable of flight. 

 The quill-feathers have broad webs, but are soft and flexible, while 

 the long inner secondaries take the form of a loose overlapping 

 mantle. The legs, on the other hand, are very strongly developed, 

 and the bird is, in some measure, compensated for its disability 



