84 NEW ZEALAND niRDS. 



Both of these, ns I am informed, were obtained off the New Zealand 

 coast, althoui2:h tlic proper range of the species appears to lie in more 

 northern latitudes." — Buller. 



124. Diomedea cauta. Gould. 



SiiY Albathos. 



Head niul nrck, dclirnte ponrl-Ri-oy, sluuliiip off to -white on the crown nnd forehead ; 

 lores and line over cacli eye, greyisliblack ; back and wings, grejish-brown ; lower part of 

 back, and all the nnder-surface, ])urc-\vliite ; (ail, silvery-grcj ; feet, (leshy-wliite. Bill, 

 blui.sh-brown colour; ujipcr mandible, margined at the base with a narrow black baud; 

 Lapp of lower mandible, fringed on eacli side witli a briglit-yeliow membrane, bordered 

 beliind "itii blnck, and foiming a Tcry distinguis-liing feature. 



L., 35 ; VV., 22-) ; B., 5 ; T., 3 25. 



Note. — Two C3ani])le3 recorded in New Zealand. 



OSSIFKACIA. 



Ko^tril.'', in a long tube on the top of the beak ; wings, rather short ; tail of sixteen 

 feathers ; hind toe, reduced to a claw. 



125. Ossifraga gigantea. Qml. 



Nelly. Giaxt rKXRUL. 

 Brown, sometimes mottled with white ; bill, palc-jellow ; legs and feet, brownish-black. 

 L., 36 ; W., 20 ; B., 3-75 ; T., 3-5. 

 Egg. — Dirty-white, rough ; length, 4'25 ; breadth, 27. (Layard.) 



'' The Giant Petrel, or ' Nelly,' as it is called by sailors, is by no 

 means uncommon in our seas, and occasionally ventures into the deep 

 sounds or estuaries. The late ]Mr. J. Fuller informed me that he 

 had observed this bird in the Akaroa Harbour following the carcass 

 of a dead whale, and engaged in tearing off the blubber. A variety 

 with white plumage is not uncommon, a tine specimen captured by 

 Dr. Hector in Foveaux Strait being in the Colonial Museum. 



" It is universally dispersed over the temperate and high southern 

 latitudes; and Mr. Gould has expressed his belief that it frequently 

 performs the circuit of the globe, a conclusion inferred from the cir- 

 cumstance that an albino variety followed the vessel in which he made 

 his passage to Australia for a period of three weeks, the ship often 

 making two hundred miles during the twenty-four hours." — Bvller. 



Haladeoma. 



Bill, shorter than tlio head ; nasal tubes, united ou the top of the bill, opening vertically 

 upwards ; wings, short ; no hind toe. 



126. Haladroma urinatrix. Gml. 



Diving Petkel. 

 Above, browiii;-!i-b!ac!< ; below, white, tinted with blue ou tlic sides ; feet, blue. 

 L., 9; W., 5 ; B, -75; T., 1. 

 i/a6.— Both Islands. 



" The Diving Petrel is very common in the seas surrounding New 

 Zealand, consorting in flocks, and living on medusae and other marine 



