'.\~. rriMANTOPus. 



319 



Subsp. a. Himantopus picatus. 



Himantopus picatus, Ellman, Zool. 1861, p. 7470. 



Himantopus albus, Ellman, Zool. 1861, p. 7470. 



Himantopus nova? zealaudia? (nee Gould), Reichenh. Grail, tab. cxvii. 



fig. 1045 (1850) ; Potts, Trans. New Zeal. Inst. ii. p. 70 (1870). 

 Himantopus spicatus, Potts, Trans. Neiv Zeal. Inst. v. p. 198 (1872). 

 Himantopus leucocephalus (nee Gotdd), Butter, B. New Zeal. p. 203 



(1873) ; Sharpe, Voy. Ereb. # Terr., Birds, p. 30 (1875) ; Firisch, 



Ibis, 1882, pp. 392, 399 (N. Z.) ; Butter, B. Neiv Zeal. 2nd ed. ii. 



p. 21, pi. xxvii. fig. 2 (1888) ; WLean, Ibis, 1892, p. 252 (N. Z.). 

 Himantopus albicollis, Bu/ler, Tr. N. Z. Inst. vii. p. 224 (1874) ; id. 



B. New Zeal. 2ud ed. iii. p. 27 (1888). 

 Himantopus leucocephalus picatus, Seebohm, Geogr. Distr. Charadr. 



p. 284 (1888). 



Adult male. Similar to //. leucocephalus, but distinguished by the 

 admixture of black markings on the crown and on the hind-neck, 

 the tail-feathers being also edged more or less broadly with black 

 near the tips : " bill black, sometimes horn-coloured at the tip ; 

 legs and feet deep pink flesh-colour, and sometimes beautiful pale 

 lake-red ; claws black ; iris and eyelid brick-red " ( W. L. Butter). 

 Total length 14-5 inches, culmen 2-6, wing 9-5, tail 3"1, tarsus 4. 



Of all the specimens examined by me from Xew Zealand, not one 

 is true H. leucocephalus. All of them seem to me to have a taint 

 of H. melas in their plumage, and the young birds have every 

 appearance of being hybrids between the two forms. 



Hab. New Zealand. 



a. Ad. sk. 



b. Ad. sk. 



c. 2 ad. sk. 



d. Juv. ^k. 



e. $ ad. sk. 

 /-/• 6 2 ad. 



imm. sk. 



et 



New Zealand. 

 New Zealand. 

 New Zealand. 

 Selwyn, N. Z., March. 

 Rakaia, N. Z., Nov. 

 Otago, N. Z., Nov., Dec, 

 July. 



Percy Earl, Esq. [C.]. 

 Sir S'amuel Scott [P.]. 

 Seebohm Coll. 

 Seebohm Coll. 

 Seebohm Coll. 

 Hume Coll. 



