Harpa novae- zealandise [Gmel.). 457 



brown above " {' Catalogue of Birds/ i. p. 374); and in a later 

 paper Dr. Buller says^ that in a comparison of two individuals, 

 " H. nov(S-zealandi(B has the bars on the upper surface far 

 more distinct and numerous, besides being of a brighter 

 rufous, the tail-coverts are more conspicuously marked, the 

 bars on the tail are broader and whiter, and there is a larger 

 amount of white on the throat, breast, and abdomen ; " and 

 he further remarks, " there are other minute points of dif- 

 ference, but these may be mere individual peculiarities" 

 (Trans. N.Z. Inst. vii. pp. 213, 214). Of the twelve speci- 

 mens of Harpa that have passed through my hands during 

 the last five years, any one of them, so far as plumage is con- 

 cerned, might be referred to either species ; and as the birds 

 mentioned by Dr. Buller in the seventh volume of the ' Trans- 

 actions of the New-Zealand Institute ' appear to be the only 

 two that he has examined since writing his descriptions in 

 the ' Birds of New Zealand,' I fail to see how he can state 

 that some of the differences found in this pair are of specific 

 value, while others are only individual peculiarities. 



Dr. Buller's statement that the eggs of H. australis are 

 smaller and lighter in colour than those of H. novcB-zealandics 

 {' Birds of New Zealand,' p. 10) cannot rest on much evi- 

 dence. It may have been taken from Mr. Potts^s statement 

 that some eggs of H. nov(B-zealandi(B, taken from a range 

 near the headquarters of the Rakaia, were somewhat less than 

 usual, and of a yellowish instead of a reddish-brown colour 

 (Trans. N.Z. Inst. ii. 1869, p. 51). Mr. Potts's observation 

 (Trans. N.Z. Inst. vi. p. 141) that the smaller bird looks 

 flatter about the head, and carries the wings more promi- 

 nently forward than does the larger bird, is not inconsistent 

 with the supposition that the smaller bird is the male, and 

 the larger bird the female of one and the same species. And 

 the verbal statement of Mr. Oakden to Mr. Potts, that the 

 young birds in one nest were smaller than those in another 

 nest, has no scientific value. 



This being the case, I have not thought it worth while to 

 record any differences in coloration, further than to mention 

 whether each bird is in the adult or immature plumage ; 



