Letters from the Pacific. 401 



and you may be sure to find Hymenolanuis, or the " Blue 

 Mountain-Duck " of the settlers. When I first observed a 

 flock of these Ducks in such a locality as above described on 

 the Tolli river^ I hesitated to fire on them, so much was I 

 struck by the wonderful sight of these birds swimming in a 

 very rapid current with as great ease as if it were in smooth 

 water. These Ducks are not at all shy : one may fire 

 repeatedly at a flock and kill several before the rest take 

 wing. Casarca variegata was not uncommon in the valley of 

 the Tasman, and is, indeed, a most lovely species. There are 

 no Geese in New Zealand, but both Black and White Swans 

 (imported) thrive well in some localities. I met with both 

 species, with young in down, in Waikato. 



Of three species of Gulls observed, Larus dominicanus was 

 the most common, and, to my astonishment, wanders up into 

 the valley of the Tasman (a subalpine region) , although it is 

 chiefly a coast-bird, and follows the vessels from one port to 

 another. Of Larus novce-zealandia the same may be said, 

 only that I did not see it so far inland. Of both species 

 young birds were plentiful, distinguished easily by their black 

 bills. Larus pomarece is the true representative of our L. ridi- 

 bundus. It must have been this species w^hich I observed in 

 hundreds in the plains near Oamaru, on fresh-ploughed 

 ground, following the ploughmen, like our L. ridibundus. 



Of Terns sterna frontalis is the most common, and is usually 

 seen in the bays and harbours ; Sterna caspia I saw only 

 once — two specimens, unmistakably belonging to this species, 

 at the Spit of Napier. Sterna nereis, S, antarctica, and S. 

 fissipes I met with only a few times ; but all three species 

 ascend as high up in the mountains as the valley of the Tas- 

 man river. 



I have now only to refer to the Cormorants, of which a 

 considerable number of species are to be found in New Zea- 

 land. Among them Graculus carbo is the most common. I 

 found it along the coast from the Bluffs up to the Bay of 

 Islands, and on the Tasman river, as well as at the Hot Lakes. 

 Just as common was the small black Shag, often called 

 Graculus brevirostris, which also goes far inland. The 



