534 Messrs. E. L. & E. L. C. Layard on the 



But meanwhile what are the birds which we obtained in 

 Fiji and here ? We see M. Marie says he procured N. uropy- 

 gialis of Gould here; and on turning up the description in 

 Gould's ' Birds of Australia ' we find our birds, on the whole, 

 agree pretty well with it, but they are not precisely similar. 

 This may be sexual and seasonal, as we find one is a male 

 (from here, shot 21st September), the other a female (from 

 Fiji, shot 11th May). The latter is the larger bird, the bill 

 measuring 3^ inches, that of the former only 2^ inches. In 

 all its markings it is more ''prononce'^ than the larger 

 bird, and the bars on the tail are closer and more numerous. 



We think, on the whole, we shall be safer if we name our 

 birds N. wropygialis.^ 



66. LiMosA UROPYGiALis, Gould, 



This Godwit has been shot once or twice by L. L. at Anse- 

 vata and on " Duck Island/' where also he has procured 



67. AcTiTis iNCANA (Gmel.) ; 



but both are rare. We observe that New-Caledonian speci- 

 mens of the latter diflfer somewhat from Fijian birds, the bills 

 being shorter and thicker, and the feet and legs ochraceous 

 instead of green. Underparts, except neck, pure white. 

 These may be sexual and seasonal difierences {cf. Ibis, 1878, 

 p. 262). 



68. Rhinochetus jubatus, Verr. 



We place this curious anomalous bird near the Rails, with 

 which it seems allied through the genus Eulabeornis. In 

 former times it seems to have been generally distributed all 

 over the island, but it has now nearly disappeared from the 

 neighbourhood of the more settled and inhabited parts. It 

 is usually caught by the natives with dogs among rocks and 

 stones in precipitous ravines in the mountains. In habits it 



* [Unfortunately Mr. Layard missed the words with which Peale begins 

 his description, " Upper coverts of the tail dull yellowish white, unspotted," 

 which I call a pale chestnut rump. If the New-Oaledonian bird has not 

 this and also the very peculiar tibial hairs, it must be N. uropygialis^ 

 N. tihiaUs is a much more Easteru bird. Peale's type was from the Pau- 

 motu group. Mine are from the Marquesas and Fanning groups. — H. B. T.] 



