Mr. R. B. Sharpens Catalogue of Accipitres. 225 



quoted by Mr, Sharpe for this species. I have seen three 

 examples from there, one of which is preserved in the Nor- 

 wich Museum. 



In treating of the two Australian Harriers, Mr. Sharpe 

 correctly applies the specific name of C. assimilis to the spe- 

 cies figured in Mr. Gould^s ' Birds of Australia ' under the 

 name of Circus jar dinii, and that of C. gouldi to the Harrier 

 figured by Mr. Gould under the name of Circus assimilis ; but 

 he omits to mention that both these species occur in Tas- 

 mania. A specimen of each from that island is contained 

 in the Norwich Museum. The former species (under the 

 name of Circus jar dinii) is mentioned in ' The Ibis' for 1865 

 (p. 338), on the authority of Captain Jouan, as also inhabit- 

 ing New Caledonia ; but I am not aware of this circumstance 

 having come under the notice of any other observer. The 

 ordinary Harrier of New Caledonia is Circus wolfi, which Mr. 

 Sharpe includes amongst the synonyms of C. gouldi, but adds 

 in a footnote that it " may turn ouf to be distinct." I have 

 myself no doubt as to C. wolfi being a good and distinct spe- 

 cies, as to which I would refer to my remarks in ' The Ibis ' 

 for 1873, pp. 421, 422. 



Under the head of Circus spilonotus I may observe that 

 Mr. Sharpe appears, by the measurements given, to have de- 

 scribed as an adult female a young male in female plumage. 



In two females preserved in the Norwich Museum"^, the 

 wing measures 17*5 inches, and the tarsus 3*5, being consi- 

 derably in excess of the dimensions ascribed to the female of 

 this species by Mr. Sharpe. The same collection contains a 

 specimen of this Harrier from the island of Formosa, a loca- 

 lity not quoted by Mr. Sharpe for this species. 



The next species to which I propose to refer is Circus me- 

 lanoleucus ; and as Mr. Sharpe does not describe this Harrier 

 in its immature stages, I am desirous of offering a few re- 

 marks on that subject, in doing which I would acknowledge 

 my obligations to two valuable contributions by Mr. Hume 

 to our information respecting it, one of which is contained in 



* The Norwich IMuseum also contains five males of C. spilonotus ; ia 

 four of these the tarsus measures 3"25 inches, and in the fifth 3-125. 



