114 Mr. W. L. Buller on ttw 



favour of Nestor occidentalis as a species, distiuguishablc from 

 N. meridionalis " by having the upper mandible more com- 

 pressed and flat on Ijoth sides, with the tooth further out and 

 the lower mandible not reaching it." For my own part, T 

 attach veiy little importance to these variations in the cha- 

 racter of the bill ; for that member is more or less variable in 

 all the species of Nestor. 



HeTERALOCHA ACUTIROSTRIS. 



Mr. A. H. Garrod, in his exhaustive account of the anatomy 

 of this bird (P. Z. S. 1872, pp. 643-647), states that the tongue 

 is " slightly bifid at its apex and a little prolonged backwards 

 at its lateral borders." 



Halcyon vagans. 



Captain Hutton is quite mistaken in his remarks on this 

 bird. I have myself observed it catching fish in the manner 

 described ; and Mr. Potts, Avho is known to be a very accurate 

 observer, states tliat " fish and Crustacea furnish some portion 

 of its food supply " (Trans. N. Z. Inst. 1869, ii. p. 53). Nor 

 do " the rest of the genus subsist entirely on insects and Crus- 

 tacea." Dr. Jerdon states that Halcyon smyrnensis catches 

 fish, "for which it sometimes Aixe^," ^xxAthoX Halcyon jnleata 

 " feeds both on fish and insects." Halcyon gularis is said to 

 be a fish-eater ; and Mr. Motley declares that Halcyon coro- 

 manda "subsists entirely on fish." Dr. von Heuglin states 

 that Halcyon semiccerulea is "more of a fish-eater than fond 

 of orthoptera," and that Halcyon chloris likewise habitually 

 fishes. To come nearer home, I may add that Mr. E. P. 

 Ramsay, of Sydney, records that he has watched Halcyon 

 sanctus " catching fiies from the surface of the water, and oc- 

 casionally a stray fish or two." 



PrOSTHEMADERA NOViE-ZEALANDIuE. 



The young figured in my work is from a specimen in the 

 British Museum. My artist has somewhat exaggerated the 

 white on the neck and given it too much of a crescent form. 

 I mvist refer the reader to my description of the young (B. 

 of N. Z. p. 88), where this feature is specially mentioned. 



