Vol. XXII. 

 1922 



] KISCAK n<X ik L'.W \A:\, Stonn Petrels. 93 



Locality, latitude 43" 18 S., longitude 140° 52' E. (about 200 

 miles west of Cape Grim. Tasmania). 

 T. tropiea Gould. 



The feathers of the back have white edges ; tnere is a small 

 whitish patch on the throat; under wing coverts white; the cen- 

 tral belly markings blackish but broken near the chest. Under 

 tail coverts black with white bases ; two or three have faint white 

 edges; uj)i)er tail coverts white; no white in front of eyes. Total 

 length, 183 mm.; tail, 80; wing, 157; tarsus, 41 ; middle toe and 

 claw, 28; culmen, 15; bill slightly heavier in build than in any 

 other specimen (sex ?). Locality, Atlantic Ocean. 



Coues--^ examined a large series of birds, which he i)laced un- 

 der the name of F. (jraUaria, but which were not of this species, 

 as most of them were labelled T. leiicogaster Gould. Among 

 them were Gould's types, which Coues, like other authors of the 

 time, regarded as synonymous with F. grallaria Meillot. He 

 found that this species varied more than is usual among the 

 Procellaria; the colour of the upper parts ranged from deep 

 fuliginous brownish black to a much lighter plumbeus, or ashen 

 hue. Some of them, the lighter coloured ones, had all of the 

 dorsal feathers edged with white. He does not mention the re- 

 maining specimens, but evidently the white edges were missing 

 in them. He found that the white under surface varied consider- 

 ably in extent ; in some cases it reached far up on to the throat, 

 while in others it descended low on the breast as is the case 

 with melanogaster. He found that in the series examined the 

 tarsus measured from 37 mm. to 40.5 mm., and the middle toe 

 and claw from 26 to 28 mm. 



Coues, in discussing Fregetta melanogaster,^^ of which species 

 he examined Gould's types, found that it was closely allied to 

 the preceding both in form and colour, but stated that it differed 

 consistently as follows : — It was slightly smaller but had longer 

 tarsi and toes, the bill was longer and more slender, the wing 

 nearly an inch (25 mm.) shorter, and the tail about 12 mm. 

 shorter. He found that the central dark line of feathers on the 

 abdomen was never entirely wanting, thought it varied con- 

 siderably, and in some specimens it was represented by only a 

 few disconnected feathers. His great point of difference be- 

 tween the two species is the length of the toes. 



Gould^^^ also noted that melanogaster had longer toes than 

 leucogaster. However, a glance at the characters and measure- 

 ments of the series examined by us — in which the details were 

 checked several times, bearing in mind that several of the speci- 

 mens were named and labelled by Gould — it will be seen that no 

 difference exists on this point between the two birds. Moreover, 

 the bill, which is said to be more slender, and longer in melano- 

 gaster than in leucogaster, varies in individual si)ecimens, while 

 one melanogaster in the series before us has a broader and 

 shorter bill than has any of the other birds. The measurements 



