Vol. ^^■'\ Ai.KXANDFR, Australian Species of Tithinares. 69 



at sea cannot he rrlud upon, owing to the difficulty of dis- 

 tinguishing tlie species. Mattingley's account of the l:)reeding of 

 Prions off Portland, Victoria, which Mathews places under this 

 species (7, p. 226), more probably refers to P. turtiir, the only 

 species of Prion which has been proved to breed in our seas. 



Family PELFXANOIDID^ (Diving-Petrels). 

 Genus Pelecanoides. 

 Pelecanoides urinatrix (Gmelin). Diving-Petrel. 



This species breeds on islands off the coasts of Victoria and 

 Tasmania and in Bass Strait. There seems to be no record of 

 its occurrence in any of the other States. 



The type locality of the species is New Zealand, and Mathews 

 has separated the Australian bird sub-specifically under the 

 name of P. 11. belcheri. 



Family DIOMEDEID^ (Albatrosses and ^Vlollymawks). 

 Owing to their large size and their fondness for following 

 steamers, often taking advantage of the rush of air caused by the 

 passage of the boat to sail motionless close over the stern for 

 many minutes at a time, these birds are readily observed on ocean 

 voyages, and most of the species are easily recognizable. Thanks 

 to the valuable notes made by Ferguson [Emit, xv., pp. 243-249) 

 and W. Macgillivray {Emu, xix., pp. 162-176), and those published 

 l)y Hull with regard to species seen on the New South Wales coast 

 {Emu, XV., p. 215), we now have a good idea of the distribution 

 of the different species in our seas. My own observations made 

 on four recent voyages between Fremantle and Melbourne serve 

 to confirm those already mentioned. 



Genus Diomedea. 

 Sub-genus Diomedea. 

 Diomedea exiilans (Linn.) Wandering Albatross. 



This species is common in the seas to the south of Australia, 

 ranging north at least as far as' Sydney on the east coast and 

 Fremantle on the west coast. Some seem to be present in our 

 waters at all times of year, as Ferguson saw specimens off Fre- 

 mantle in January. I have seen them in the Bight and off the 

 south coast of Western Australia in March, April, May, and July ; 

 W. Macgillivray met with them there in May and June, and 

 Ferguson in August. On the coast of New South Wales they 

 are found from June to November. Undoubtedly they are 

 commonest in the Bight in the winter months. 



The type locality of the species is the Cape of Good Hope, and 

 Mathews has named the form occurring in Australian seas D. e. 

 rnthschildi. 

 Diomedea chionoplera (Salvin). Snowy Albatross. 



Mathews states that he has specimens of tliis species from Aus- 

 tralian waters, but that it is much rarer tlian I). exii!aiis, and less 

 easily approached (Eiiiii, xviii., p. 87). 



