BuLLER. — On a New Siiecica of Alhalroa. 231 



(p. 192) : " Shortly before leaving the Colony, I saw, at Wai- 

 kauae, a fresh specimen, which had. been cast ashore on the 

 coast during a severe gale. It was of small size and evidently 

 a young bird. The whole of the plumage was pure- white 

 without any markings, excepting only the wings, which were 

 black on their upper surface, largely dappled with white, espe- 

 cially towards the humeral flexure ; legs and feet flesh-grey. 

 The skin of this bird afterwards came into the possession of 

 Mr. S. W. Silver, of Letcomb Manor, and, with his per- 

 mission, I have introduced its likeness into my plate of this 

 species, as the back figure standing on a rock." 



The two species having been confounded, it maj^ be as well 

 to expliiin, before proceeding further, that the description 

 given on page 192 of " The Birds of New Zealand " of a " per- 

 fectly mature example," received at the Canterbury Museuiii 

 in 1871, relates to Dioincdea regia, as do also the notes con- 

 tained in the last three paragraphs of descriptive matter on 

 page 193. The description of the young on page 190, and of 

 the ten successive states of plumage in the progress of the 

 bird towards maturity {I.e., pp. 190-192), relate, of course, to 

 the old-established species, Diomedea cxulans. 



As to the specific distinctness of the two birds there can 

 no longer be any reasonable doubt. 



I have much pleasure in submitting to the meeting a series 

 of both species. On one side we have three specimens of the 

 common Wandering Albatros {D. cxidnns). No. 1 is in the grey 

 plumage of immaturity, with a well-defined white face ; No. 2 

 is in a transitional or progressive state of plumage ; and No. 3 

 represents the fully adult state, with the white plumage 

 prettily speckled and vermiculated on the back and sides. On 

 the other hand we have three specimens of my new species, 

 No. 1 being a full-grown fledgling, with remnants of white 

 down still adhering to the plumage ; and Nos. 2 and 3 repre- 

 senting the adult male and female. The latter, I may state, 

 were both taken by fishermen ofl' the Otago coast, whilst the 

 young bird was brought last season from Campbell Island, 

 where it was captured on the nest. 



It will be observed at once that the two l)irds are readily 

 distmguishable. Diomedea regia is appreciably larger than the 

 common species, with a far more powerful bill, which differs 

 further in having a broad black line along the cutting-edge of 

 the upper mandible. In Diomedea exulans even the adult 

 birds are more or less marked or mottled with brown on the 

 crown ; in Diomedea regia the head and neck are pure-white 

 from the nest. In Diomedea exiilans the bare eyelids are 

 greenish-purple ; in Diomedea regia the eyelids from youth to 

 maturity are jet-black. In all other superficial respects the 

 two species are alike ; but they keep quite apart on their 



