wanderers being omitted. Each bird has a fairly full description, 

 both vernacular and scientific names being given. Scientists 

 will probably regret the absence of references, but these would 

 have unduly cumbered the book so far as general readers are 

 concerned. At the conclusion of the birds there is a delightfully 

 written article — " Vocal Characteristics of Some N.Z. Birds," 

 taken from " Out in the Open," by the late Mr. T. H. Potts. 



As to what happened during the Tertiary age the authors 

 say : — 



" Towards the end of the age in the world's history called the Cretaceous 

 period New Zealand was a small group of islands with a very scanty fauna 

 and flora ; but later on, very early in the Tertiary era, it was gradually 

 elevated until it attained almost continental dimensions, stretching away 

 north through New Caledonia and Fiji, and joining the mainland at New 

 Guinea. 



" Birds had only lately come into existence in the Northern Hemisphere, 

 but, now that New Zealand was joined to the mainland, they^'moved south 

 and colonized it. . . . Towards the close of the Eocene [period the 

 northern land sank. New Zealand was then isolated, and it has remained 

 so ever since. Yet it was visited every year by migratory birds from the 

 North." 



And so in the last respect it is to the present day. Among 

 the most interesting portions of the book are those dealing,, with 

 migration, confined not alone to the introduction, but occurring 

 in the observations on the different species throughout the 

 work. 



Notes and Notices. 



Papers Received.— From Dr. E. A. D'Ombrain, " Field Notes 

 on Some Birds of the Casterton District (Victoria)." From Mr. 

 Fred. Lawson, " A Visit to Rottnest Island " and " A Glance at 

 the Birds of the Moore River (W.A.)" 



* * * 



Dr. a. B. Meyer, writing from Dresden, 8/8/04, desires to 

 say, in reference to the doubt raised in the last issue of The Emu 

 (p. 25) as to the eggs of the Kangaroo Island Emu being in that 

 Museum, the " copyist " had made a mistake in the list by in- 

 advertently writing Dromceus aier for D. novcE-hollandice when 

 copying the names from the " British Museum Catalogue." 



* * * 



Members are again reminded that the fourth annual session 

 of the Aust. O.U. will this year be held in Sydney on 28th, 29th 

 and 30th November. The Council will endeavour, on the occasion 

 of its first reunion in such an (Australian) historical centre to 

 make the meetings a thorough success. Sydney is connected 

 with days of Australian ornithology which are too apt to be for- 

 gotten — those when Cook and his collectors first landed (now 

 recalled so vividly by the discovery of one of his cairns on the 

 Queensland coast) and when many earlier observers whose names 



