64 MEMOIRS OF THE QUEENSLAND MUSEUM. 



LITTLE PENGUIN IN QUEENSLAND. 



By Heber a. Longman, F.L.S. (Director). 



Through the kindness of Mrs. Fagan, " Greenmount, " Tweed Heads, a 

 specimen of the Little Penguin, Eudyptida minor novce-JiuIIandue (Stephens), 

 captured at Coolangatta beach near the southern border of this State, has been 

 added to the Queensland Museum collections. ^Irs. Fagan records that this 

 specimen Avas picked up alive on the 15th ;i\Iay of this year; it refused to eat 

 anything and died within about twenty-four hours after capture. 



The occurrence of this specimen within the Queensland border is a matter 

 for surprise. According to A. J. North, ^ Cabbage-tree Island, near the entrance to 

 Port Stephens (about S. lat. 32° 40') was the most northerly record (breeding). 

 Coolangatta is north of Point Danger, about S. lat. 28° 7'. The Little Penguin 

 just succeeded in crossing our boundaries. 



Apparently this bird requires trinomial designation. JMathews refers 

 to the variations shown in specimens from West Australia, Tasmania, South 

 Australia, and New South Wales, but finds ' ' that the white tail of the Australian 

 form renders it separable from the New Zealand bird, which is also constantly 

 darker."- He utilises Stephens's term novce-h oil undue for Australian birds as 

 a subspecies of E. minor, subsequently restricting this to New South Wales forms 

 and noting other subspecies. Alexander and Brooke Nicholls, however, after a 

 valuable study of a large number of specimens, came to the conclusion that all 

 the Australian birds (including E. undina) should be classified as Eudyptida 

 minor novce-hollandue.^ 



In view of the scantiness of available material for comparison no extended 

 description is made. Our specimen has the characteristic blue-grey colouring, 

 with a beautiful sheen, on the upper surface ; the inner margins of the flippers 

 are whitish, as is also the apical third of the tail; the fore-neck and lower surface 

 are white. Following the body curves of the mounted specimen the bird is 

 460 mm. in length. The bill is 38 mm. in length ; depth 15 mm. 



From the excellent skin made and forwarded by Mrs. Fagan, our taxider- 

 mist (Mr. M. J. Colclough) has mounted the bird, which makes a very attractive 

 addition to the case of penguins on exhibition. 



^ Nests and Birds Austr. & Tas., iv, 1914, p. 392. 

 -Birds of Australia, i, pt. 5, 1911, p. 285. 

 ^"'The Emu," xviii, 1918, pp. 50-57. 



[MEMOIES OF THE QUEENSLAND MUSEUM, Vol. VII, Part I, 1920.] 



By Authority: Anthony James Gumming, Government Printer, Brisbane. 



