and Palceontology of Victoria. 177 



sionally, wlialebone-whales of enormous size are stranded on the 

 shores, and the oil and whalebone sent to market, without 

 giving rise to any extensive whaling-expeditions into the southern 

 waters. One of these whalebone-whales, 90 feet in length, was 

 cast on our shores last winter, and I have secured the skeleton of 

 it for our museum. It proves to be a new species of the genus 

 Fhysalus, or " tinner.-" The pectoral is about one-eighth of the 

 total length, and the ribs are sixteen on each side, and there are 

 about sixty vertebr?e. It cannot be referred to the New-Zealand 

 Physalus antarcticus, as the " baleen " is black. The largest 

 blades of baleen are 18 inches wide at base, and 28 inches long. 

 This species, of which I hope to publish a more detailed illus- 

 trated description shortly, I name Physalus Ch-ayi (M'Coy), after 

 my valued friend Dr. Gray, of the British Museum, whose re- 

 searches on the Cetacea have so greatly aided and stimulated 

 the recent investigations in this difficult branch of zoology. 

 The whalebone of this whale, like that of the other " Finners," 

 is only lit for splitting into the false bristles for brushes &c. 



BIRDS. 



As my friend Mr. Gould has recently published in his ' Hand- 

 book of the Birds of Australia ' a list showing the geographical 

 distribution of the species generally over the continent, I sub- 

 join a list of those of Victoria, as the least-perfectly known of 

 the colonies, and presenting several interesting modifications of 

 Mr. Gould's list. 



I would remark that the specimen of Dendrocyr/na Eytoni in 

 the Melbourne Museum was purchased in the poultry-market, 

 and seen by myself with the flesh untouched ; so that there is 

 no room for the doubt which has been expressed of the species 

 occurring in Victoria. Another interesting species, the Indian 

 and European little egret {Herodias garzetta), which is only 

 doubtfully quoted by Mr. Gould as an Australian bird, I have 

 carefully identified from a Gippsland specimen now in our Mu- 

 seum. The very rare Pycnoptilus floccosus, the locality of which 

 Mr. Gould is not certain of, occurs not uncommonly in the dense 

 brushes of the Yarra mountains. The new species of bristle- 

 bird {Sphenu?-a Broadbenti, M'Coy) is a very rare addition to this 

 curious genus, easily distinguished by its rufous head from the 

 previously known species. The Pardalotus xanthopyge (M'Coy) 

 is a new species, brought under my notice by Mr. Leadbeater, 

 and which seems to appear first in the north-west part of Vic- 

 toria, and gradually to increase in numbers towards Adelaide, 

 where it seems to replace the P. punctatus, with which it has 

 previously been confounded. 



