AVES STERCORARIID^. 229 



Lesfns autarticHS, Less. Traite d'Orn. p. 6i6 (1831 : Des iles Malouines) ; 

 Scl. P. Z. S. i860, p. 390 (Falkland Islands); Abbott, Ibis, 1861, p. 

 165 (Falkland Islands, breeds in Dec); Scl. & Salv. P. Z. S. 1871, 

 p. 579; iid. Nomencl. Av. Neotr. p. 148 (1873: Falkland Islands); 

 Burm. An. Mus. Nac. Buenos Aires, III. partX. p. 248 (1888: Straits 

 of Magellan and Falkland Islands). 



Megalestris antardica, Gould, P. Z. S. 1859, p. 98 (Falkland Islands, 

 eggs) ; Saunders, Cat. Bds. Brit. Mus. XXV, p. 319 (1896: Falkland 

 Islands) ; Sharpe, Hand-List Bds. I. p. 144 (1899) ; Carbajal, La Pata- 

 gonia, part II. p. 280 (1900); Martens, Hamb. Magalh. Sammelr. 

 Vog. p. 17 (1900: Falkland Islands); Gates, Gat. Bds. Eggs, Brit. 

 Mus. I. 226 (1901). 



Stercoravius aiitarticits, Phil. & Landb. Gat. Av. Ghil. p. 47 (1868) ; Saun- 

 ders, P. Z. S. 1876, p. 321, 1877, p. 799 (Falkland Islands) ; id. Voy. 

 Ghall. II. Birds, p. 139 (1880); Oust. Miss. Sci. Gap Horn, Giseaux, 

 pp. 169, 332 (189 1 : Orange Bay: Elizabeth Island: Edwards Bay: 

 Falkland Islands) ; Scl. Ibis. 1894, pp. 495, 497. 



General description. 



Size} — Total length, 23 to 24 inches. 



Wing, 15.5 to 16.5 inches. 



Tail, 6.5 to 7.0 inches. 



Bill (culmen), 2.5 inches. 



Bill (greatest depth), i.o inches. 



Tarsus, 3.0 to 3.25 inches. 



Color. — Adult male. General color dark dull brown above, paler and 

 more smoky brown below. 



Head : Grown deep dull brown, shading to somewhat lighter on the 

 sides of head and face. 



Neck : Dull dark brown, a trifle lighter than the crown. The feathers of 

 the back of the neck are acuminate and sometimes shaded with yellowish. 



' These measurements are taken as about the extremes of birds from the Southern Ocean. 

 The wing sometimes reaches a length of 1 7 inches however. Representatives from the Falkland 

 Islands average appreciably smaller, being only about 21 inches long, and with the culmen above 

 2.2 inches. The wing 15.0 and the tail about 6.4 inches. 



These variations in size have been noticed by Dr. Coues, Mr. Saunders and other authorities 

 in works cited above, and appear to have no correlation with sex, though extreme age is doubtless 

 a factor. 



