:lix 



a pigeon, so that we oannot err in be- 

 lieving Hemiphaga novse Zealandise to 

 be the pigeon "ramier" of Crozet. The 

 genuis Hemiphaga its represented in Cele- 

 bes and the Phiilipine islands as well as 

 in New Zealand. In the bescinning of 

 March, Crozet had become acquainted 

 with a Tasmanian parrakeet with a 

 white (or light-coloured) bill, the plum- 

 age of which fceembled that of an "Ama- 

 zon"" parrot. The common Amazone par- 

 rot (Chrysotis amazonica) is green, and 

 Jias aji orange- red speculum and a blue 

 forehead. It was , represented by 

 D'Aubenton, and may be the parrot to 

 which Crozet refers m the expression, 

 "Perroquet dee Amazones/' There is no 

 Tasmanian psittacian, which greatly re- 

 sembles it; perhaps the blue-banded 

 grass parraieet (Neophema venusta) re- 

 sembles it the most. In New Zealand 

 two other parrots were observed — a very 

 large parrot, in colour black (or dusky;, 

 diversified with red and blue, and a 

 small lory, the plumage of which re- 

 sembled that of the lories of the Island 

 of Gold. Red and blue enter into the 

 plumage of the red only ol large New 

 Zealand parrots. The red (Nester nota^ 

 bills), however, is restricted at the pre- 

 sent day to Stewart's Island and the 

 South Island, so that we must suppose 

 either that a change has taken place in 

 the distribution of this parrot since the 

 time of Crozet's visit to New ZeaJand, 

 or tiiat Crozet has erred in the descrip- 

 tion of it. In the latter case tlie bird 

 intended to be described is probably the 

 kaka (Nestor meridionalis). The smaller 

 New Zealand Psittaci are not lories in 

 the general acceptation of that name, 

 but Platycercinse of fhe genus Cyanor^ 

 hamphu'S, a widely-distributed genus 

 containing some fourteen species, of 

 which New Zealand nas at least four. 

 The best known is C. novae Zealandife, a 

 green parrakeet with a crimson sinciput. 

 In the open country were the smaller 

 passerine birds already mentioned, to 

 ■which Crozet gives the names ox Euro- 

 peans birds with which he was familiar. 

 There was also a quail similar to the 

 quail in France, but larger, Coturnix 

 novae Zealandiae, which is now extinct. 

 In the swamps wild duck and teal were 

 abundant, and a blue hen, similar to the 

 blue hens in. Madagascar, India, and 

 China. This blue hen is evidently the 

 swamp hen (Porhyio melanotus), which 

 inihabits Tasmania and the eastern part 

 of Australia as well as New Zealand. 

 The other blue hens tx) which Crozet 

 likens it are probably porphyrio, which 

 is found in Madagascar, poliocephalus 

 and Indian, and edwardsi, an Indo-Chin- 

 ese species. On the seashore were curlew, 

 cormorants, and black and -white egrets. 

 The curlew may have been of the species 

 Numenius cyanopus, which visit New 

 Zealand in summer, and whicJi remain 

 in small numbers through the winter. A 



pied egret is sugge.sted by the phrase, 

 "aigrettes blanches et n-oires.'" But there 

 is no pied egret in New Zealand, and we 

 are forced to suppose that the bird in 

 question is the Wiaite-headed stiit 

 (Himantopus picatus), which has been 

 found nesting in New, Zealand. A black 

 bird with bright red bill, ^nd feet ol the 

 size of an oyster-catcher, also frequented 

 the beaches. Evidently this was the 

 sooty oyster-catcher (HEematopus unicol- 

 our), which is resident. Of birds which 

 frequent the open sea as well as tne 

 coast, Crozet enumerates grey terns, 

 white terns, "envergures,'" and gannets, 

 with white bodies and dark wings. These 

 birds, he adds, were of the kind called 

 "Manche de velours" by sailors. The 

 "Manche de velours" is the Cape gannet 

 (Bosporus capensis), which has black 

 primaries, as also has S. fserrator of Aus- 

 tralian and New Zealand seas. S. cyan- 

 ops has both primaries and secondaries, 

 dark in colour, and might, with greater 

 propriety, be called a black-winged bird 

 t.han S. serrator. It is, however, not 

 common in. extra tropical areas. 



Species and Hybridisation. 

 Mr. St. Michael M. Podmore, M.A., 

 r.R.G.S., etc., a visitor from England, 

 read a paper on hybridisation in rela- 

 tion to animals and the definition of 

 species, narrating the result of his own 

 experiments and investigations. In Dar- 

 win's "Origin of Species" are these 

 words: — "The only distinction between 

 species and well-marked varieties is, that 

 the latter are known or believed to be 

 connected at the present day by inter- 

 mediate gradations, whereas species were 

 formerly thus connected." Again:— "The 

 power of remaining for a long time con- 

 stant I look at as the essence of species." 

 In his subsequent letter to Oea Gray, 

 Darwin wrote: — "I speculated whether a 

 spftoies very liable to repeated and to 

 great changes of conditions might not 

 assume a fluctuating condition, ready to 

 be adapted to either conditions." Mr. 

 Phillips, the paloeontologist, arrived at 

 the conclusion that a species represent 

 "any form wh-ich has ever had 

 a specific name." This definition, though 

 vague, the lecturer claimed as worthy of 

 accepl^ance by students, though the words 

 of Sir Wm. Dyer are, perhaps, more ex- 

 planatory : — "Species is a designation for 

 a totality of individuals differing from all 

 others by marks or characters, which ex- 

 peo-ience shows to be reasonably constitut- 

 ed and trustworthy." Personally, he (the 

 lecturer) was of opinion that Darwin 

 never did believe in the possibilitv of de- 

 fining species, and would have prefeiTed 

 the term "fixed variety," had Darwin not 

 been confronted with the difficulty that 

 varieties of a species are invariably pro- 

 lific inter se, while the offspring of a 

 crossed species, or hybrid, had invariably 



