124. Mr. P. R. Lowe on the 



range of the family, as at present known, does not extend 

 farther north than the parallel of 45° S. (this in about the 

 meridian of 40° E.), nor farther east than the meridian of 

 80° E., or farther west than about the meridian of 80° W. 



This distribution, it will thus be noticed, only comprises 

 the more extreme southern regions of the Atlantic and the 

 western moiet)'- of the southern Indian Ocean, leaving the 

 eastern part of the southern Indian Ocean and the entire 

 ultra-southern Pacific unoccupied. In other words, of the 

 Antarctic marine belt circumscribing the world in these 

 southern regions^ only a sector equal to less than half the 

 entire belt is concerned. 



Within the limits defined above, the various species com- 

 prising the Sheath-bill family may be divided into two 

 groups J corresponding to the geographical distribution of 

 the two genera which have been differentiated. These two 

 groups may be called the Chionis group and the Chionarchus 

 group, and tlieir distribution, as at present known, is as 

 follows : — 



(1) The Chionis group. — Birds belonging to this genus 

 have been recorded from the extreme southern portions of 

 South America, comprising part of the southern coast-line 

 of Patagonia, the Straits of Magellan, Tierra del Fuego, 

 and Stateu Island (the type-locality of Chionis alba). 

 They have also been recorded from the Falkland Islands 

 (? breeding), South Georgia, the South Sandwich group. 

 South Orkney, and Booth-Wandel Island (Graham Land). 



(2) The Chionarchus group. — Species belonging to this 

 group have been recorded from Kerguelen Island, Prince 

 Edward's Island, Marion Island, Heard Island, and the 

 Crozets. 



Thus Notogsea and its southern continuations is, at any 

 rate at the present day, entirely left out of account ; for 

 the evidence of the occurrence of the Sheath-bill in New 

 Zealand waters was certainly founded on error. It may be 

 also stated that in the large collection of fossil bird-remains 

 collected bv Dr. H. O. Forbes in the Chatham Islands, that 



