46 On the Birds of Neiv Zealand. 



Australian Eoller or Dollar-bird [Eurystomus pacificus, 

 Lath.), by Mr. F. E. Clarke^. 



Red-capped Dotterel [Charadrius rifficapillus , Temm.), by 

 myself f. 



The species now to be noticed is more beautiful than any 

 of our previous visitants. The Masked Plover is one of the 

 Spur- wings, and stands about 12 inches high. The body is 

 slight, very elegantly proportioned, and the general appear- 

 ance is extremely graceful. It is thus described in GouUFs 

 ' Handbook to the Birds of Australia^ (vol. ii. p. 221), and 

 the New-Zealand specimen agrees in every particular with 

 the description : — " Crown of head and occiput jet-black ; 

 isides of face, back of neck, rump, and all the under surface 

 pure white ; back and scapularies light brownish grey ; wing- 

 coverts grey ; primaries deep black ; secondaries white at 

 the base on their inner webs, cinnamon-grey on their outer 

 webs, and largely tipped with black ; tail white at the base, 

 largely tipped with black, the extreme ends of the feathers 

 being cinnamon-grey, particularly the two centre ones ; irides 

 primrose-yellow ; wattles lemon-yellow ; bill lemon-yellow 

 at base, black at the tip ; legs and feet carmine-red ; the 

 scales in front blackish green. '^ 



The bird was observed in a field at Kai Iwi by Mr. G, 

 Penke, who at once went to the house for a gun ; taking a 

 long shot, he tired, and the bird dropped, but when secured 

 appeared quite unhurt, and lived for some time in confine- 

 ment, refusing food almost entirely, and died, apparently from 

 starvation rather than from any other cause. It was mounted, 

 and is now in Mr. S. H. Drew's museum at Wanganui. 



Both sexes possess the spur on the wing, which is a very 

 noticeable feature, but much more developed in the male 

 than in the female, and proves a very efEective weapon in 

 warfare. The yellow-coloured mask is supposed to be for the 

 protection of the feathers of the face, the bird being very 

 fond of thrusting its beak into mud and sand in search of 

 small Crustacea or the larvse of Coleoptera, which form the 

 staple of its food. 



« Traus. N.Z. In?t. vol. xiii. p. 454. t Ibid. vol. xii. p. 246. 



