308 On the Birds of the Snares Islands. 



that these remote islands have not previously been visited by 

 any ornithologist^ the following notes upon these birds may 

 be of interest. 



Snares Islands consist of two small islands and several 

 rocks, which extend over a distance of one mile and a half 

 in a direction N.E. by E. and S.W. by W., about 62 miles 

 S.S.W. of Stewart's Island, New Zealand. The north- 

 eastern, which is the larger island, is about one mile long 

 and half a mile wide, and is covered nearly all over with 

 trees. The 'Stella' arrived here on Jan. 23, 1888, and 

 found a difficult anchorage on the east side in 52 fathoms, 

 the only locality where anchoring was possible at all. The 

 visit made on shore was very short, as the sea was high and 

 the wind was blowing hard. So Herr Reischek obtained 

 only the two following birds : — 



1. Sphenceacus fulvus, Gray. 



One male, agreeing pretty well with the descriptions of 

 G. R. Gray and Sir W. Buller, but the light eye-streak is 

 very indistinct, and the specimen is somewhat larger, as 

 shown in the following measurements : — 



" The ' Utiks ' of New Zealand {S.punctatus and S. fulvus) 

 I have always observed in or near swamps, whereas this 

 Utik lives in trees,'^ writes Herr Reischek, but ''on the 

 Snares there is no swamp " ! " I did not see any Utiks on 

 Auckland, Campbell, Antipodes, or Bounty Islands.''^ {Reis- 

 chek.) 



2. Myiomoira traversi. Bull. 



One male of this uniform black species, hitherto known 

 only from the Chatham Islands, and agreeing in every respect 

 with specimens from that locality. 



