35 



formed by the sand being blown round a piece of dry kelp ; 

 it did not contain the fragments of shells as a lining, common 

 to the nests of most of the family, the eggs being deposited on 

 the bare sand ; they were three in number, of a " stone 

 white " ground colour, spotted and marked throughout with 

 two shades of sepia, beneath which were blotches of bluish 

 grey. The markings did not assume the linear shape usual 

 in the eggs of these birds. The dimensions were — axis, 1/43; 

 diameter 105 inches. 



FlTLICA ATJSTRALIS, Gould. 



This species, which is omitted in Mr. Krefft's list, and 

 mentioned in Gould's monograph as inhabiting Tasmania, 

 requires working out, as the latter author is of opinion that 

 the Australian Coots are referable to two distinct species, not, 

 however, explaining the distinctive characteristics which led 

 him to that belief; unfortunately, moreover, according to the 

 rule adopted throughout the work, he gives no measurements, 

 and as these — the main desideratum in ornithological study — 

 are wanting, his plate is of little use to subsequent observers 

 in tracing out the value of the two supposed forms. A score 

 of examples will be required from Western Australia, Yictoria, 

 New South Wales, and Tasmania before the problem can be 

 solved. Should the presence of two distinct coots in Australia 

 prove a reality, it will be a matter of more than ordinary 

 interest to ornithologists. 



I give the dimensions of a, presumably, immature example, 

 shot on the Break-of-Day Eiver in August, 1868 — Wing, 71 

 inches ; tarsus, 2 ; mid toe and claw, 3 ; hind toe and claw, 

 1*1 ; bill at front, including casque, 1*6. The iris was dark 

 brown, the bill blackish brown with a light tip, and the legs 

 blackish, as against " red," " light blueish-grey," and " French 

 grey " of the same parts in Gould's adult figure, which he 

 refers to the bird inhabiting Tasmania. The crown in 

 my example is concolorous with the black head, the upper 

 surface olivaceous brown, with a cinereous blue wash across 

 the back, and the breast and abdomen plumbeous grey, paling, 

 on the latter part, where the feathers are margined whitish. 



Phalacrocorax melanoleucos, Vicill. 



In Gould's notice of this cormorant, he remarks, " I suspect 

 that the young assume the white plumage of the under 

 surface from the period of their leaving the nest." There is, 

 however, a marked difference between the immature and the 

 adult dress, which I will here diagnose. In the fully fledged 

 young, about the mouth of February, the supercillium is a 

 mere thin white line, the lower part of the neck and breast 

 are washed with a rusty yellow, with traces of brown on the 



