198 Recently published Ornithological Works. 



though without the actual specimens it is impossible to 

 decide how far any single species should be subdivided into 

 races. 



To (lescenrl^ however, to details. On the first page we 

 have a reference to Mr. H. G. Barnard's statement in the 

 ' Emu ' {supra) that the eggs of Uallina tricolor are wbite, a 

 fact entirely opjjosed to previous experience ; we should be 

 inclined to agree with Mr. Mathews, and to ask whether a 

 single clutch might not be white, while normal eggs were 

 spotted. The next point of importance is that the author 

 places all the Australian forms of Porphyrio under one 

 species, as P. melanotus melanotus, P. m. bellus,P. m.jietchera, 

 and P. in. neomelanotus, the two latter being the Tasmaniau 

 and N.W. Australian races, which are both described as new. 

 In this case and in that of the Grebes the keys to the 

 species do not tally witii the text, but Mr. Mathews will 

 probably mention this in his " Corrigenda." Moreover, he 

 suggests eight other sul)sj)ecics, which are not Australian, 

 but here he tells us that the specimens examined were not 

 decisive, and we think that the suggestions are somewhat 

 premature. 



Undoubtedly the most important item in the whole of the 

 Part is the determination of a " White Gallinulc" assigned 

 to Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands, and referred by 

 von Pelzeln to the genus Notornis. By means of plates and 

 other arguments we are shown that two distinct inrds have 

 been confounded under this appellation — oric the Porphyrio 

 stanleyi of Rowley, which proves to be merely an albino of 

 P. melanotus, and the other the species mentioned by White in 

 his ' Journal of a Voyage to New South W^ales.' The latter 

 was secured for the Leveriau Museum, and thence passed on 

 to that of Vienna ; it is also a Porphyrio and should stand 

 as P. albus of White, from Lord Howe Island. 



We must also note in passing that Mr. Mathews puts 

 forward the new generic title of Mantellornis for Notornis 

 hochstetteri of New Zealand, and that, in retracting his 

 opinion of the non-Australian character of the Lord Howe 



