﻿Ornithuloyists' 
  Club. 
  261 
  

  

  MicROTRiBONYx, 
  gen, 
  n. 
  Simile 
  geueri 
  " 
  Tribonyx 
  " 
  dlcto, 
  

   sed 
  alis 
  robustis, 
  primariis 
  quam 
  cubitales 
  longioribus, 
  

   distinguendum. 
  

  

  Typus 
  M. 
  ventralis 
  (Gould). 
  

  

  By 
  permission 
  of 
  the 
  Hon. 
  Walter 
  Rothschild, 
  Dr. 
  

   Sharpe 
  was 
  enabled 
  to 
  lay 
  on 
  the 
  table 
  some 
  specimens 
  

   of 
  Ocydromi 
  belonging 
  to 
  the 
  Rothschild 
  Museum. 
  These 
  

   were 
  from 
  the 
  Buller 
  collection^ 
  and 
  were 
  supposed 
  to 
  

   illustrate 
  the 
  species 
  of 
  Ocydromus 
  recognized 
  by 
  Sir 
  Walter 
  

   Buller 
  in 
  his 
  second 
  edition 
  of 
  the 
  ' 
  Birds 
  of 
  New 
  Zealand 
  ' 
  ; 
  

   but 
  Dr. 
  Sharpe 
  found 
  it 
  very 
  difficult 
  to 
  follow 
  the 
  author 
  in 
  

   his 
  conclusions^ 
  and 
  infinitely 
  preferred 
  the 
  more 
  simple 
  

   view 
  as 
  to 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  species 
  which 
  had 
  been 
  adopted 
  in 
  

   the 
  first 
  edition 
  of 
  the 
  ' 
  Birds 
  of 
  New 
  Zealand.' 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  second 
  edition 
  Sir 
  Walter 
  Buller, 
  after 
  discussing 
  

   at 
  some 
  length 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  species, 
  which 
  had 
  been 
  

   debated 
  between 
  Professor 
  Hutton 
  and 
  himself, 
  had 
  come 
  

   to 
  the 
  conclusion 
  that 
  five 
  should 
  be 
  recognized, 
  viz. 
  : 
  — 
  

   0. 
  greyi, 
  sp. 
  nov. 
  ; 
  O. 
  fuscus 
  (Du 
  Bus) 
  ; 
  O. 
  earli, 
  Gray 
  ; 
  

   0. 
  australis 
  (Sparrman) 
  ; 
  and 
  0. 
  hrachypterus 
  (Lafr.). 
  The 
  

   plates 
  in 
  Sir 
  Walter 
  Buller's 
  work 
  did 
  not 
  help 
  much 
  

   towards 
  the 
  identification 
  of 
  the 
  species 
  ; 
  for 
  although 
  in 
  

   nearly 
  every 
  case 
  the 
  actual 
  specimens 
  figured 
  were 
  now 
  in 
  

   the 
  Rothschild 
  collection, 
  it 
  was 
  almost 
  impossible 
  to 
  re- 
  

   cognize 
  them 
  in 
  the 
  chromo-lithographic 
  plates 
  themselves. 
  

   The 
  question 
  was 
  further 
  complicated 
  by 
  the 
  misleading 
  way 
  

   in 
  which 
  the 
  species 
  were 
  arranged 
  in 
  the 
  book 
  referred 
  to. 
  

   Thus, 
  between 
  O. 
  greyi 
  and 
  0. 
  earli 
  (the 
  latter 
  not 
  being 
  

   even 
  figured) 
  was 
  interposed 
  O. 
  fuscus, 
  the 
  most 
  distinct 
  of 
  all 
  

   the 
  Weka 
  Rails 
  ; 
  so 
  that 
  the 
  idea 
  was 
  conveyed 
  that 
  0. 
  greyi 
  

   of 
  Buller 
  and 
  0. 
  earli 
  of 
  Gray 
  were 
  widely 
  diff'erent 
  species, 
  

   whereas 
  Dr. 
  Sharpe 
  stated 
  that, 
  in 
  his 
  opinion, 
  they 
  were 
  not 
  

   distinguishable. 
  Sir 
  Walter 
  Buller 
  wished 
  to 
  restrict 
  the 
  true 
  

   0. 
  earli 
  to 
  the 
  South 
  Island, 
  because 
  it 
  seemed 
  to 
  be 
  identical 
  

   with 
  some 
  specimens 
  procured 
  by 
  Mr. 
  Reischek 
  in 
  the 
  latter 
  

   island. 
  As 
  a 
  matter 
  of 
  fact, 
  however, 
  the 
  type-specimen 
  of 
  

   0. 
  earli 
  was 
  a 
  young 
  bird 
  ; 
  and 
  even 
  if 
  there 
  were 
  two 
  species 
  

  

  SER. 
  VI. 
  — 
  VOL. 
  v. 
  T 
  

  

  