A Reference List of the Birds of New Zealand. 209 



Eallus muelleri Rotliscliild. Auckland Islands' Kail. 



Ral/us muelleri Rothscliild, Bull. Brit. Orn. Club, uo. viii. 

 1893j p. xli : Auckland Islands. 



SjMiouym : — 



Hyjxitcenidia viueUeri BuUer, Suppl. vol, i. p 42. 



Range: — Auckland Islands. 



Note: — The specimen recorded by Yon Iliigel ('Ibis/ 

 1875, p. 393) as Rallus brachijpus from the Auckland 

 Islands is preserved in the Rothschild jNIuseum, Tring, 

 where it has been examined by us. It undoubtedly belongs 

 to the East Australian race of Rallus pectoralis Temniinck, 

 as has been already pointed out by one of us (Mathews, Bii'ds 

 Austr. vol. i. 1911, p. 185, footnote), and it seems strange 

 that it should have occurred on the islands where there is 

 now (though possibly extinct) resident a closely allied but 

 degenerate relation, and to us the record seems too obscure 

 for admission to the New Zealand List. It should be noted 

 that Rallus muelleri is an aberrant member of the genus^ 

 though it has no claim to be included in the genus /fyy;o« 

 tcBuidia. 



Genus CABALUS. 



Cabalus Hutton, Trans. New Zeal, Inst. vol. vi. 1874^ 

 p. 108. 



Type (by monotypy) : C. modestus (Hutton), 



Cabalus modestus (HuttonJ. Little Chatham Islands' Rail. 



Rallus modeslus Hutton, II)is, 1872, p. 247 : (Hiatham 

 Islands. 



Synonym : — 



Cahalus modestus Biiller, Suppl. vol. i. p. 45. 



Range : — Chatham Islands (breeding). 



Note: — With regard to this species Buller wrote : ''The 

 curvature of the bill is more pronounced in the larger 

 (presumably the male) bird, being very similar to that 

 of the Moeriki [Cabalus dieffenbachi) , as figured in the 

 'Transactions of the New Zealand Institute ' (vol. vi. p. 12), 



