346 Mr. W. E. Oijilvie-Grant on 



secondary quills largely white on the left wing, less so on 

 the right ; tail mostly white^ some of the middle feathers 

 only being partially brown ; underparts, including the sides 

 of the head, chin, and throat, white. Iris brown ; bill grey ; 

 feet slate-grey. 



Types in the British Museum: S ?• Nos. 9 & 9a. 

 Henderson Island, S. Pacific, 27-29. x. 12. D. R. Tait 



coll. 



This species differs from A. vatighani in having the feathers 

 of the head uniform brown, not edged with yellowish-white, 

 which gives the crown of that species a somewhat scaled 

 appearance. 



The amount of white in the plumage of Acrocephaline 

 birds from the Pitcairn and other Pacific Islands appears 

 to vary greatly in different individuals, and is generally 

 unevenly developed on the two sides of the body. It 

 Avould seem as though this tendency to albinism might be 

 due to degeneration caused by inbreeding. 



By many ornithologists the Reed- War biers of the Pacific 

 Islands are placed in a distinct genus Tatare^ but there docs 

 not seem to be any good reason for separating them from 

 their Western allies. 



ViNi STEPHENi (North). (Plate IX.) 



Calliptilus (?) stepheni North, Records Austr. Mus. vii. 

 p. 29 (1908). 



Villi hendersoni Ogilvie-Grant, Bull. B. O. C. xxxi. p. 60 

 (1913). 



Adult male and female. Appear to be most nearly allied 

 to Vini kuhli (Vigors) from the Fanning Islands, but ditt'er 

 in many important particulars. The feathers of the occiput 

 are dark green with brighter green shaft-streaks, like those 

 of the crown, instead of deep purple ; the tail-feathers have 

 the terminal portion yellow tinged with greenish, and the 

 basal portion mottled with dark green on the outer web and 

 with scarlet and black, or scarlet, on the inner Aveb, while 

 in V. kuhli they are very differently coloured. The green 

 of the neck extends on to the sides of the chest, and there 



