272 MR. R. B. SHARPE ON BIRDS [Feb. 19, 



Howard Saunders's paper on the Sterninae in the ' Proceedings of 

 this Society for 1876 ; and it is solely through want of material that 

 he was unable to discriminate the two Grey Noddies of the Pacific, 

 as I am able to do from the receipt of the present specimens. 



Two examples are in the collection now sent ; and I saw at once 

 that they belonged to a different species from the bird marked as A. 

 ceeruleus in the national collection. The following is a description 

 of one of these specimens : — 



Supra cinereus, alls cauddque quam dorsum vix saturatioribus : 

 primariis duobus externis extiis magis nigricantibus : pileo col- 

 loque undique purihs canis, fronte et facie anticd albicantibus : 

 maculd parvd anteoculari nigrd : corpore reliquo subtus cinereo, 

 subalaribus externis et margine alari canescentibus : rostro nigro. 



Long, tota 9'3, rostri a fronte 0*95, alse 6-6, caudse 275, rectricis 

 penultimse 3'85, tarsi - 9. 



It appears that this small species is unquestionably the true Sterna 

 ceerulea of Bennett, and that Mr. Gould was perfectly right when 

 he separated the North-Australian bird as Anous cinereus, and that 

 he was wrong in sinking this name, published in 1845, in favour of 

 Neboux's, which was not published until 1846. The following 

 appears to be the true synonymy of the two species. 



Anous cerueeus. 



Sterna ceerulea, F. D. Bennett, Narr. of a Whaling Voyage, ii. 

 , App. p. 248(1840). 

 0, Stem\ cendre, Neboux, Rev. Zool. 1840, p. 291. 



Sterna tereticollis, Lafr. Rev. Zool. 1841, p. 242. 

 Procehterna tereticollis, Lafr. Mag. de Zool. 1842, pi. 29. 

 Anous parvulus, Gould, P. Z. S. 1845, p. 104 ; Cassin, U.S. 

 Expl. Exp. Birds, p. 393 (1858) ; Gray, Cat. B. Pacific Isl. p. 60 



(1859). 



Anous gracilis, Gray, Gen. B. hi. p. 661 (1846, lapsu). 



StoJida cinerea, Neboux, Voy. Venus, Atlas, pi. 9 (1846, nee 

 Gould). 



Megalopterus plumbeus, Peale, U.S. Expl. Exp. p. 285 (1848). 



Anous cinereus, Provost et Des Murs, Voy. Venus, v. p. 276 (1855); 

 Finsch & Haiti. Faun. Central-Poly n. p. 239, taf. xiii. fig. 4, taf. iv. 

 figs. 4 & 5 (1867). 



Procelstema cinerea, Bp. C. R. xlii. p. 773 (1856). 



Anous cinerea, Gray, Hand-1. hi. p. 123. no. 1108? (1871). 



Dia»n. : Minor, schistaceo-cinereus, pileo et corpore subtus toto vix 

 pallidius c'mereis ; secundariis externis angustissime ad apicem 

 albo limbatis ; subalaribus schistaceo-cinereis. 



Hab. in insulis orientalibus maris Pacifici. 



Anous cinereus. . ft bC^jr) 



Pelecanopus pelecanoides, Gray, List of Anseres, p. 180 (1844). 

 Anous cinereus, Gould, P. Z. S. 1845, p. 104 ; id. B. Austr. fol. 

 pi. 46 (1848): Reichenb. Vog. Neuholl. p. 181. no. 536 (1850). 



