REMARKS ON THE GENUS SULA. 321 



As to dimension of the present species, we may quote the 

 following : — 



As to distribution I am unable to say more than that the 

 larger species seems to inhabit the tropics of both hemispheres, 

 wandering more or less into the temperate zones. 



6A.— Sula parva, Gm. S. N. I. 579, 1788 |Ex. Buff. 

 leucogastra, Bodd. Tabl. PL en. 57, 1788 /P. E. 973. 

 fusca, Vieill apud Pelzn. Reise Novara. 15 b', nee Vie ill. 

 sula et fiber, Lin apud Auct. nee Lin. 



There is no detailed description of this species which has'its 

 origin in Buffon's, P. E. 973, and his brief accompanying 

 remarks : — " This is the smallest of this genus that we know. 

 Length, scarcely 19| inches; throat, stomach, and belly white ; 

 the rest of the plumage blackish ; sent to us from Cayenne." 



On which Gmelin says: — u Black" (instead of blackish), 

 beneath white (again inaccurate), face feathered (whereas the 

 plate distinctly shows that the space round the eye is bare.) 

 Latham follows Buffon accurately, but forgets that 18 French 

 are not 18 English inches. Stephens makes the same mistake 

 and repeats Gmelin's error (corrected by Latham) of the space 

 round the eye not being bare. 



Nothing further seems to have been established about this 

 species. The original figure shows that it was an adult, with 

 very pale yellow, bill, naked skin of head and throat, legs 

 and feet. 



If this stood alone I should have had less hesitation in follow- 

 ing the received practice of uniting this with the larger brown 

 Booby, »ula, Lin. australis Steph. But in the Reise Novara I 

 find that Von Pelzeln seems to have obtained from near Rio 

 Janeiro, what looks like a male of this species (Buffon's bird 

 may have been a female.) 



He says, " a male, total length, 21 ; expanse, 58'06." These 

 dimensions apparently recorded in the flesh by Zelebor ; rt iris 

 greyish white ; feet light fleshy grey." 



This small species I should guess to pertain to the coasts of 

 South America, but to occur also elsewhere in the Atlantic. 



