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A FIEST LIST OF THE BIEDS OF MAEIA ISLAND. 



By Colonel W. Y. Legge, R.A., F.Z.S., &c. 



Of late years much has been added to ouv knowledge of 

 the local distribution of birds in Europe and Asia by the 

 publication of "Lists of Birds" in such journals as the 

 " Ibis," " Stray Feathers," and the Proceedings of the 

 Zoological Society, and the information afforded by such 

 papers has proved of the greatest advantage to authors in 

 the publication of recent works. The " Distribution of 

 Birds " is not, however, solely a matter of interest when 

 dealing with large continental areas, for there is much to be 

 learnt by attention to it in connection with comparatively 

 small insular regions, in which food, climate, and topo- 

 graphical aspect exercise a considerable influence on the 

 movements and the permanent or temporary location of 

 the feathered creation ; and it has therefore occurred to me 

 that something might be done in the pages of our journal 

 towards inci'easiug our knowledge of the distribution of 

 Tasmanian birds. The large islands round our coasts appear 

 to furnish the most interesting fields of observation, and in 

 the present instance Maria Island has been chosen as being 

 a place to which no little attention has of late been drawn in 

 connection with settlement and fertilisation, and where there 

 may some day be a considerable population. The geographical 

 features of the island are such as to be favourable in a large 

 degree to bird life. Its climate is mild, and it is for the most 

 part forest-clad, with a consequently abundant food-supply. 

 A lofty range of mountains, attaining, at its northern end, an 

 altitude of 3,000 feet, runs from north to south of the larger 

 half,which shelters the east and west coasts from the opposite 

 blowing winds, and in the gullies of this range there is ample 

 room for our forest-loving species. The western shores r.re flat 

 and intersected here and there by lagoons, the home of water 

 birds ; and ronnd the isthmus or "neck " there are extensive 

 beaches such as are frequented by shore species. Beyond the 

 isthmus lies the southern portion of the island, sparsely 

 timbered, but no doubt containing a good many birds, 

 although the information I have obtained does not extend 

 beyond the " neck." Unable to visit the island myself, I sent 

 my son, who is an enthusiastic young collector, to spend his 

 Easter holidays there, and he succeeded in observing a fair 



