96 BIRDS OF MARIA ISLAND. 



many of the islands in the former. I have entered this tern 

 in my systematic list as S. poliocerca, not with the idea of 

 reversing my opinion given at page 1,027 of the " Birds of 

 Ceylon," where I agreed with Mr. Saunders, our chief 

 authority on these interesting birds, that it was identical with, 

 the Indian Ocean crested tevn,S. Bergii, but in order to retain it. 

 for the present as a local race or sub-species under Gould's 

 name, S. poUocereca. Terns of wide range vary much in size, 

 and the Bass Straits tern is the smallest form of the Crested 

 tern of Indian seas, the gradations in size, however, in speci-^ 

 mens from various localities being so regular that the Southerns 

 bird is not considered by Mr. Saunders to hold its own as a 

 distinct species. When examining the specimens in his 

 collection I found 8. poliocerca to range as low as 12*75 in the 

 wing against 15"12 in the largest specimens from the Persian 

 Gulf. Since coming to Tasmania I have procured a fully 

 adult specimen with a wing of 12 "0, and I find that the bird is 

 different in its note and habits from the Indian tern, and that 

 its plumage is beautifully suffused with rose colour on the 

 under surface — a feature not observed in specimens of true S. 

 Bergii. Should individuals from all parts of Australian seas, 

 show the same small size, I am of opinion that ;S^. poliocerca 

 may stand as a distinct species. 



STEGANOPODES 



53. SULA SEREATOR, Ba7iks. 



Observed and obtained between Spring Bay and the island 



It is a matter of cofijecture wliere this gannet breeds. It 

 is in the Derwent nearly all the summer, and is not known to 

 breed anywhere on the south coast. 



54. Phalacrocorax letjcogaster, Gould. 

 Common all along the coast (L). 



This Cormorant breeds abundantly south of Hobart ; large 

 colonies nest at Cape Frederick Henry ( Bruni Island), and at 

 the Blanche Eock, near Southport. 



55. Pelecanus conspicillattjs, Temm. 

 Observed occasionally (B). 



ANSEEES. 



56. Ctgntjs ateatus, LatJi. 

 Seen in Oyster Bay (L). 



S. Bernacchi says the swan breeds in the lagoons, and is not 

 uncommon in the island. Mr. Morton found it nesting in 

 August on a lagoon on the Western side of the island. The 



