No. 4.] THE AUSTRAL AVIAN RECORD 83 



Gould queried, and substituted for the species his own blue 

 and white figure (vol. hi., pi. 25). This transposition was 

 apparently accepted as being correct by the " British Museum 

 Catalogue " (Vol. IV., p. 290). In Quoy and Gaimard's figure 

 I at once recognised a generally fair drawing of edouardi. 

 Should the black and white Wrens of Barrow Island and Dirk 

 Hartog Island (isolated localities about 500 miles apart) 

 eventually prove the same species, then after a lapse of 77 

 years the real M. leucopterus has been re-discovered, while- 

 Gould's long-standing provisional M. cyanotics will become 

 the proper name for the blue and white bird." 



In the next number (January, 1902), p. 65, a further note 

 is given explaining pi. VI., which is an illustration of a mounted 

 specimen of the Barrow Island bird (M. edouardi) for com- 

 parison with a reproduction of the original figure of Malurus 

 leucopterus from the Voy. de l'Uranie. 



Simultaneously (Rec. Austr. Mus., Vol. IV., p. 209, Jan. 

 1910) North recognised the same facts stating that 'the note 

 " was sent last July to Melbourne for publication in the 

 Victorian Naturalist but was temporarily withdrawn." In 

 the Emu, April 1902, p. 152, the editors make some caustic 

 remarks regarding North's action which seem quite out of 

 place and moreover do not discuss his claim that it was due 

 to his initiative that Campbell recognised his edouardi as 

 being close to or identical with the original leucopterus. The 

 matter then dropped, as no specimens were available from 

 Dirk Hartog's Island, so that finality could be achieved. 

 In preparing my List I concluded the best solution was to 

 consider them the same species, but until specimens could be 

 actually compared leave the two as subspecifically distinct 

 on account of the different localities. Against the Dirk Hartog 

 form I added the note " ? Extinct." 



Mr. Tom Carter has proved that it is not extinct. 



Regarding Malurus textilis the collection of specimens 

 brought forward the interesting fact that these birds were 

 very local and that many subspecies could be distinguished 

 when birds were procured. Thus Milligan described an 



