204 MORGAN — Notes on the Genus Epthianura. 



Twenty or so of these birds fish, and as soon as one se- 

 cures a fish, the others chase him and sometimes force him to 

 drop it, when it is immediately seized by another. 



No. 250— $ . Legnth, 24.4 inches (31/8/86). 



No. 251— 9 . Length, 24.3 inches (21/8/86). 



No. 423— ? . Length, 23.6 inches (22/10/86). 



Irides, green; bill, lead colour, with the culmen black and 

 lower mandible finely lined irregularly with a darker shade of 

 lead ; legs and feet, black. 



97. Microgarbo mblanoleucus melvillbnsis. Northern Lit- 

 tle Cormorant. 



Carbo melanoleucus melvillensis Mathews. Austral Ay. 

 Rec. Vol. 1., p. 74, 1912, Melville Island. 



No. 422— $ . Length, 23 inches, (22/10/86). 



Irides, very dark brown; bill, ochre, with the culmen and 

 tip dark brown, inside of the bill, orange, and of mouth, pale 

 lead; lores and the skin surrounding the eye, dull olive. 



No. 450— $ . Length, 22.6 inches (27/10/86). 



Notes on the Genus Epthianura. 



By A. M. Morgan, M.B., Ch.B. 



In the Emu (Vol. XII., p. 205) Mr. Gregory M. Mathews 

 proposed the division of the genus Epthianura into three 

 genera. 



To a fiield ornithologist the three common species 

 E. albifrons, E. tricolor, and E. aurifrons form so compact and 

 natural a. genus, that it is difficult to believe they can be sepa- 

 rated on structural grounds. These birds all inhabit similar 

 situations, the nests are indistinguishable from one another, 

 as are the eggs, and their flight, food, and habits are the same. 

 Mr. Mathews' reasons for the separation are :— 



... 1. Difference in colour. This is his principal reason. 

 Structural differences were searched for for confirmation. 



2. E. tricolor has a longer and more slender bill than 

 E. albifrons, shorter claws, and a shorter first primary. 



