Burrrn.—On the Species of the Genus Ocydromus. 215 
OcypRomus EARLI, Gray. 
This is the North Island species, very distinct in character from the 
others and exhibiting only a slight degree of individual variation. It is 
admirably figured by Keulemans, and a full description of it, in all stages, is 
given in my “Birds of New Zealand” (pp. 165, 166). 
Ocypromus AUSTRALIS, Sparrm. 
This species has never been met with in the North Island as an 
indigenous bird, although of late years it has been successfully acclimatized 
by Sir George Grey at Kawau. 
The tendency of this bird to vary, in a very remarkable degree, has 
occasioned much difficulty in discriminating the form. 
In my published account of O. australis* I made the following observa- 
tions on this point :—‘‘ Examples from different localities exhibit so much 
variety in size and plumage as to suggest the existence of another closely 
allied species. Mr. Potts says that when he was ‘camping in one of the 
gorges of the Rangitata a very striking variety used to visit his tent 
constantly ; the individuals of either sex were above the average size; the 
general colour of the plumage light greyish-brown, the feathers barred or 
marked with shades of dark brown; the rump, and in some instances the 
tips of the primaries, rich chestnut ; throat and cheeks grey * t t s 
My brother, Mr. John Buller, assures me that he invariably found the 
alpine bird considerably larger than those inhabiting the plains and of a 
much lighter colour. A specimen brought by Mr. Henry Travers from the 
interior of the Marlborough province has the general plumage of a yellowish- 
buff eolour, very obscurely marked aud spotted with brown; and among 
those obtained by Sir George Grey in the Otago hills for the purpose 
of stocking the Kawau Island, I observed that one (apparently a young 
bird) had similar plumage, although it was more distinctly banded on 
the sides and flanks. Sir George Grey informed me that these birds were 
taken by himself at an elevation of 6,000 feet, where they were found con- 
cealed under the tussocks or hiding among the loose rocks, the assistance 
of a dog being required to dislodge them.” I further described a specimen 
in my own collection in which the whole of the upper surface is light fulvous : 
shaded with brown, each feather having a sub-terminal spot of that colour ; 
the primaries and secondaries are dark rufous-brown barred with black, 
and the soft overlapping feathers are fulvous, stained more or less with 
rufous and barred with black in their middle portion, margined and spotted 
towards the end with cream-yellow ; the throat, fore-neck, and breast pale 
cinereous brown, mixed with fulvous on the crop; the lower parts dull 
* « Birds of N.Z.,” pp. 170-173. 
