Burrznz.—On the Red-tailed Tropic Bird. 919 
which and the present the generic appellation of TAalassarche has been 
given), the beautiful grey on the sides of the mandibles and the yellow 
mark at the base of the lower mandible, will at all times distinguish this 
bird from the other members of the genus. The stomachs of those I 
obtained in Recherche Bay contained blubber, the remains of large fish, 
barnacles, and other crustaceans.” 
Art. XXVIL— On the Addition of the Red-tailed Tropic Bird (Pheeton 
rubricauda) to the Avifauna of New Zealand. By Warrer L. BULLER, 
C.M.G., Sc.D., F.L.8 
[Read before the Wellington Philosophical Soicety, 12th January, 1878.] 
In the list of the Birds of New Zealand compiled by Mr. G. R. Gray and 
published in ** The Ibis" of July 1862, the Red-tailed Tropic bird is included 
among the species of Pelecanida, the habitat assigned being Norfolk and 
Nepean Islands. On the publication of my Essay on the Ornithology of 
New Zealand (1865), in the absence of any positive evidence of its occur- 
rence in our seas, I decided to omit this bird from our list of species, and it 
has been rigidly excluded since. 
The fine specimen of the bird, however, which I have the pleasure of 
exhibiting to-night, and which was shot off the “ Three Kings" by Mr. 
Henry Mair, and the further information which I have been able to collect 
respecting it will fairly establish the right of this species to a place in our 
avifauna. 
The bird is well-known to the Ngapuhi tribe at the north, under the 
name of Amokura, and they set a high value on the long red tail-feathers 
which they exchange with the southern tribes for greenstone. Almost 
every year, after the prevalence of easterly gales, some specimens are 
washed ashore (generally dead) at the North Cape or in Spirits Bay. The 
natives of that district go out systematically to hunt for them at these 
periods. Owing to their rarity these plumes are more prized than those of 
the huia or kotuku, and in one instance a valuable slab of pounamu was 
given by a Hawke Bay chief in exchange for three feathers, one of which 
is now in the possession of the Manawatu natives. 
The allusion is to this bird in the love-song of the fairies, commencing— 
Kiatia taku rangi 
Te kapu o te amokura, etc. 
Come, deck my head 
With amokura plumes. 
