No. 5.] THE AUSTRAL AVIAN RECORD 121 



THE GEOGRAPHIC RELATIONSHIPS OF THE 



BIRDS OF LORD HOWE, NORFOLK AND 



THE KERMADEC ISLANDS. 



Theough the courtesy of the author, Mr. W. R. B. 

 Oliver, I have received a reprint of an article in the 

 Trans. New Zeal. Inst., Vol. XLIV., 1911, pp. 214-221, 

 1912, bearing the above title. The paper had been 

 read before the Auckland Institute on the 28th November, 

 1911, so that the writer was unable to take into con- 

 sideration the new facts indicated in my Birds of 

 Australia, Vol. I., p. 255, 1911 (October 3.1st), where 

 I stated my acceptance of Hull's Phillipian Subregion 

 and its attachment to Australia with the proviso: " I 

 propose to discuss fully the relationship of these groups 

 in another place, and more clearly show the exact alliances 

 of the Phillipian Subregion than is here advisable." 



Oliver writes (p. 216) : " The existence of two 

 brevipinnate rails belonging to genera found elsewhere 

 only in New Zealand is sufficient proof of a former land 

 connection with that country. . . As the two flightless 

 rails mentioned above are closely allied to New Zealand 

 forms, it is probable that the land bridge was severed 

 in the north before the connection with New Zealand 

 was broken. Lord Howe Island would, therefore, 

 properly belong to the New Zealand biological region. 

 Australia can have no claim whatever to include Lord 

 Howe Island within its regional limits." 



As noted above I intend later to fully discuss this 

 subject, but would here record that Lord Howe Island 

 harbours no bird whose alliances are nearer New Zealand 

 than New Caledonia and Australia. Hedley (Proc. 

 Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1889, p. 402) wrote : " A close 

 relationship exists between the animals and plants of 

 New Caledonia and New Zealand. That it has never 

 been recognised by New Zealand writers, is simply owing 

 to New Caledonian literature and material being in- 

 accessible to them." Oliver carefullv noted the New 



