BurLER.— Replies to Hutton's Notes. 133 
C. novee-vealandie ; and when Mr. Potts saw them he at once recognized them 
as the eggs of a Stormy Petrel. Both Mr. H. Travers and niyself now believe 
that they belong to Thalassidroma regata. 
* Tt is the more necessary that I should correct this mistake, as Dr. Buller, 
in his book (p. 160), states that the egg of C. nove-zealandie із * 1:5 inch in 
length by 1:1 in breadth ; the surface is smooth without being glossy, and, as 
a rule, pure white, but sometimes marked with obscure purplish spots at the 
thicker end,' and, although not given as a quotation, the- measurements and 
latter part of this description must have been taken from my paper in ‘The 
Тыз” as they correspond entirely with it. The egg of this bird is stilla 
desideratum in collections." 
[My description of the egg of this species was taken from one obtained by 
me in the Upper Manawatu many years ago. The specimen came into my 
hands very much broken, and as my measurements were consequently 
uncertain, I adopted those given by Captain Hutton as from a perfect specimen, 
never supposing that he could mistake the egg of a Petrel for that of a Pigeon! 
The addition * sometimes marked with obscure purplish spots," was on the 
same unfortunate authority ; for my specimen had no spots whatever, and the 
natives had always described the egg to me as perfectly white.] 
* OCYDROMUS EARLI. 
“Tt is much to be regretted that Dr. Buller does not produce better 
evidence in support of his statement that this bird occasionally breeds with the 
Barn-door Fowl. It is certainly astonishing that a naturalist should see and 
‘carefully examine’ several supposed hybrids, and never preserve specimens, 
nor even take an intelligible description of them, nor ascertain what these 
supposed hybrids developed into. Dr. Buller cannot expect that other 
naturalists will accept as true a statement made in such a loose and 
unscientific manner.” 
[Captain Hutton expresses astonishment at my not having preserved 
Dr. Hewson’s specimen of the hybrid Wood-hen, and my not having ascertained 
what it developed into. The bird was promised to me, but unfortunately was 
shortly afterwards consigned to the pot; and this put an end both to the 
specimen and its “development.” Captain Hutton quotes me incorrectly in 
stating that I carefully examined several supposed hybrids, } 
* OCYDROMUS AUSTRALIS. 
“The male bird described by Dr. Buller under this name is 0. troglodytes 
(Gm.), while the female is the true O. australis (Sparrm.). These two species 
are quite distinct, as has been pointed out by Dr. Finsch in the ‘ Journal fir 
Ornithologie,’ May, 1872, p. 174, ete. Another species of this genus has been 
lately received at the Colonial Museum from Otago, which I shall shortly 
describe," 
