WaAKEFIELD.—On Dermestes and Phoracantha. 153 
No. 124.—LESTRIS CATARRACTES, Q. and G. 
An egg of this species, brought by Mr. H. Travers from the Chatham 
Isles, is ovoi-conical in form ; the colour is olivaceous brown, blotched and 
dotted with dark brown ; ; it measures nearly 3 inches in — with a breadth 
of 2 inches 1 line. 
No. 126.—LARUS DOMINICANUS, Licht. 
Large Gull. 
In certain localities the habits of our Large Gull seem so peculiar as to 
deserve some notice. About the sounds it is apparently far less gregarious 
than it is usually found to be on our eastern shores. Has the custom of 
flocking together been abandoned, or is it yet unacquired ? Fish is as abundant 
on the western side as it is here, so that any difficulty in the food supply does 
not seem to be the cause of different habits. It breeds solitarily on little islets, 
stumps, or roots of stranded trees. The nests are large, substantial structures, 
showing a degree of labour and care in their construction which is not matched 
by the birds on our side of the island. Some found by the writer, in Milford 
Sound, were large nests formed of a vast variety of materials, and so solidly 
built that they were brought away without the least damage. The young keep 
to the nest for some time, lying on the broad walls basking in the sun ; from 
the castings we found they were fed on young mussels, etc. These Gulls prey 
on the young of other birds, such as those of the teal for instance, which are 
swallowed at a gulp. 
No. B. 131.—SrERNA ALBA, Potts. 
The White Tern seen by the writer on the Ashburton, and described by 
him in Trans. N.Z. Inst, Vol. IIL, is quietly placed by Dr. Buller with 
5. nereis, to which he gives the name of the Little White Tern. 
This fine White Tern was seen on the Waitangi River by the Hon. 
G. Buckley, and others. Last month (November 20) a pair were seen flying 
up and down the course of that great river. 
lt is satisfactory to be able to record a second notice of the occurrence of 
this bird in the breeding season. 
Art. X X XI.— Note on the Occurrence of Dermestes lardarius and Phoracantha 
recurva in Canterbury, New Zealand. Ву C. M. WAKEFIELD, 
[Read before the Philosophical Institute of Canterbury, 2nd April, 1873.] 
. On the 12th of last February I captured a specimen of Dermestes in a box of 
insects lately received from Australia by Dr. Haast for the Christchurch 
Museum. Upon comparing it with a specimen of D. lardarius taken at 
U 
