428 Transactions, —Zoology. 
Mr. Robert Day at last obtained one on the Kaiapoi Bar on the 2nd of 
April of this year, where it was found by him together with a mob of Limosa 
uropygialis, the Godwit, usually called the New Zealand Snipe. 
On examination it proved to be a very fine male bird, which as to size 
agrees more with the Australian than the European species. Mr. Gould 
has already pointed out* that the Australian Curlew, although in many 
respects resembling the common Curlew of Europe, is distinguished from it, 
amongst several differences in the plumage, by a much longer bill. As it 
will be seen by the following measurements, taken from a specimen in the 
Canterbury Museum, the New Zealand bird is the largest of the whole 
series :— 
From Gape to| | Length 
point of Bill, in [n 
—— a straight Line. Metatarsus. 
Inches. Inches. 
Numenius haere, Silesia, North Germany, TM (1870, 
no further date) 4:82 38:11 
Numenius g atus, Silesia, "North Germany, female, 
(1870, no further date) 4-65 3°32 
Numenius pere Bremen, Germany, female (April 
13th, 1875) .. 5:96 3:19 
Numenius cyanopus, Australia, no sex, no date 1:0 3:20 
Numenius cyanopus ©), Canter wiped N.Z., male, pri 
nd, 1876) .. 7:62 9:48 
From these measurements it will be seen that, whilst the bill of the 
only Australian specimen in the Canterbury Museum is considerably longer 
than those of the three European specimens, the New Zealand bird exceeds 
the former by more than half an inch in length. The length of the meta- 
tarsus is, however, no criterion, the European specimen with the shortest 
bill having the longest metatarsus of the whole series, except the New Zea- 
land specimen. I am not aware how far variations may occur in the 
plumage of these Curlews in different seasons or during different ages, which 
might be important, but I find that the Australian specimen in the Canter- 
bury Museum agrees entirely with Gould's deseription, so that if the New 
Zealand bird belongs to the same species the latter is in a different state of 
plumage, as it is usually found in Australia. 
Thus I find what is pale buff in the Australian specimen is nearly white 
„in the New Zealand bird, which is very striking on the side of the face, on 
the throat, and the lower part of the breast, also the greater wing covers 
and the first primary quill feathers are nearly black in the New Zealand 
specimen, in which both features it resembles the European species. The 
New Zealand specimen has, however, the rump and tail covers also barred 
with brown, instead of being uniform white as N. arquatus exhibits, so that 
* “ Birds of Australia," Vol. IL, p. 278, 
