534 P Proceedings. 
Dr. Buller said he was glad his paper had evoked so much interesting discussion. In 
vindication of the name by which this bird was now distinguished (Notornis mantellt), he _ 
_ wished to explain that, more than a year before the discovery of the bird itself on Resolu- 
tion Island, Professor Owen had drawn the generic characters of a large brevi-pennate 
rail, then supposed to be extinct, from the fossil remains collected by Mr. Mantell, and 
had named it Notornis, dedicating the species to the discoverer of the bones. It was some- 
what curious that it should have fallen to the lot of the same scientific explorer to discover 
the living bird itself, and although Mr. Mantell now modestly disclaimed any merit, it 
seemed to have been peculiarly fitting and right that, in commemoration of his services, 
' his name should be permanently associated with the species. 
2. “Notes upon the Great Flood of February, 1868,” by W. T. L. 
Travers, F.L.S. (Transactions, p. 76.) 
On the motion of Dr. Buller, seconded by Mr, Chapman, the debate upon this paper 
was adjourned until next meeting. 
8. Dr. Buller called the attention of the meeting to the following speci- 
mens which he had presented to the Colonial Museum :— 
(1.) Himantopus albicollis, Buller.—Immature state. Specimen obtained 
by Mr. C. H. Robson in the vicinity of Cape Campbell. 
(2.) Anas superciliosa.—Partial albino from Marlborough. In this speci- 
men the primaries and secondaries in both wings are almost entirely white 
in their apical portions; a broad band of white meets the upper margin of 
the speculum; the wing-coverts are irregularly marked with white, and 
some of the scapulars are entirely white. 
(8.) Hybrids between wild and domestic duck, ¢ and ¢ .—These speei- 
‘mens ‘were received from Mr. Taylor of Petane, Hawke’s Bay, who bred 
them on his premises, and vouches for their authenticity. The wild parent 
would appear, from the pronounced alar bar in the male, and the speckled 
markings i in the female, to have been Anas gibberifrons, the white-winged 
duck. 
(4.) Synoicus australis, Gould.—Three specimens of the swamp quail, 
introduced from Australia, and obtained by the Hon. Dr. Pollen on the 
East Coast. Two of these are in the normal plumage of the ¢ and ?; the 
other is a remarkable instance of melanism. The entire plumage is 4 
brownish slate-colour, paler on the under parts; on the crown and nape 
_ there are obsolete shaft-lines, and the whole of the upper surface is obseurely 
varied and mottled with blackish-brown, washed with chestnut-brown 02 
the wings. It is slightly smaller than the. other specimens, and sche 
dissection to be a male.. 
a _4. The President called attention to a specimen of tin Ore found est Raton, 098 a 
| stated hat this was the rs authentic discovery of thie mineral im New Zenent a 
