812 Transactions. — Zoology . 



Mr. Cook having considerately sent me also the carcase in spirits, I was 

 able to dissect it and to make a preparation of the sternum for Professor 

 Newton's collection at the Cambridge University. It proved to be an adult 

 female, and the stomach contained four large blue-bottle flies almost 

 uninjured and the remains of others in' black comminuted matter. 



On this point Mr. Cook further remarks in his letter : " Certainly the 

 condition of the specimen is not that of one which has lately made a long 

 aerial trip. In skinning it, although I freely used cotton wool and kept the 

 pepper castor going, I could not help getting the plumage saturated with 

 oil, owing to the excessive fatness of the body." 



My correspondent promises to obtain from Mr. Cheeseman, who pro- 

 cured the specimen, full particulars as to when the swallows were first 

 seen, as to whether there seemed to be a family party, and as to when and 

 where this one was shot. In the meantime, he offers the following 

 pertinent remarks : " Do you think that the recent warm weather, and the 

 early and frequent nor'- westers have had anything to do with the appear- 

 ance of the swallows once more ? Again, what do you think becomes of 

 the stray birds which find their way to New Zealand ? I should say it is 

 very unlikely, judging from the prevalent winds, that they could ever 

 return to Australia or Tasmania, whence, I presume, they come. Are 

 they known in Fiji or South Sea Islands ? For, if so, we could imagine 

 them migrating northward to escape our winter. If not, is our New Zea- 

 land winter too rigorous for this family of birds ? I scarcely fancy so. 

 Even here, there are few winter days when an occasional blink of sunshine 

 does not fetch out dancing myriads of Ephemeridm on the river banks. In 

 olden days, I fancy this was not so much the case. The rapid growth of 

 willows now overhanging the water must afford protection to delicate new- 

 born insects such as mosquito and other gnats which the old fringe of flax 

 and toe never could have given. The temperature of the water in which 

 the larvae reach their fullest development is scarcely affected by the season. 

 Indeed, in many snow-fed rivers the temperature, far from the source, 

 when the water is at its lowest, must often be higher in winter than in 

 summer when the melting snows are in full swing and the river body too 

 great to be affected materially by sun-heat. I hope you will agree with me 

 that the natural acclimatization of the Australian swallow is not impossible. 

 One certainly does miss the easy graceful little bird out here." 



I received another letter from Mr. Cook, under date June 11th, in which 

 he says : — 



" Since I wrote I have seen no further specimens, but note a local in the 

 ' Kaikoura Star,' stating that two swallows had been seen at Kaikoura 



