80 



its native habitat. While there, he remarked that the whole country 

 was covered with forest, which extended down to the sea ; and the 

 whole of the vegetation, both trees and shrubs close to the sea, 

 seemed to have a coating of scaly insects ; the whole bush being in fact 

 covered with blight. He' therefore thought it probable, that as these 

 birds increased from the superabundance of their particular food, they 

 in the course of time sent out migratory flocks, which worked their way 

 iTp the coast and at length spr'ead over the country. 



The President suggested that the bird be called by one of its native 

 names, karamoiti, or spectacle bird, from the silvery rings round its 

 eyes. 



5. "On the Huia {Hetemlocha Gouldi),'''' hj Walter BuUer, F.L.S, 

 (See Transactions.) An article in Nature (June 23), bearing the initials 

 of a well known naturalist, notices the arrival of a living example of 

 the Hiiia at the Zoological Society's gardens. The specimen is a male 

 bird, and the writer, in describing the diflierence in the foi-m of the bill 

 that distinguishes it from the female, observes, — " Such a divergence in 

 the structure of the beak of the two sexes is very uncommon, and 

 scarcely to be paralleled in the class of birds. It is difficult to guess at 

 the reason of it, or to explain it on Darwinian or any other principles." 



Mr. Buller's paper, describing very fully the habits of the bird in a 

 state of nature, affords a probable solution of this curious problem, 



6. " Remarks on the Katipo, or Venomous Spider of New Zealand," 

 by Walter Buller, F.L.S. (See Transactions.) This j)aper contains the 

 author's observations and experiments on the Red-backed Katipo, a 

 small venomous spider common on the west coast of this province. This 

 memoir, taken in connection with those on the same subject contributed 

 to the Auckland and Canterbury affiliated Societies, is valuable as tending 

 to a complete history of this singular arachnidan. 



7. " Further ISTotes on the Ornithology of New Zealand," by Walter 

 Buller, F.L.S. (See Transactions.) This paper is a continuation of the 

 friendly discussion between Mr. Buller and Dr. Otto Finsch, the dis- 

 tinguished German Oi-nithologist, on the nomenclature of the ISTew 

 Zealand Avifauna, which was commenced in the Transactions for 1868, 

 and continued in last year's volume. 



It is a sufficient proof that this discussion has not been without 

 value to local science, when we find that Dr. Finsch has yielded several 

 of the points contended for by Mr. Buller. For example, he admits 

 that Anthornis auriocula, Buller, is distinct from J., melanura, Gray; 

 he allows that Mr. Buller is right in separating Rhiindura Jlabellifera 



