15 



scapulio, pectore ej^igasti'ioque sordide arde-siaco-plumbeis ; abdomine medio, 

 crisso et sub-caudalibus sordide griseo-flaventibus ; gutture colloque sparsim 

 plumosis ; caiida rufescente-brunneo alboque varia ; pedibus pallide rubeiitibus ; 

 rostro flavido, basi obscurioi'e. 



Long. c. Ill"; rostr. 9'"; al. 7" 3'"; tars. 1" 9'". 



The following are my desciiptive notes referred to in Dr. Finscli's letter : — 



Megapodius ? Hab. Nuipo, one of the Friendly Islands. Native 



name Malan. 



The whole of the plumage dark cinereous or slaty-bi-own, inclining to grey 

 on the abdomen and under tail coverts ; and tinged with reddish -brown on the 

 back and on the upper surface of wings. The outermost primary is dark 

 brown ; the rest are ashy-grey with white shafts in their basal and middle 

 jiortion, darkening into brown towards the tips. Bill dark horn colour. Feet 

 dark brown ; claws black, with horn-coloured edges. Irides ? (bright red in 

 the stuffed specimen). 



Extreme leng-th 11| inches; wing from flexure 7|- ; tail 2| ; tarsus 2; 

 middle toe and claw 2 ; hind toe and claw 1| ; bill along the ridge ^, along 

 the edge of lower mandible 1 inch. 



Plumage soft but compact. Wings short and rounded, indicating very 

 feeble powei-s of flight. Legs strongly formed ; toes furnished with ample 

 claws ; middle and outer nearly equal, inner ^ inch shorter. 



It is worthy of remark that both Megapodius senex and M. eremita rest on 

 the authority of a single example ; and in the absence of further specimens, 

 the present bird would appear to have at least an equal claim to recognition as 

 distinct. M. Buriiabyi, as we have ah'eady seen, rests only on the authority 

 of an egg from Hapai, and does not admit of any description, while M. Stairi, 

 Gray, is not yet placed on the list of well-determined species. . 



If on further investigation the bird now under notice should j)rove to be 

 new to science, it might appropriately be named Megapodius Huttoni. -^ 



An egg of this species, in the collection of the Auckland Museum, 

 measures 3 inches in length by a diameter of 1 1. It is cream-coloured, of a 

 regular elliptical form, and with a finely-granulate surface. 



Art. "V". - — On Zosterops lateralis in New Zealand, with an A ccount of its 

 Migrations. By Walter Buller, F.L.S., F.G.S., F.E.G.S. 



(With Illustrations.) 



[Eead htfore the Wellington Philosophical Society, November 12, 1870.] 



The genus Zostero2JS comprises a rather numerous group of closely allied 

 species, with a wide geogi'aphic distribution ; but, as a genus, it is somewhat 

 isolated in its afiinities. Mr. Gould in placing it, very properly, next to the 



