50 



come under my notice ; and this example is perhaps the only one that has yet 

 been sent to Europe. It formerly formed part of the collection of the Prince 

 D'Essling, of Paris, but now graces the National Museum of Great Britain. 

 It is in a most perfect state of preservation, and is without exception one of 

 the finest species, not only of its genus, but of the great family of parrots. 

 The native covintry of this species is supposed to be ISTew Zealand ; but I, as 

 well as M. de Souance, have failed to learn any thing definite on this point. 

 In size it even exceeds the great kaka (^Nestor liypo-polius), which it resembles 

 in the form of its beak, while in its general colouring it closely assimilates to 

 Nestor jyroductus. " 



Dr. Finsch, on the other hand, states in his Monograph, that Nestor Esslingii, 

 De Souance (of which the type is in the British Museum), is in size and general 

 colour the same as Nestor raeridionalis, but has the breast ash grey with brown 

 terminal margins, and a broad yellowish white transverse band straight across the 

 belly. Further on he speaks of both the original specimens from the Massena Col- 

 lection being in the British Museum, and states that " they appear to be the only 

 ones known. " He adds, that he was not able to make such an examination of them 

 as he wished, owing to their being in hermetically closed glass cases, but quotes 

 Souance, to the efiect that the red marks on the inner vane of the quills and 

 tail feathers are precisely as in Nestor meridioncdis ; whereas Mr. Gould dis- 

 tinctly says that while the tail feathers in N. nfieridionalis and N. productus 

 are strongly toothed on the under surface with red, " in Nestor Esslingii no 

 such marks occur, the toothing on the inner webs of the primaries is not so 

 clear and well-defined, and the light coloured interspaces are more freckled 

 with brown." 



As stated by Mr. Gould, there is no certainty about the type specimen of 

 M. de Souance having come from New Zealand. Dr. Finsch, however, 

 regards it positively as a New Zealand species, and cites Dr. Haast as his 

 authoi'ity. " No traveller (he observes) speaks of this rare bird, and only 

 from a remark of Dr. Haast's does it appear that it really still exists. He 

 says, in his interesting treatise on the kakapo {ver Handel des Kaiserl, Zool. 

 Bot. Ver. Zer Wien., 1863, p. 116), — Nestor Esslingii is still to be seen in the 

 forest districts, living on the berries of the numerous Alpine shrubs and on the 

 roots of Alpine herbs, — the only remark we possess about the species." But 

 Dr. Haast has since written to me, asking what Nestor Esslingii is, and I 

 gather from his correspondence that he mistook another bird (the large Alpine 

 Nestor, which Dr. Finsch considers a mere variety of N. meridionalis) for the 

 true Nestor Esslingii. There is, consequently, no positive authority for con- 

 sidering this a New Zealand species. 



Not having access to the type specimen, and left in utter confusion as to 

 its real characters by the discrepancies to which I have adverted, it is impossible 

 for a local naturalist to hold any decided opinion respecting it. But assuming 



