248 Transactions. — Zoology. 



Aet. XXIII. — Remarks on some curious Specimens of New Zealand Birds. 

 By T. W. Kirk, Assistant in the Colonial Museum. 

 [Read before the Wellington Philosophical Society, 11th October, 1879.] 

 It will be remembered that, in 1876, Dr. Biiller read before this Society- 

 descriptions of several varieties of the Common Wood-Pigeon [Car2:)ophai)a 

 novce-zealandicB). I have now the pleasure of bringing under your notice 

 two additional examples of albinism in this species. 



No. 1 is a beautiful albino, the whole plumage being pure white, with 

 the exception of the lesser wing-coverts, which are a delicate yellowish- 

 brown colour, but much more decided than in the specimen mentioned by 

 Dr. Duller. The claws are yellow instead of black, which is the normal 

 colour. This specimen was shot at Springhill Station, Upper Whareama, 

 by Mr. A. Cameron, and by him presented to the Museum ; he says it has 

 frequently been seen about the station during the last four years. 



No. 2 is a partial albino. The head, neck, back, and fore-part of the 

 breast are light brown, stained in places with coppery-purple ; lesser wing- 

 coverts, coppery-purple ; quills and their coverts, light brown ; quills tipped 

 and margined with white. Tail-feathers brown, tipped with white ; under- 

 surface steel grey, changing to brown towards the extremities ; under-parts 

 from breast downwards, white, shghtly tinged with brown ; eyes and feet 

 the usual carmine pink ; claws yellowish-pink, tip|)ed with black. This 

 specimen was procured at Pahautanui, and presented to the Museum by 

 Mr. Wise, a very old resident in the district. 



The next specimen I have to draw your attention to is a curious and 

 interesting variety of the Kotuku, or White Heron [Ardea syrmatophora). 



On the right wing, near the " bend," is a patch of dark feathers ; thence 

 a band of black and brown passes right over the back and joins a much 

 larger patch of the same colour on the left wing, and then extends obliquely 

 across the breast, becoming fainter as it again approaches the left side. 

 Inner webs of primaries, lining of wings and flank-feathers, more or less 

 marked with brown, passing in places into black. A black patch about an 

 inch in length will also be noticed on the outer web of one of the " secondary 

 plume feathers." 



I have never before heard of a specimen of this species possessing a 

 single coloured feather, and indeed I am informed that " White as a Kotuku'' 

 has passed into a proverb amongst the natives. I was therefore surprised, 

 when, on proceeding to examine the six specimens contained in the "type 

 collection," in the Colonial Museum, I found that no less than three of them 

 had the wings, especially the under-sm-faces, more or less spotted or dashed 

 with brown and black. 



