﻿BuLLER. 
  — 
  Further 
  Contributions 
  to 
  the 
  Ornithology 
  of 
  New 
  Zealand. 
  375 
  

  

  again 
  on 
  the 
  beach, 
  repeating 
  the 
  operation 
  again 
  and 
  again 
  till 
  the 
  coach 
  

   reached 
  the 
  Paikakariki, 
  a 
  distance 
  of 
  some 
  twenty 
  miles. 
  Any 
  bird 
  of 
  

   ordinary 
  intelligence 
  would 
  have 
  made 
  a 
  circuit 
  and 
  got 
  behind 
  the 
  pursuing 
  

   coach. 
  But 
  the 
  Skua 
  ashore 
  was 
  evidently 
  out 
  of 
  his 
  latitude 
  ; 
  and 
  this 
  

   was 
  made 
  more 
  apparent 
  by 
  the 
  manner 
  in 
  which 
  the 
  sea-gulls 
  (of 
  both 
  

   species), 
  his 
  hereditary 
  victims 
  at 
  sea, 
  pursued 
  him 
  in 
  the 
  air 
  and 
  buffeted 
  

   him. 
  As 
  is 
  well 
  known 
  this 
  bird 
  usually 
  subsists 
  by 
  plunder, 
  pursuing 
  the 
  

   gulls 
  and 
  compelling 
  them 
  to 
  disgorge 
  their 
  food. 
  Here, 
  however, 
  the 
  

   conditions 
  were 
  changed, 
  as 
  I 
  myself 
  had 
  an 
  opportunity 
  of 
  observing 
  from 
  

   the 
  box-seat. 
  The 
  skua 
  had 
  alighted 
  in 
  a 
  shallow 
  beach-stream 
  and 
  was 
  

   ducking 
  its 
  body 
  in 
  the 
  water 
  Avhen 
  a 
  fine 
  old 
  hawk 
  (Circus 
  gouldi) 
  with 
  

   hoary 
  white 
  plumage, 
  suddenly 
  appeared 
  from 
  the 
  sandhills 
  and 
  swooped 
  

   down 
  upon 
  the 
  intruder. 
  The 
  skua, 
  without 
  making 
  any 
  show 
  of 
  resistance, 
  

   instantly 
  disgorged 
  from 
  its 
  crop 
  the 
  entire 
  body 
  of 
  a 
  diving 
  petrel 
  

   f 
  Pelecanoides 
  urinatrix). 
  The 
  hawk, 
  balancing 
  himself 
  for 
  a 
  moment 
  with 
  

   outspread 
  tail, 
  dropped 
  his 
  long 
  talons 
  into 
  the 
  stream 
  and 
  clutched 
  up 
  his 
  

   prey 
  without 
  wetting 
  a 
  feather 
  of 
  his 
  plumage, 
  and 
  then 
  disappeared 
  among 
  

   the 
  sand-hills, 
  while 
  the 
  terrified 
  skua 
  hurried 
  off, 
  only 
  to 
  be 
  pursued 
  again 
  

   by 
  the 
  clamorous 
  sea-gulls. 
  Thus 
  we 
  have 
  examples 
  of 
  "retributive 
  

   justice 
  " 
  even 
  among 
  birds. 
  

  

  The 
  flight 
  of 
  this 
  bird 
  is 
  heavy, 
  and 
  performed 
  by 
  slow 
  regular 
  flappings 
  

   of 
  the 
  wings, 
  with 
  the 
  shoulders 
  much 
  arched. 
  It 
  possesses, 
  however, 
  the 
  

   faculty 
  of 
  turning 
  quickly 
  in 
  the 
  air, 
  as 
  I 
  observed 
  when 
  the 
  gulls 
  were 
  in 
  

   pursuit. 
  On 
  the 
  wing 
  the 
  white 
  mark 
  across 
  the 
  primaries 
  is 
  very 
  

   conspicuous, 
  but 
  it 
  is 
  not 
  sufficiently 
  apparent 
  to 
  distinguish 
  the 
  bird 
  when 
  

   the 
  body 
  is 
  at 
  rest. 
  

  

  Prion 
  vittatus, 
  Lacep. 
  — 
  Broad-billed 
  Dove 
  Petrel. 
  

  

  As 
  already 
  stated 
  in 
  my 
  paper 
  on 
  Prion 
  banksii, 
  after 
  boisterous 
  weather 
  

   in 
  July, 
  I 
  found 
  the 
  sea-beach 
  between 
  Waikanae 
  and 
  Manawatu 
  strewn 
  

   with 
  the 
  dead 
  bodies 
  of 
  Prion 
  turtur 
  and 
  P. 
  banksii, 
  the 
  former 
  species 
  

   preponderating. 
  Having 
  occasion 
  to 
  make 
  the 
  journey 
  again 
  after 
  stormy 
  

   weather 
  in 
  the 
  early 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  following 
  month, 
  I 
  found 
  the 
  strand 
  strewn 
  

   with 
  even 
  a 
  larger 
  number 
  of 
  bodies, 
  but, 
  strange 
  to 
  say, 
  nearly 
  all 
  

   belonging 
  to 
  the 
  very 
  broad-billed 
  species, 
  Prion 
  vittatus. 
  Out 
  of 
  twenty- 
  

   four 
  specimens 
  picked 
  up 
  in 
  succession, 
  there 
  were 
  only 
  three 
  oi 
  Prion 
  turtur 
  

   and 
  none 
  of 
  P. 
  banksii. 
  Scores 
  of 
  others 
  which 
  I 
  was 
  able 
  to 
  determine 
  

   from 
  the 
  box 
  of 
  the 
  ooach, 
  belonged 
  to 
  P. 
  vittatus, 
  with 
  here 
  and 
  there 
  a 
  P. 
  

   turtur, 
  but 
  not 
  a 
  single 
  example 
  could 
  I 
  find 
  of 
  the 
  intermediate 
  form 
  so 
  

   plentiful 
  a 
  month 
  before. 
  It 
  may 
  be 
  inferred 
  from 
  this 
  singular 
  fact 
  that 
  

   the 
  species 
  do 
  not 
  intermingle, 
  but 
  fly 
  in 
  separate 
  communities. 
  I 
  have 
  

   observed 
  flocks 
  of 
  Prion 
  turtur 
  on 
  the 
  wing 
  together 
  numbering 
  many 
  

  

  