114 Transactions. — Zoology. 



example, his decision against tlae recognition of Halcyon vagans was based 

 " on two specimens only." His subsequent " examination of a large series" 

 has satisfied him that his conclusions in this instance were erroneous. 



Nestor esslingii, Souance. 



This " most magnificent of parrots," as Mr. Gould termed it, has finally 

 dropped out of our list, although it held its place there as a recognized species 

 for many years. It is one of the numerous " varieties" of Nestor meridionalis, 

 of which full descriptions are given at pp. 40 — 45 of my book, and a very 

 beautiful life-size drawing of it is to be found in the supplement to Gould's 

 "Birds of Australia." I do not think it is quite fair, however, to fix upon 

 Dr. Haast the responsibility of its retention on Dr. Finsch's j^revious lists. 

 As pointed out by myself, in a j)aper written several years ago (Trans. N.Z. 

 Inst., III., p. 49), the published descriptions of Nestor esslingii were so much 

 at variance in their details that it was impossible to know the bird without 

 seeing it ; but I then ventured to express a belief that it would prove to be a 

 mere variety of our highly variable Nestor meridionalis. This conclusion was 

 fully verified by my examination afterwards of the type specimen in the 

 British Museum, and I published the result in Part I. of my "Birds." 



Dr. Finsch had previously enjoyed the opportunity of examining this 

 specimen, and wrote as follows respecting it in his " Monograph" (Die 

 Papageien): — "This species approaches, in its uniform colour, neai-est to 

 Nestor Tiieridionalis, but difiers from the latter satisfactorily by the broad 

 yellowish white bands across the under part of the body, so that there can be 

 no doubt of the specific individuality of the bird," Dr. Haast was not in any 

 way responsible for this decision. 



Prince D'Essling's bird was of unknown locality, and the mistaken 

 reference to the species in Haast's paper (Verhaudel des Zool. Bot. Vei\ zu 

 Wien, 186-3, p. 116) was, of course, apparent evidence of the existence of such 

 a bird in New Zealand, but nothing more. 



While I mention this circiimstance, I must however bear testimony to the 

 extreme care and accuracy in the detei'mination of species which is manifest on 

 every page of the valuable " Monograph" I have quoted. 



Nestor occidentalis, Buller. 



Till we know something more of this bird, the distinctness of Nestor 

 occidentalis as a species must, I submit, be considered snbjudice. No collector 

 has since penetrated to the remote district whence Dr. Hector's specimens 

 (now in the Colonial Museum) were obtained. 



Platycercus forsteri, Finsch. 



I am glad to find that Dr. Finsch has agreed to sink this species. I ven- 

 tured to challenge it in 1868 (Trans. N.Z. Inst., Vol. II., p. 109) ; and after 



