writings of Layard, Haast, and Taylor, under the erroneous title of Falco harpe. Mr. Gray him- 

 self afterwards, in his ' Birds of New Zealand ' (Voy. Ereb. and Terror), partially rectified this 

 error by introducing the Circus in its proper place ; but the misapplication of the native names 

 was continued. In this work Mr. Gray substituted the prior title of Falco novce zealandice, Gmel., 

 for F. harpe, Forst., with F. australis (Homb. et Jacq.) correctly added as a synonym. He like- 

 wise reduced Gould's F. brunnea to the rank of a synonym; but in a subsequent list (Ibis, 1862, 

 p. 214) he recognized it again as a distinct species, and equivalent to F.ferox of Peale (U. S. Expl. 

 Exped. 1848), referring both forms to Kaup's genus Hieracidea. Unfortunately Mr. Gould's 

 description of H. brunnea was founded on an immature bird, in a condition of plumage exactly 

 corresponding with the young of H. novce zealandice. This circumstance, together with the great 

 difference in size between the male and female, led myself, among others, to the conclusion that 

 the two birds were referable to one and the same species*. Dr. Otto Finsch (Journal fur Orni- 

 thologie, 1867, p. 317) expressed his belief that H. brunnea was the female of H. novce zealandice 

 — a decision based (as he has since informed me) on Forster's account of the bird ; but in a subse- 

 quent paper {pp. tit. 1870), referring to my observations on the subject, he adopts the view of its 

 being the young of that species, quoting, at the same time, Dr. Haast's opinion to the contrary. 

 In the last published list of New-Zealand birds f, only one species is admitted, the compiler 

 remarking that it is very variable in size, and that " a large male can be distinguished from a 

 small female by its more slender legs, which are - 6 of an inch in circumference in the male, and 

 0-88 of an inch hi the female." On the other hand, several excellent local observers have always 

 contended that they could distinguish a larger and a smaller species, the former differing, in some 

 of its habits from the common Bush-Hawk, and frequenting the open country in preference to the 

 woods. Mr. Gurney also called attention to the subject in a letter to 'The Ibis' (1870, p. 535), 

 in which he gave the following dimensions of examples that had come under his notice : — 



List of Specimens. 



H. nova; zealandice. 



Adult. Auckland Island. (Mus. Brit.) 



Ditto, ditto. (Mus. Brit.) 



Immature. New Zealand. (Mus. Norvic. ) 



H. brunnea. 



Adult. New Zealand. (Mus. Brit.) 



Ditto, ditto. (Mus. Brit.) 



" g " immature. New Zealand. (Mus. Norvic.) 



Long. tot. 



Alas a 

 carp. 



in. 



in. 



18-0 



11-5 



19-5 



11-75 



19-0 



11-75 



15-0 



9-5 



14-75 



9-25 



14-5 



9-25 



Caud. 



Tarsi. 



Dig. med. 

 c. ung. 



m. 

 7-75 



8-25 



8-0 



6-25 

 6-25 

 6-0 



in. 

 2-25 



2-25 



2-25 



2-0 

 2-0 

 2-5 



in. 

 2-0 



2-0 



2-0 



1-5 

 1-5 



1-75 



The small specimen of II brunnea, in the Norwich Museum, marked $ , is, no doubt, as 

 Mr. Gurney suggests, incorrectly labelled ; for I have never met with so small an example of that 



* Vide Trans. N. Z. Instit. vol. i. p. 106, 1S68. 



t ' Catalogue of the Birds of New Zealand,' by F. W. Hutton, Geol. Survey of N. Z. : 1871. 



b2 



