222 



white ; the wing-feathers blackish brown, with white shafts, and pale grey on their under surface, with 

 darker tips, the inner primaries and the short secondaries white towards the base, and narrowly tipped 

 with the same ; the long secondaries dark velvety brown, varied on their outer webs with chestnut ; the 

 small wing- coverts pale ferruginous, varied with chestnut and black ; the superior coverts blackish 

 brown, with a conspicuous terminal band of white ; tail-feathers white, crossed in their apical portion 

 by a broad band of brownish black, which is greater on the two median ones, the closed tail appearing 

 to be entirely of that colour beyond the upper coverts. Irides and bill black ; tarsi and toes red ; claws 

 black. Length 9 inches ; wing, from flexure, 6 - 25 ; tail 2"5 ; bill, along the ridge -9, aloug the edge of 

 lower mandible 1 ; tarsus 1 ; middle toe and claw 1*1 ; hind toe and claw -35. 



Adult in winter. Has the entire plumage duller, and little or no chestnut on the upper surface, the feathers 

 being brownish black, tipped more or less with white, and slightly varied with ferruginous ; the facial 

 mark described above is less defined, and the black of the fore neck and breast is strongly suffused with 

 brown. 



Dr. Finsch, writing in September 1870*, expressed his conviction that, among other species which 

 breed in high northern latitudes and migrate southwards on the approach of winter, the common 

 Turnstone would yet be met with on the New-Zealand coast ; and in the following season this 

 prediction was -amply verified by the capture of several specimens on the Ninety-mile Beach, in 

 the Province of Canterbury. All of these were females in whiter plumage ; but Dr. Haast has, 

 I believe, since obtained a male; and Captain Hutton, writing to me on the 18th April, IS 72, 

 says : — " I have just seen a specimen of Strepsilaa interpres in the summer plumage shot at the 

 Wade on April 1st." 



The history of this familiar bird may be found in any standard work on European ornitho- 

 logy ; and it is needless therefore to do more than furnish a description of the plumage for 

 purposes of reference. 



* Journal fur Ornithologie, 1870, p. 349. 



