30 



surface of the face dull red ; edges of the upper mandible towards the angle of the mouth 

 and the base of the lower mandible orange-yellow. 



An undoubted example of P. colensoi purchased from Mr. Youil measured: wing, 11*5 

 inches; tail, 5*75 inches. 



Later on, I examined two fine specimens in the Colonial Museum. One of these is 

 un-crested, a female bird, shot by Youil with five or six others (all un-crested) at the 

 Auckland Islands in February. The other (like my two specimens) has an ample crest. It 

 was brought (with mine) in spirits from the Auckland Islands, but when shot I could not 

 determine. It would seem from this that the species is crested at one season and not at 

 another. But these two specimens differ from all of mine in this respect, that the black 

 meets round the neck for the space of an inch or more, leaving a narrow white throat - 

 streak above it. 



Captain Hutton writes to me of this species: "Found on Stewart Island, as well as 

 on Auckland Islands." He must accordingly have received a specimen from the former 

 locality. I procured a large collection of Shags through Mr. Markland, from Stewart Island, 

 but no example of P. colensoi. 



Captain Hutton further writes to me : " There are no Shags at the Snares, nor at Antipodes 

 Island." This is a very curious fact, and difficult to account for. 



Commenting on the origin of the variations (' Animals of New Zealand,' p. 291), the same 

 writer asks : " How did they arrive ? Phalacrocorax carunculatus has lost its crest, P. chal- 

 conotus and P. traversi have lost the white dorsal bar, and P. ranfurlyi has lost caruncles, crest 

 and dorsal bar. The white alar bar was a new character acquired by P. colensoi, and the white 

 dorsal bar another new character, first acquired by P. stewarti. It is impossible to suppose 

 that they were caused by amphimixis, as the blending of the sperm and the ovum could not 

 have produced characters that never existed in any of the ancestors of either parent. Nor 

 can the white bars be attributed to the action of the environment, for it is impossible to 

 connect the origin of white feathers on the wings and back with the weather, or with any of 

 the surrounding objects, especially as in P. chalconotus the changes have been in an opposite 

 direction ; and not only have the white alar bar and dorsal bars been lost, but the whole of the 

 under surface has also turned black." 



Order PELECANIFORMES.] 



[Family PHALACROCORACIDJE. 



PHALACROCORAX HUTTONI. 



(STEWART-ISLAND SHAG.) 



Phalacrocorax huttoni, Buller, Birds of New Zealand, vol. ii., p. 174. 

 Phalacrocorax stewarti, Grant, Cat. Birds, Brit. Mus., vol. xxvi., p. 331. 



The bird described by me under the above name was evidently an immature example, although, 

 when obtained, it was in moult and changing its plumage, thus leading me to the conclusion that 



