Order PKOCELLAKIIFORMES.] 



/•^y 



[Family PUFFINID.E. 



PRION BANKSI. 



(BANKS' DOVE PETEEL.) 



Prion banksii, Gould; Buller. Birds of New Zealand, vol. ii., p. 211. 



This form has a dark stripe down the sides of the neck, from the eyes, far more prominent than 

 in the other species.* 



Specimens in the Colonial Museum exhibit a good deal of variation in the contour of the bill, 

 some having the unguis much deeper and more robust than others. 



^ Nestling.— Covered with very dark sooty-grey down, looking, when at rest, like a round ball of 

 fluff. It is easily distinguished from the young of Prion desolatus and P. arid by its broader bill. 



Prion banksi was collected off Victoria Land, lat. 74° S., by Dr. (now Sir) J. D. Hooker, in 

 1840. This is the first record of the species from the Antarctic region. 



According to Captain Hutton, this species breeds on the Auckland Islands. 



PRION DESOLATUS. 



(DOVE PETEEL.) 



Prion turtur, Kuhl. ; Buller, Birds of New Zealand, vol. ii., p. 209. 

 Procellaria desolatus, Gmelin, Syst. Nat. i., p. 562 (1788). 



Accoeding to Dr. Eamsay, this species is found occasionally on the New South Wales coast and 

 breeds on Montague Island. 



It is thus distinguished from its allies by Mr. Salvin : 



Similar to P. vittatus and P. banksi, but with a still smaller bill than the latter ; the sides of the 

 maxilla are nearly straight, not convex, and the lamellae are not visible near the rictus when the bill is closed. 

 (' Cat. B.,' xxv., p. 485.) 



Mr. Lyall writes to me. from Stephen's Island : " The Dove Petrels are here in thousands ; 

 the ground is covered with them as thick as they can find sitting room. They begin to assemble 

 as soon as darkness sets in, and the noise they make is something astonishing." 



According to Captain Hutton, this species breeds on Antipodes Island. 



I have some nestlings, obtained on the outlying rocks off the Chatham Islands. They are 

 covered with pale slaty-grey down, long and soft in texture. 



* Very similar in colour to P. vittatus, but the bill not so wide (0-5 in.) ; the lamellae of the maxilla just visible 

 near the rictus when the bill is closed. [Salvin, ' Cat. B.,' xxv., p. 434.) 



