MAJAQUEUS ^QUINOCTIALIS. 



Although this species does not occur in New Zealand waters, it has been found 

 in the Auckland Isles, from whence Buller obtained several examples (Suppl. Birds 

 New Zealand, I., p. 109). 



Professor Giglioli, who recognised M. conspicillatus as a distinct form, first saw 

 it in September, 1867, in Lat. 35° S., Long 89° 41' W., when it accompanied the 

 " Magenta " till within sight of Valparaiso, and in the following November the same 

 species was observed at Cape Stokes, in Patagonia, and was found abundant in the 

 neighbourhood of the Falkland Isles, and to the north of Lat. 45° S. 



As regards the white chin-spot, specimens from the southern coasts of South 

 America closely resemble those from the Cape in that particular. I have examined 

 three examples in the British Museum, two collected by Dr. Coppinger at Valparaiso, 

 and one from Coquimbo, in Chile, obtained by Admiral Markham. None of these 

 have any white on the cheeks or crown of the head. 



Some birds from Kerguelen Island have the white chin-spot extended across the 

 middle of the cheeks, but the markings are not symmetrical, and in one female, obtained 

 by the " Challenger " Expedition, the white is extended and forms an irregular spot on 

 the left cheek, while the right cheek is, with the exception of two white feathers, 

 entirely black. 



According to Professor Giglioli, M. cequinoctialis may be recognised, even at a 

 distance, from M. conspicillatus, by its beautiful pale yellow bill and slightly smaller 

 size ; it lacks the white bands on the head which are a characteristic, though not 

 always a constant, feature of M . conspicillatus. He considers the latter to be a larger 

 bird, with blackish instead of yellow tips to the mandibles, and with white bands 

 across the head. 



As admitted by Professor Giglioli, the white markings on the head of M. 

 conspicillatus are not constant, and, after comparing the large series at my disposal, I do 

 not find the evidence as to the larger size of the Australian birds reliable, as in the 

 true M. cequinoctialis the wing varies from 14.2 (Cape seas) to 15.6 inches (Valparaiso), 

 whereas the examples of the so-called M . conspicillatus in the British Museum are 

 decidedly smaller, having a whig of only 14 to 14.4 inches. 



Birds from the Cape seas have a large white chin-spot, the white frequently 

 extending to the cheeks, a little in front of the level of the eye, and sometimes to the 

 base of the lower mandible. This marking on the cheek is not a constant character, and 

 is not even always symmetrical, the white being often more developed on one side than 

 on the other, as shown in a specimen obtained by the Earl of Crawford in Lat. 34° 39' S., 

 Long. 8° 51' E., which has the white chin, and a small patch on the left cheek below the 

 eye, but no white on the right cheek. 



Examples procured in the South Indian Ocean are identical with those 

 from the Cape, although one individual obtained by Nikolai Hanson, in Lat. 

 44° 23' S., Long. 72° 5' E., has a white chin-spot, and only a single white 



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