MEETINGS OF SOCIETIES. 43 



interest attaching to their life history — their natural habits, their song, 

 their wonderful modes of nidification — and their general ministration 

 to the wants and caprices of man, all tended to make the study of our 

 birds more attractive than that of any other branch of natural history. 

 So much had already been written on the subject that it might 

 reasonably have been looked upon as an exhausted field, but so far from 

 this being the case, new forms and characters of bird-life, and new facts 

 in the history of even our commonest species were being continually 

 brought to light, and it seemed to the author that, after the manner of 

 the Zoological Society of London, which had proved so eminently 

 successful, the best mode of bringing observations of the kind before 

 such a Society as this was to exhibit specimens wherever practicable, 

 and to make brief remarks upon them by way of explanation or sugges- 

 tion. By this means facts and observations of a valuable kind might 

 often be elicited during the customary discussion that follows the 

 reading of a paper. The author then exhibited and remarked" upon the 

 following species : — 



Miro traversi, Buller. Obtained at the Snares, where HHs compa- 

 ratively numerous. It inhabits the Chatham Islands, but has never 

 been met with in any part of New Zealand, or on the Auckland, Camp- 

 bell, Antipodes, or Bounty Islands. The author offered no explanation 

 of this very remarkable distribution. 



Sphenceacus fulvus, Gray. Also from the Snares, where this species 

 inhabits the trees, instead of fern -beds and swamp vegetation like its 

 near ally (8. punctatus) in New Zealand. The author pointed out 

 modifications in structure, apparently the result of this different habit 

 of life. 



Prosthemadera novce-zealandice, Gmelin. A very remarkable speci- 

 men of the Tui, almost a pure albino, was exhibited, and mention made 

 of several other departures from the normal character. 



Platycercus novce-zealandice, Sparrm. A pair from Antipodes Is- 

 lands was exhibited, showing a larger mixture of yellow in the plumage 

 than ordinary New Zealand examples, and some interesting particulars 

 given respecting the local varieties of this highly variable species. 



Gallinago auchlandica, Gray. Of this rare Snipe two specimens 

 were shewn from the Snares and two from the Auckland Islands. The 

 sexes are alike, but the birds from the former locality are some shades 

 darker in plumage than those from the Auckland Islands, and ought 

 perhaps to be referred to Gallinago imsilla. 



Tringa camttus, Linn. A specimen of this cosmopolitan species 

 (the Common Knot) from Pelorus Sound, just passing into the summer 

 plumage, was next commented on. 



Larus novce-hollandice, Stephens. A fine specimen of this bird 

 from Otago was shewn to the meeting, and also an apparently new and 

 undescribed Gull, which was critically compared with Larus scopidinus 

 and Larus bulleri, to bring out the points of difference. 



Ocydromus earli, ■ Gray. An example of the true 0. earli from 

 Marlborough was exhibited, and an interesting account given by the 



