Vol. xxxi.] 



58 



Mr. W. R. Ogilvie-Grant made the following remarks 

 on a small collection of birds from Henderson Island, South 

 Pacific, collected and presented to the British Museum by 

 Messrs. D. R. Tait and J. R. Jamieson : — 



" Under the direction of Sir John Murray, an expedition 

 in search of lime deposits visited Henderson Island in 1912. 

 Though unsuccessful in their principal object, the members 

 met with several interesting birds, three of which appear to 

 be new and peculiar to the Island. 



if Henderson (or Elizabeth) Island, one of the most southern 

 and easterly islands of the Southern Pacific, lies about 

 120 miles to the north-east of Pitcairn Island. 



" Very little appears to be known about this island, but in 

 a little work on ee Pitcairn " by the Rev. T. B. Murray, 1860, 

 to which Mr. T. Iredale has kindly drawn my attention, we 

 find on page 1 5 the following remarks : — ' It is nearly 80 feet 

 above the level of the sea, 5 miles in length, 1 mile in breadth, 

 of volcanic formation, and covered with dead coral. The 

 soil is poor and sandy. There are many trees and shrubs on 

 the island, and it has been occasionally visited by the Pit- 

 cairn people chiefly for the sake of the timber found there/ 

 Again, on page 273, we find (11th November, 1851) : — 

 ' Thirty-eight of the inhabitants sailed in the ship ' Sharon/ 

 of Eairhaven, for the purpose of visiting Elizabeth Island. 



The soil is very scanty, totally unfit for cultivation. 



Various specimens of marine shells are dispersed all over the 

 surface of the island, which, in combination with the thickly 

 scattered pieces of coral, render travelling both difficult and 

 dangerous. Water is found on the north-west part of the 

 island, slowly dripping from the roof of a cave, which cannot 

 be reached without the aid of ropes. The island rises about 

 sixty feet above the level of the sea.'" 



ACROCEPHALUS TAITI, Sp. n. 



Adult male and female. General colour above earth-brown, 

 the greater wing-coverts with pale edges and the four outer 

 tail-feathers tipped with white in decreasing proportions from 

 the third outwards to the sixth pair ; lores, eyebrow-stripes, 



