The Emu. 
139 
Captain Hutton on Migratory Birds of New Zealand. 
Captain F. W. Hutton, F.R.S., Christchurch, New Zealand, 
President of the Australasian Association for the Advancement 
of Science, amongst other attainments has long been an ornith- 
ologist of repute. Hence anything he may have to say about 
birds is worth notice, and his paper on " Our Migratory Birds," 
contained in the " Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute " for 
last year, will be read with general interest. The wide problems 
connected with bird migration and geographical distribution are 
ably reviewed by the light of the latest knowledge, and a valuable 
series of notes on those birds which in their yearly flight or other- 
wise visit New Zealand are also embodied in the paper. Though 
these notes are, of course, local to those islands, they have a 
bearing on the work of bird students in Australia, since some of 
the species named touch our shores in their passage, and others 
have passed hence. 
In dealing with his subject the author has drawn the line 
between ''stragglers," which may have been blown to sea and 
forced to fly on ; those wanderers who pass from one country to 
another for what is often an inexplicable reason ; and those 
regular migrants who have fixed seasons for arrival and de- 
parture. The list of the first-named class includes several cases 
of birds which have managed to cross the Tasman Sea (by way 
of Australia) and to reach New Zealand. Amongst these are 
cited the Red-capped Dottrel {Aigialitis riificapilla], Curlew 
{Niiineuiiis cyanopus). Little Whimbrel {Mesoscolopax ininiitus), 
Grey-rumped Sandpiper (yHeteractitis brevipes), Greenshank 
{Glottis nebularis), Snipe [Gallinago australzs), Grey Phalarope 
{Crymophilus fiilicariiis), Plumed Whistling Duck {Dendrocycna 
eytoni), Darter {P lotus novce-liollandice). Kestrel {Cejxhneis cen- 
chroides), Red-wattle Bird {Acant/iochcera carunculatd), Tree 
Martin {Peti'ochelidon nigricans), Roller [hurystovius pacificiis)^ 
and White-rumped Swift {Alicropus pacijicus). The captain 
adds — Possibly there may be a few others, but their cases are 
not fully proved." However, the Whimbrel {Nunienius varie- 
gatus) and the Black-billed Spoonbill {Platalea regid) might have 
been included with safety. None of the foregoing birds has 
been known to breed in New Zealand, and they are often only 
single examples. The distance across the Tasman Sea is about 
i,030 miles, which Captain Hutton reckons could be accom- 
plished by a bird in from 24 to 36 hours. 
The mysterious migration of the White-eye {Zosterops 
ccerulescens) from Australia is ever fresh to students. The 
author states : — 
"The date of its first occurrence in Otago is doubtful, but in 1856 it 
appeared on both sides of Cook Strait in considerable numbers. Before 
then it was unknown both to the Europeans and the Maoris, the latter 
calling it ' Tauhau,' which means 'a stranger.' In 1860-61 it had spread 
