LITTLE PENGUIN. 
travelled, to Otago and examined a colony of E. minor, and found that all the 
specimens living there were constant in their dark blue coloration, and that 
none showed any white on the upper edge of the flipper.” 
Unfortunately authors not conversant with the peculiarities of 
E, albosignata, have used this name for New South Wales specimens, 
as noted by Buller ; but the N.S.W. birds do not agree with E. albosignata 
in its peculiar coloration, though they are generally lighter than the 
**undina^^ form from Tasmania. 
I have been impressed with the variation shown in the examples I 
have studied from West Australia, Tasmania, South Australia, and New South 
Wales. I have therefore decided to use for the whole of the Australian forms 
the subspecific name novce-holkmdice. I am afraid that this course wiU not 
commend itself to Australian ornithologists, but invite them to co-operate in 
solving the problems that are put forward by this bird. Nothing but the study 
of series from breeding places will serve to explain their variation. 
General coloration will, I believe, be of the greatest value if correctly 
used. If only freshly-moulted birds are used for comparison, differences will 
be noted in coloration, which, I think, a large series will emphasize ; but from 
one colony as above, degrees of coloration may be seen which I suggest are due 
to the different ages and breeding times in the colony. This bird’s plumage 
seems to wear very quickly, as examination of the feathers of a freshly-moulted 
bird and a dull bird shows a great difference in length of the feathers. 
Mr. Iredale also tells me that, “ although Captain Hutton believed 
E. albosignata did not breed until October, he found on the 17th September 
one bird had hard-set eggs, another about a week set, others with fresh eggs, 
though the majority had not laid. 
“ In the first week in November the Otago birds were in the same medley. 
There was one fully-plumaged young, eggs hard-set and fresh eggs, as well as 
birds that had no eggs.” 
This casual manner of breeding would possibly account for the observed 
lighter and darker birds in the one colony. 
The few specimens from each locality I have studied have not allowed me 
to diagnose any subspecies of the Australian bird, but I find that the^ white 
tail of the Australian form renders it separable from the New Zealand bird, 
which is also constantly darker. 
The nomenclature is : — 
Eifdyptula minor minor Forster 
Queen Charlotte Sound, N.Z. 
Akaroa, N.Z. 
Chatham Islands. 
Australia. 
alhosig'nata Pinsch , , 
,, iredalei Mathews 
,, novcB-Jiollandice Stephens 
285 
