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the longer ones underlying the primaries, are of a bright scarlet, variegated more or less with yellow, 
especially towards the outer edge of the wing, where the ground-colour changes to olivaceous ; in some 
specimens the yellow tint predominates, while in rare instances the whole of this plumage is of a uniform 
bright canary-yellow, the axillaries alone being tinged with scarlet, and the toothed markings on the quills 
almost white, or only tinged with orange. The long axillary plumes are always bright scarlet, barred with 
olivaceous brown, and sometimes tipped with yellow ; tail-feathers light olivaceous brown on their upper 
surface, with a broad transverse band of dark brown near the tips, obscure vinous red on the under surface, 
with toothed markings of brighter red on their inner webs, and with the subterminal band very distinct. 
Iridesdark brown ; eyelid dull yellow; bill dark bluish grey, the lower mandible sometimes yellowish brown 
towards the base ; legs bluish grey ; soles of feet yellowish brown. Total length 18'5 inches ; extent of 
wings 32 ; wing, from flexure, 11 ; tail 7 ; bill, along the ridge 2 25, along the edge of lower mandible 1 ; 
tarsus 1-25 ; longer fore toe and claw 2'5 ; longer hind toe and claw 2'25. 
Young. In the younger birds the scarlet lining on the under surface of the wings is marked by numerous trans- 
verse bars of dusky brown; and towards the carpal edges the feathers are olivaceous brown, barred and 
margined with orpiment-orange ; the long soft feathers underlying the secondaries are dusky grey, with 
faint bars of scarlet. In some examples the nuchal collar is very indistinct, being simply indicated by a 
tinge of yellow, while in others it is fully as conspicuous as in the adult. 
Nestling The newly hatched nestling is covered with soft white down, thinly distributed, and very short on 
the underparts ;* abdomen entirely bare ; bill whitish grey, the upper mandible armed near the tip with a 
white horny point ; cere pale flesh-colour ; rictal membrane greatly developed and of a pale yellow colour ; 
legs dull cinereous. The bill and feet seem disproportionately large, giving the nestling a very ungainly 
appearance. The fledgling (Eeb. 5) has the membrane at the angle of the mouth and the rim encircling 
the eyes yellow. 
Obs In this species of Nestor the cere is very prominent, and towards the head generally has an abraded 
appearance, as if the feathers had been rubbed off. The two mandibles are connected at the base by a tough 
elastic membrane, capable of much expansion, the mandibles being more than an inch apart when fully 
extended. The tongue, which, like the beak, is bluish grey, is hard and smooth on the under surface, having 
the appearance of a human finger-nail much produced, along the terminal edge of which there is a fine 
brush-like development. The upper surface of the tongue is soft, rounded on the edges, with a broad 
central groove. In adult birds the denuded shaft of the tail-feathers is produced to a fine point a quarter 
of an inch or more beyond the web. Freshly killed birds have a peculiar woody odour, which is sometimes 
very strong. During the season that the rata is in bloom the long feathers of the cheeks and the light 
parts of the lower mandible, as well as the bare membrane at its base, are stained a rich orange-colour 
by contact with the juice of these flowers, which evidently contain strong colouring-matter. 
Apart from the strongly marked varieties to be presently noticed, individual specimens exhibit a con- 
siderable amount of variation in the details of their colouring. The nuchal collar varies not only in extent, 
but in colour, from pale orpiment-orange to a dark wine-red margined with yellow ; and there is much 
difference in the colour of the ear-coverts and of the filamentous feathers overlapping the under mandible. 
Examples also vary in size, a small one in my possession measuring only 16‘5 inches in length ; wing, from 
flexure, 10; tail 6. 
Varieties. The members of the genus Nestor show a great tendency to individual variation, examples even of 
Nestor productus (which is confined in its range to a single rocky island) presenting such differences of 
plumage as almost to induce a belief in the existence of more than one species. But this variability of 
character is developed to the highest degree in Nestor meridionalis. Although it may be necessary, or con- 
venient to recognize a larger and a smaller race, the former confined to the South Island, and the latter 
having a wider dispersion, I have come to the conclusion that the following are merely aberrant varieties ot 
the typical form, and, although sometimes recurrent in different localities, are not entitled to recognition as 
distinct species. 
Var a Nestor superbus, Buffer, Essay on New-Zealand Ornithology, p. 11- 
This is one of the most beautiful of the many varieties to be noticed. Owing to the discovery, at the same time 
