152 
and in the same locality, of several examples, all in the same brilliant plumage, I felt no hesitation m character g 
the species as new, under the above designation. Several connecting forms, however, have since been found, an 
I now feel bound to sink N. superbus as a species. The following description of this supposed species appeared in 
my ‘ Essay ’ {l. c .) “Crown, hind neck, breast, scapulars, and upper wing-coverts canary-yellow of different 
shades, and tinged with scarlet; upper surface of wings whitish yellow, the primaries inclining to pale ash ; upper 
surface of tail,' when closed, pale ashy yellow, the sides being bright canary-yellow with a scarlet tinge ; sides, 
abdomen lower tail-coverts, axillaries, lining of wings, lower part of back, and upper tail-coverts bright scarlet, 
varied on the underparts, and minutely edged on the upper tail-coverts with canary-yellow; cheeks, throat, ear- 
coverts and a broad nuchal collar paler scarlet, largely mixed on the ear-coverts and collar with bright yellow. 
The under wing-coverts are beautifully marked with alternate bands of scarlet and yellow ; the primaries, on tlieir 
under surface, are ashy, marked on their inner vane with triangular spots of scarlet and yellow ; under surface of 
tail-feathers pale scarlet for two thirds of their extent, and banded on their inner vane with brighter, ashy beyond, 
and yellowish towards the tip. Bill and legs dark bluish grey.” 
There are two specimens (said to be $ and $ ) in the Canterbury Museum. They diffei slightly in the details 
of their colouring. In one the nuchal collar of scarlet and yellow is much broader and brighter than in the 
other, while the crown of the head is paler, being of a dull yellowish white. I he lower pait of the back is equally 
brilliant in both; and the peculiar ashy white, which is characteristic of albinism, is very strongly apparent m t ie 
primaries and tail-feathers, although tinged on the latter with yellow. One has the bill considerably larger and 
stronger than the other, while in both the tail-feathers have denuded tips, or, more properly, the shaft is produced 
half an inch beyond the webs. 
An example in my collection, obtained on Banks Peninsula (Canterbury), corresponds exact y wit 1 ie 
supposed male above described. -it 
There is another specimen (obtained in the Tararua ranges) in the possession of Wi Parata at Waikanae. t 
is well mounted in a glass case, and exhibited with other novelties in his elegant Whare-puni. The general plumage 
is white, with a wash of canary-yellow, shading into crimson on the cheeks and feathers overlapping the lower 
mandible - a narrow nuchal collar of crimson and golden yellow intermixed; the feathers of the breast and the 
small wing-coverts tipped with bright yellow ; the whole of the abdomen, flanks, and under tail-coverts bright 
crimson, and the under surface of tail-feathers flushed with the same. Bdl white ; legs and feet grey. 
Var. (3. Nestor esslingii, Souance, Rev. et Mag. de Zool. 1856, p. 223. 
M. de Souance, the original describer of the supposed species, says : — “ Le Nestor dont nous allons donner la 
description est, sans contredit, l’oiseau le plus remarquable de la collection Massena. Intermediate entre le N. 
hypopolius et le N. productus, ce magnifique Perroquct reuuit, dans son plumage, des details caracteristiques de ces 
deux especes. Coloration generate semblable a celle du N. hypopolius.” 
Mr. Gould, in the Supplement to his ‘ Handbook to the Birds of Australia/ says of it : — “ A single specimen 
only of this magnificent Parrot has come under my notice ; and this example is perhaps the only one that has yet 
been sent to Europe. It formerly formed part of the collection of the Prince D’Essling, of Paris, but now graces 
the National Museum of Great Britain. It is in a most perfect state of preservation, and is, without exception, 
one of the finest species, not only of its genus, but of the great family of Parrots. The native country of this 
species is supposed to he New Zealand ; but I, as well as M. de Souance, have failed to learn any thing definite on 
this point. In size it even exceeds the great Kaka ( Nestor hypopolius), which it resembles in the form ol its 
beak while in its general colouring it closely assimilates to Nestor productus.” 
Dr. Finscli, on the other hand, states, in his Monograph, that Nestor esslingii, De Souance (of which the type 
is in the British Museum) , is in size and general colour the same as Nestor meridionalis, but has the breast ash- 
grey, with brown terminal margins and a broad yellowish-white transverse band straight across the belly. He adds 
that he was not able to make such an examination of it as he wished, owing to its being in an hermetically closed 
glass case, but quotes Souance to the effect that the red marks on the inner vane of the quills and tail-feathers are 
precisely as in Nestor meridionalis-, whereas Mr. Gould distinctly says that while the tail-feathers in N . meridionalis 
and N. productus are strongly toothed on the under surface with red, “in Nestor esslingii no such marks occur, 
the toothing on the inner webs of the primaries is not so clear and well-defined, and the light-coloured interspaces 
are more freckled with brown.” 
Referring to these several accounts, I expressed the following opinion, in the ‘ Transactions of the New- 
Zealand Institute’ (vol. iii. 1870, p. 51) “ Assuming Dr. Finsch’s description to be strictly correct— that it most 
