39 
Obs. There is no perceptible difference in size between the two sexes. Gould’s two very characteristic figures of 
this Sandpiper, in the ' Birds of Australia/ pi. 38, represent very well my two specimens as described above. 
The only two examples of this nomadic species hitherto obtained in New Zealand are those from 
which the above descriptions of the male and female were taken. They are in the Author’s collection, 
having been kindly presented by Mr. C. H. Eobson, who obtained them on Portland Island in the 
autumn of 1883. 
The late Dr. Jerdon recorded (‘Ibis,’ 1865, p. 40) that he had received specimens of this bird 
from North Australia, Timor, Borneo, Ceram, Japan, and both sides of the North Pacific. 
Latham’s original description of this species (the bibliography of which is very exhaustively given 
by Drs. Finsch and Hartlaub in their ‘ Birds of Central Polynesia ’) was taken from specimens in the 
collection of Sir Joseph Banks, from Eimeo and Palmerston Isles. 
Mr. Gould writes of it : — “All the specimens I have seen of the bird were killed near the harbour 
of Port Essington, where it frequents the sandy beaches and rocks just above high-water mark ; the 
salt-water lakes and swamps near the settlement also afford it a natural asylum, and there, at some 
seasons of the year, it may be seen in great flocks in company with the Stints and Plovers.” 
Although the two specimens described above, and now in the Author’s collection, are absolutely 
the only examples hitherto recorded in New Zealand, it does not by any means follow that this species 
is not a frequent visitant. On the extensive sand-banks and mud-flats at the mouths of the tidal 
rivers, as well as upon the long stretches of ocean-beach in the less frequented parts of the country, 
thousands of sea-birds congregate at certain seasons of the year, or scatter themselves over the oozy 
flats in search of their natural food ; and it is highly probable that large numbers of this and other 
hitherto rare species come to our shores and leave again rvithout ever being detected. 
For many years the Wry-billed Plover was considered one of our rarest birds ; but now that the 
collector knows where to look for this form, and to distinguish it from the Banded Dottrel which 
frequents the same localities, it is found to be common enough. So also with Tringa canutus and 
Tringa acuminata, both of which, although only of late years included in our list of recognized species, 
are now known to visit us every season in appreciable numbers. 
There is at present only one recorded instance of the occurrence on our shores of the Eed-capped 
Dottrel ; but at a little distance it is impossible to distinguish such a bird from the other small 
Waders among which it habitually consorts ; and it is only reasonable to suppose that what has been 
known to happen once may, in point of fact, have happened very often. 
It must be borne in mind also that a great portion of the w^est coast of the South Island is quite 
unexplored, being out of the track of our commerce, and it is to this side of our coast-line that we 
should naturally look for seasonal visitants from Australia. 
The most recent of these casual additions to our avifauna is the capture of the Masked Plover 
{LoUvanellus lobatus) near Wanganui, as already mentioned at page 13, a very beantiful addition to 
our list ; and doubtless from time to time other Australian Waders will join the ranks, if not as 
permanent recruits, nevertheless welcome enough as tending to enhance the value of our bird-collec- 
tions and to keep alive the interest among our numerous local observers. 
Mr. Kirk was in error in referring the last-mentioned bird to Lohivanellus personatus {This, 1888, 
P- 46). As already pointed out by me {op. cit. p. 283), the colours and markings of the two species are 
’'’ery similar, but the character of the mask is entirely different in the tw'o birds. Mr. Drew, in whose 
little museum at Wanganui the specimen is preserved, had sent me a sketch of the head, which 
placed its determination as L. lobatus beyond question. In the description which accompanied it, he 
mentions that the “crown, nape, hind neck, and ear-coverts are jet-black,” and the back “reddish 
grey.” 
