BLACK-BELLIED STOBM-PETREL. 
Sharpe, in 1879 [Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. (Lond.), Vol. 168, p. 130), correctly 
identified T. tropica as being very close to the other two, and went further, 
and from examination of a paratype of tropica, and three other similar 
specimens compared with breeding specimens of mcJ/mogastcr, accepted 
the former name for the whole of Gould’s species. The same material shows 
that there was quite a lot of reason in Sharpe’s action, and I must endorse his 
conclusion that tropica is undoubtedly the same species as melanogaster, but 
I also consider these are subspecifically distinct, and as tropica has priority 
it must be used as the species name. F. leucogaster, as I will show, is however 
indubitably a distinct species. 
Under the name F. imlanogaster, a number of subspecies would seem to be 
confused, but the series available does not permit their correct nomination. 
A few notes on the differences may however be of use. 
The bird which Gould presented to the British Museum as noted in the 
Monograph of the Petrels, and which may justly be regarded as a paratype 
of his F. tropica, agrees in general characteristics with the conventional 
F. melanogaster, but has little marking down the centre of the abdomen, a 
distinct white spot on the throat, and the tail appreciably forked. The data 
with it says, “ killed by Gould 33° N. 18° 6' W.” A bird agreeing with it in 
detail, is a female procured in 12° S. 30° W. 
These I would call F. tropica tropica, and I anticipate their breeding on 
some of the islets in the Atlantic Ocean. I, however, would not be at all 
surprised to find more than one form in the Atlantic. The type-locality of 
F. t. melanogaster may be accepted as the South Indian Ocean, but here again 
the birds breeding on the different islets may be separable. At any rate a series of 
breeding birds from Kerguelen Island show that they are quite constant when 
such are examined, the only feature at all varying being the forking of the 
tail, and this seems due to age; one has a faint fork, the others are even 
or rounded ; otherwise they all agree in having a faint well-defined line 
down the abdomen. 
Two other specimens, obtained at 36° 57' S. 40° E., agree quite well, except 
that there is no indication of white on the throat. The Kerguelen birds all show 
a little white on the throat. The bird I have described agrees with these and is 
therefore a typical F. t. melanogaster, but it seems possible that this subspecies 
does not occur in Australian waters. So far I have seen no authentic Australian 
examples. Two birds, male and female, killed in 42° S. 20° E., agree in being 
darker and smaller than the preceding, the white throat-spot only indicated, and 
they have a very heavy dark marking almost covering the abdomen. Probably 
these are Tristan d’Acunha, Gough Island, or other Atlantic-island breeding 
birds. One has the tail even, the other faintly emarginate. 
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