THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
distribution of tbe dark Puf^nus round Australia is not well known, but where we 
have P . t. brevicaudus we have not P. p. chlororJiynchus nor P. p. royanus breeding. 
Apparently P. t. brevicaudus does not breed on the West Coast, nor does 
P. p. royanus breed in Bass Strait. It does not even seem certain that the 
forms of P. pacificus and P. carneipes breed alongside, save at Norfolk 
and Lord Howe Islands, and there these probably have definite areas, as the 
records suggest that the former breeds on the outlying islets while the latter 
is restricted to the main islands. Further research is most necessary to elucidate 
the various problems surrounding these dark Puffinus, their distribution and 
breeding habits. 
Interesting results are being produced by the efforts of Mr. Basset Hull, 
who gives the following note regarding this species (Pmzt, Vol. XI., p. 206, 1912) : 
“ This Shearwater is very plentiful on the New South Wales coast, and I have 
now authentic records of its breeding on the following islands : Montague, 
ToUgates, Five Islands, Bird Island, Big Cabbage Tree, Broughton, Solitary, 
Coff’s, Capricorn, and Raine Islands. This embraces nearly the whole eastern 
coast of Australia. I anticipate finding it still farther south, and it will be 
interesting to discover the point where P. tenuirostris meets P. sphenurusP 
