THE BIEDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
allowed one to approach to within three yards on this our first visit and 
the nests, a few clutches of eggs were secured, then the birds left in peace. 
On again visiting the rookery a few days later, it was found that the Silver 
Gulls {Lams novmhollandice) had played havoc among the eggs. Later we 
watched through our field-glasses these Gulls quietly drop down among the 
nests and steal eggs from unprotected ones, right under the noses of birds 
sitting hard by. From observations it was found that the Cormorants were 
afraid of the Silver Gulls, and would not return to protect their nests while 
any of the impudent robbers were close by. On other parts of the island 
the remains of extensive rookeries were evident. It was noted that when 
this Cormorant is in full flight its wing-action much resembles that of the 
Black Duck {Anas superciliosa). For the first few days Silver Gulls were 
scarce, but after that they greatly increased, and a large flock was always to 
be seen in the vicinity of the Cormorant rookery.” 
In 1837 Gould described this Shag as P. leucogaster, and under this 
name it was generally known until the appearance of the Catalogue of Birds 
in the British Museum, Vol. XXVI., in 1898. There Ogilvie-Grant used for 
it the name P. gouldi^ which had been proposed sixteen years earlier by 
Salvadori, as Gould’s name was invalid through its former usage by Vieillot 
in 1817. This name was then at once accepted on account of the authori- 
tative nature of the work in which it was published. Had Ogilvie-Grant 
thoroughly gone into the subject he would have found that an earlier name 
was applicable, and being at that time a consistent user of bedrock priority, 
he would have introduced the name here utilised and it would have been just 
as readily accepted as the one he wrongly selected. For, in the synonymy 
of P. varius Gmelin, a New Zealand bird, Ogilvie-Grant placed Hydrocorax 
fuscescens Vieillot, 1817. The description was of an immature bird, and the 
study of it alone made it doubtful to which species or subspecies it should 
be allotted. The locality, however, was Australia, so that if that were 
correct it could not be cited as a synonym of a Neozelanic bird. When 
Iredale and I worked up the synonymy of the New Zealand Avifauna this 
was of necessity inquired into, and as it had to be crossed off the synonymy 
of the Neozelanic species it had to be transferred to that of an Australian bird. 
The name was then applicable to either P. gouldi or P. hypoleucus, but it had 
long priority over both. Examination of the type then became necessary, 
as it was urgent that such a matter should be definitely and accurately 
settled. I found that Pucheran had examined the type in the Paris Museum 
and in the Revue Zool. 1850, p. 625, had concluded that it was the juvenile 
stage of P. varius Gmelin. The further information he gave was that it had 
been collected by Per on and Lesueur and was labelled “ Timor.” It is 
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