THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
intermediate specimens : th.e Rothschild Museum at this time does not possess 
any, and to quote their own measurements — it will be seen that mine taken 
from the same birds disagree — ^they measured thus : 
Culpepper ^ add 
Barrington & Tower (J add. 
Culpepper $ ad. 
Wenman $ ad. 
Bill 110-116 
125-130 
135 
158 
9f 
99 
99 
99 
Wing 548-580 mm. 
645-660 
600-610 
690 
99 
These figures do not show any overlapping when sexes are compared, 
for females are much larger than males. I believe their misunderstanding 
of the matter was due to their misinterpretation of the Wenman female. 
Though Harris noted it as a strange bird, and they quote his memo, in full. 
they did not recognise that this was a straggler from the southern islands 
and was consequently a female of the large race. When this is understood 
the matter becomes very simple. Stragglers may rarely be met with in each 
other’s territory, but the forms are so distinct that they can be recognised 
at a glance. 
Neither of these forms agree with the West Indian birds, which must 
be regarded as typical Fregata minor y as they pass through the same 
plumage-changes, and of which they must be regarded as well-differentiated 
subspecies. 
The nearest breeding-locality from which I have seen series is Laysan, 
Sandwich Islands. A note with regard to the fully-adult black males may 
be here interposed. From some localities they are commonly secured, while 
from others they appear to be almost unprocurable. I have noted that some 
observers record the fact that they are very rare and wary. In the Rothschild 
Museum a fine series of Laysan birds are preserved, and I have noted only 
one black male, two immature males, two mature females, as well as a series 
of immature. Another black male and two females unlabelled, save with 
a number, were also said to have come from there and they agree. 
The black male shows a dusky band across the breast and a faint dusky 
bar on the wing ; the metallic coloration is mixed oily green and purple on 
the back ; the gular-pouch blood-red. It measures — culmen 110 mm., wing 
595, tail 395, middle toe 52. 
Two breeding males have orange gular pouches and are in female 
plumage, but show lanceolate shining breeding-plumes : these measure — 
culmen 102-105 mm., wing 584-588, tail 375-390, middle toe 50. 
This suggests that these birds increase in size with age, as it will be 
observed the wholly black bird is larger than the two breeding immature 
plumaged males. The females seem in the present case to be little larger 
than the fully adult male, but it may be that these are small females : two 
258 
