THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
Wenman Islands. These are exactly differentiated as Ridgway wrote, and 
as the names used by Ridgway are inapplicable I name the two forms 
Fregata minor magnificens, subsp. n. 
and 
Fregata minor ridgwayi, subsp. n. 
The former breeds on Barrington, Indefatigable, Albemarle Islands, 
etc., and is characterised by its very large size. The largest female 
(procured as a straggler on Wenman Island) gives culmen 134 mm., wing 
704 mm. 
The latter breeds on Culpepper and Wenman Island (but Ridgway’s 
bird was obtained as a straggler at Tower Island), and the female gives 
culmen 108 mm., wing 620 mm. 
The differences between these two forms in coloration are that F. m. 
magnificens, in the male, has the breeding plumes on the back with a 
purple sheen, the feathers very narrow and the wing-coverts uniform black 
with a purplish sheen. In F. m. ridgwayi the breeding plumes on the 
back are broader and an oil-green colour prevails, while a brownish band 
extends along the wing-coverts. 
The measurements of the two subspecies do not overlap in any way. 
The larger Christmas Island, Indian Ocean, bird identified by Sharpe 
as F. aquila is a very distinct species, characterised by the male having 
the abdomen white and the female being all white underneath from the 
lower throat to the vent. It is also quite a large bird, the largest female 
giving the bill 136 mm. and the wing 635 mm. 
It gives me great pleasure to call this species 
Fregata andrewsi, sp. n., 
as it was due to Dr. C. W. Andrews’ gift that this investigation proved 
so interesting. Fregata ariel is differentiated, as is pointed out in the 
Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum, by the male having a white 
patch on the flanks. 
It has not such a wide range as Fregata minor, but may even be 
more local, for one of the results of my researches is the proof that 
Fregata is practically a sedentary genus. 
The type locality of Fregata ariel is Raine Island, Torres Straits, and 
a series from Bedout Island, North-west Australia, shows that the latter 
bird is noticeably larger, the largest females giving culmen 90 mm. and 
wing 563 mm., while typical birds never exceed a wing length of 545 mm. 
I therefore name the Bedout Island form 
Fregata ariel tunnyi, subsp. n. 
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