EASTERN LESSER FRIGATE BIRD. 
The type locality is Raine Island, North-east Australia, and a remarkable 
fact is the extreme prevalence of black males in collections. 
The type locality is represented in the British Museum by downy young, 
immature and adults. The adult males have a maximum wing-length of 
635 mm., while females reach 545 mm. 
In the Rothschild Museum a series is preserved from Bedout Island, 
which show the following measurements : 
^ Culmen 
88 
wing 
523 -f- 
tail 305-1- 
middle toe 
43 mm. 
d 
94 
99 
553 
„ 365 
99 
46 
? 
89 
99 
562 
„ 350 
99 
43 
? 
90 
99 
563 
„ 350 
99 
45 
$ 
99 
88 
99 
543-}- 
„ 340 
99 
45 
These figures are confirmed 
by a specimen in my collection : 
$ Culmen 92, 
wing 565. 
Another bird from North-west Coast Australia in the British Museum 
gives: d Gulmen 88, wing 545, tail 325, middle toe 48. 
Birds preserved in the Perth Museum, West Australia, have wing- 
lengths as follows : 
Point Cloates d 533 and 536 mm. Bedout Island d 525-1- and $ 
558 mm. These were measured some years ago, so that at the present time 
my method of measurement would show larger measurements. 
Consequently, it is obvious that these birds show a larger measurement 
than Raine Island birds. Unwilling to indicate a different subspecies from 
the two sides of Australia, though my experience with the larger birds had 
proved their sedentary habits, I carefully criticised all the birds from localities 
east of Torres Straits. No long series are available, so that it is more than 
probable more subspecies are here confused : the one fact certainly found 
was that the largest female measured 537 mm. in the wing and the largest 
male only 526 mm. 
It was therefore necessary to distinguish this larger Western form. 
As previously indicated, Rothschild and Hartert wrote that this species 
did not go much above the Equator, but it was noted in the Caroline Islands 
by Lesson where it probably breeds. It may be breeding in the Marshall 
Group, cf. Finsch {Ibis 1880, pp. 329-30). Examples are in the British Museum 
from Amoy and Hakodadi, unfortunately immature, but it is now certain 
these came from some locality not far distant ; an immature specimen comes 
from Luzon, Philippines, and though it has not yet been found breeding there, 
no doubt can be held that it does so, judging from recorded observations. 
From the Mascarene Islands I have examined seven birds, which must bear 
a different subspecific name, as though the wing-measurement is similar to 
285 
