RUDDY TROPIC BIRD. 
Kermadec Islands, Pacific Ocean, Niihau, Mauritius, and Christinas Island, 
Indian Ocean, writing ; “ Comparing my series of Red-tailed Phaethons from 
various localities, I find them to belong to two well-marked forms. While 
my series from Laysan and Niihau, and two caught in the Pacific Ocean at 
lat. 21° 10' N., long 115°, belong to a smaller form, with narrower and 
slenderer beak, shorter wings, and with a very slight rosy tinge, the birds 
from the Kermadec group, Norfolk and Lord Howe’s Islands — ^in short from the 
islands to the north of New Zealand — are larger, with a thicker, stronger and 
longer bill, and have a very pronounced rosy red tinge in their plumage, 
especially on the wings. This beautiful red tint is so strong, that even in 
skins which are about four or five years older than those recently collected 
by Schauinsland this colour is much stronger. 
“ The measurements given of specimens, no sexes stated, show the 
following variation : 
Kermadec Islands . . 
BiU 
75-87 
wing 
330-360 mm, 
Pacific Ocean 
78-87 
99 
330 
Laysan 
70-77 
99 
305-325 
Niihau 
99 
70-80 
99 
318-320 
“ The specimens in the British Museum from Mauritius and Round 
Island, near Mauritius, are not nearly as reddish as those from the Kermadec 
Islands, and their measurements are : bill 76-80, wing 320-336 mm. 
“ These birds belong therefore clearly to the typical P. ruhricauda. The 
specimens from Norfolk Island in the British Museum agree with those from 
the Kermadec Islands, but the skins are not good. Those from Christmas 
Island (Indian Ocean) are rather reddish and measure : bill 73-75.5, wing 
320-341 mm. They seem thus to be somewhat intermediate between the 
smaller and whiter and the larger and more reddish form, but a larger series 
must be studied to confirm the impression. In any case there are two 
distinct subspecies — one the typical P. rubricauda, the other, PhcBthon 
ruhricavda eruhescens, subsp. nov., differs from P. ruhricauda in being l^ger, 
with stronger bill, and in having a more reddish plumage, 
“ Hab. : Kermadec, Norfolk, Lord Howe’s Islands.” 
Rothschild then observed that two names quoted in the synonymy 
were of doubtful reference, viz., P. melanorliyncTios Gmelin, suggesting this 
might be young of either P. oethereus or ruhricauda, and P. novochollandice 
Brandt, writing : “ This refers also to a young Phoethon, and can only be 
quoted with a big query under the head of one of the known species.” 
I have shown this must supersede Rothschild’s P. r. eruhescens and 
would now deal with GmeHn’s Phmton melanorhynclios {Syst. Nat, p. 582, 
301 
