THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
locality is something over one thousand miles distant from the type locality, 
it is a legitimate conclusion that a distinct race is here met with. Further, 
to this anomaly Rothschild and Hartert state arfaki is a larger race than the 
Australian, and then insinuate I was wrong in describing a bird very much 
larger than their largest specimen. Had they been just, they would have 
revised their own work when they noted that the Australian bird was some- 
times much larger than the New Guinea one ; this they did not do, but wrote 
that the New Guinea race must be admitted, apparently on their previous 
conclusions, which they now know to be wrong. It may be argued that the 
New Guinea form was contrasted with their two Cedar Bay specimens, but 
the merest glance would have indicated that these were atypical. Such 
work is not useful, and I here provide a new arrangement based on the New 
Guinea material, as well as the Australian, which suits the facts better. 
Megastrix tenebricosa magna Mathews. 
Victoria. 
Largest form, and darkest Australian one. Its measurements for d 
and ? for $ exceed those from other localities. North’s record size is also 
of a Victorian bird. 
Megastrix tenebricosa tenebricosa (Gould). 
New South Wales. 
Similar to preceding, but averaging lighter and smaller. 
Megastrix tenebricosa multipunctata Mathews. 
North Queensland. 
Based on birds not fully mature, and showing much more spotting above 
and below, being strikingly different when compared with similar aged birds 
from either south-east Australia or New Guinea. 
Megastrix tenebricosa perconfusa subsp. nov. 
British New Guinea. 
I provide this name for the British New Guinea birds, which come 
close to the typical form in size and colour, but are averaging slightly larger 
and a shade darker. 
I have given Rothschild and Hartert’s measurements above. They do 
not agree with the description of S. t. arfaki. 
Two specimens from the Sattelberg Mounts, East New Guinea, in the 
Tring Museum differ from the long series of the new form in showing a similar 
adult upper-surface combined with the under-surface markings of the immature 
of the British New Guinea (Aroa River) birds. These indicate another race 
and suggest that more than one race exists in New Guinea. 
Megastrix tenebricosa arfaki (Schlegel). 
Arfak Peninsula, New Guinea. 
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