41 
Birds of New Zealand . 
Nycticorax caledonictjs. 
Dr* Buller says that several instances have been reported 
of this bird occurring in the south island; but both Dr. Haast 
and Mr. Fuller assure me that they never heard of it. The 
only authenticated New-Zealand specimen appears to be the 
one mentioned by Dr. Buller as having been shot in the pro* 
vince of Wellington sixteen years ago; but when T came to 
the Colonial museum I found two or three specimens, without 
labels, among the New-Zealand birds, and 1 somehow got the 
idea into my head that they had been obtained in the south 
island : this made me state, in my Catalogue of the Birds of 
New Zealand/ that the bird was found in both islands, a 
mistake which has probably led Dr, Buller astray. 
Larus scopulinus. 
The young of this bird takes a year and a half to arrive at 
the full colours of the adult. When one year old they lose 
the brown feathers of the wings and back and assume the 
plumage of the adult; but the red bill and legs are not got 
until the second spring. 
LaRITS BULLERI. 
This bird is, no doubt, identical with L. pomare. It does 
not cc deposit its eggs on the bare ground/' but forms a very 
good nest, 
DlOMEDEA MELANOPHRYS. 
Dr. Buller will find more information on the subject of 
Petrels fiying at night in f The Ibis' for 1867, p. 192. 
Pelecanoibes urinatrix. 
This bird flies very fairly; and it is quite incorrect to de¬ 
scribe it as ce a rapid fluttering movement along the surface 
of the water." 
PuFElNUS BREViCAtJDtrS. 
This bird is not by any means abundant on our coasts j 
only one specimen has as yet been obtained, which was ex¬ 
hibited by Dr. Buller in the New-Zealand Exhibition of 1865. 
The nesting-places mentioned by Dr. Buller in the Kaima- 
nawa ranges and in the Taupopatea country are no doubt 
those of Procellaria parkinsoni . 
