358 
Messrs. Layard on the 
forms, some of which are thus coloured. This island would 
seem, therefore, to he a point where the Polynesian and Aus¬ 
tralian forms unite. 
While we were cleaning the blood from our prize, stuffing 
its mouth, &c. previous to suspending it on the stick, a Fan- 
tail Flycatcher came and chattered the usual note of defiance 
at us; so, as we sat on a fallen tree-trunk, E. L. L. lifted the 
long gun; crack,” and the bird came fluttering down; away 
scudded L. L. through the tangled bush, now dodging round 
a clump, now creeping under, till he was lost to view ! Pre¬ 
sently he returned, panting and blowing, the quarry, only 
broken-winged, having led him a chase of about a hundred 
yards, right down to the sea-beach ! and this a weak-legged 
little Rhipidura ! but, mirabile dictu , this too turns out to be 
new to us also ! 
The only Rhipidura we can find described from here is R. 
albiscapa , Gould. Now specimens of this bird lie before us, 
procured by E. L. L. in New South Wales, and they are quite 
different from the New Caledonian bird; neither will it at all 
accord with the description in Gould's f Hand-book 9 *. 
In general appearance this bird is far more robust than R. 
albiscapa , and more generally rufous; and I should think it 
impossible to confound the two, having either the description 
or specimens before one. In habits it is similar; indeed the 
whole of the species of the genus that I have met with re¬ 
semble each other in this respect. 
L. L. now wandered off into the scrub; and from the fre¬ 
quent sharp cracks emitted by “ Long Tom 99 it was evident 
he was not idle. After a while he reappeared, bringing a 
couple of Aplonis, apparently of different species, and a Red- 
breasted Flycatcher, Myiagra caledonica. He reported that 
he had undoubtedly seen a Blackbird, a veritable Merulaf 9 
scratching among the dead leaves; but the inopportune snap- 
[* Mr. Layard has sent us a specimen of this bird, and we have no doubt 
that it is the species described by Mons. E. Marie as Rhipidura verreauxi 
in the paper referred to at the end of Mr. Layard’s u Notes.”—E dd.] 
[t Probably Turdus xanthopus, Forst.—E dd.]. 
