File:Transactions and proceedings of the New Zealand Institute (1874) (14565165397).jpg

Identifier: transactionsproc71874newz (find matches)
Title: Transactions and proceedings of the New Zealand Institute
Year: 1868 (1860s)
Authors: New Zealand Institute (Wellington, N.Z
Subjects: Science Birds
Publisher: Wellington : J. Hughes, Printer
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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upon it,keeping so close together as quite to darken the surfiice. A few terns (Sternafrontalis) were mingling with the flock. The young of this species is covered with thick sooty-grey down, which isnot cast off till the feathers beneath are fully developed. The fledgling hascertainly the appearance of being larger than the parent bird. This is not due,however, to its excessive fatness, as Mr. Potts supposes*, but to the circum-stance that at the end of the true plumage there are downy filaments, aboutan inch long, matted closely together, and forming a warm outer covering forthe body. A thick tuft of down, about 2 inches in length, represents thetail. Piialacrocorax punctatus, Sparrm.—Spotted Shag. The examination of a large series of specimens has satisfied me that thebird figured in the Birds of New Zealand is the young and not the adultfemale, but the loral membrane should have been coloured orange instead of • Trans. N. Z. Iiist, V., p. 200. TRANS.N,Z.iNSTITUTE,VOLWlM. FiaJ.
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TV.LBioUer del. BuLLER.—On the Ornithology of New Zealand. 209 blue. The plumage of the adult is exactly the same in both sexes. Thevertical and occipital crests are present all through the year, but as thebreeding season approaches they become larger and more conspicuous, whilethe hind-neck and the flanks are profusely ornamented with loose whiteplumes three quarters of an inch in length. In the very young bird the skin is entirely bare, nothing being visible butthe roots of the downy plumelets. When more advanced the body is coveredwith thick down, dark ash-grey on the upper surface and white on the underparts j the forehead, fore part of crown, and a portion of the face and throatperfectly bare. Phalacrocorax nov^-hollandi^, Ste))h.—Black Shag. Among birds of this class it is a rare thing to find any conspicuousdeparture from the ordinary plumage. The following is the description of afine albino obtained at Sumner, near Christchurch :—General upper surfacedark cream colour j

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