"These inhabit Norfolk Island, are very common, and so extremely tame as to be easily knocked down with a stick ; they feed on various things, and have more than once been observed to eat the ejected food of the Booby Pelican. It is to be suspected that this is no other than a casual variety of the Purple Gallinule, particularly as that bird is in sufficient plenty in Tongo taboo, Tanna, and other islands of the Pacific Ocean It is probably the same met with in Lord Howe's Island, said to resemble a Guinea-hen in make, and to Aveigh four pounds, and that the cock's wings were beautifully mottled with blue. None of them could fly, but were run down by the seamen.
"The Purple GalUnule of New South Wales is probably different from the Indian one, and is said to undergo extraordinary changes during its progress to maturity ; that of Howe's Island, when young, is entirely black ; from that becomes bluish grey, and afterwards pure white."
Zoology of the Voyage of H. M.S. ' Erebus ' and ' Terror,' by John Edward Gray, 1844. Birds, p. 14. Subfamily Gallinulinse. Birds of New Zealand: —
"Porphyrio melanotus.
Porphyria melanotus, Temm. Man. d'Orn. ii. 701.
Fulica alba, Lath. White's Journ. t. 138 (albino variety).
"Head, back, and wings deep shining black ; neck, breast, and outer margins of wings indigo blue ; abdomen sooty black ; under tail-coverts pure white. Length 1 fool 5 inches ; bill from gape 1 inch 7 lines ; wings 10 inches ; tarsi 3 inches 8 lines. The head of the female or young is blackish grey."
Diagnoses.
Notornis Mantelli, Owen.
Hab. New Zealand.
Differs from Porphyria. Middle toe shorter than tarsus, hind toe short. Tibia feathered close to junction with the tarsus. Claws short and curved. Frontal plate reaching the eye. On the bend of the wing
a sharp spur in one sex ; and if the only two specimens known, and now
h
