. The Encyclopaedia Britannica; ... A dictionary of arts, sciences and general literature. ed by CoL Wed-derbum in llalifai harbour in the autumn of 1852. Thisbird, the A nas labraxlora of the older ornithologista, waanearly allied to the Eiders (Somateria), and like them usedto breed on rocky islets, where it was safe from the depre-dations of foxes and other carnivorous quadrupeds. Thissafety was however unavailing when man began yearly tovisit its breeding-haunts, and, not content with plunderingits nests, mercilessly to shoot the birds. Most of suchislets are, of course, easily ransacked a
. The Encyclopaedia Britannica; ... A dictionary of arts, sciences and general literature. ed by CoL Wed-derbum in llalifai harbour in the autumn of 1852. Thisbird, the A nas labraxlora of the older ornithologista, waanearly allied to the Eiders (Somateria), and like them usedto breed on rocky islets, where it was safe from the depre-dations of foxes and other carnivorous quadrupeds. Thissafety was however unavailing when man began yearly tovisit its breeding-haunts, and, not content with plunderingits nests, mercilessly to shoot the birds. Most of suchislets are, of course, easily ransacked and no asylum to turn to, for the shores of the main-land were infested by the four-footed enemies just men-tioned, and (unlike some of its congeners) it had not a highnorthern range, its fate is easily understood. Ko estimatehas yet been made of the number of specimens existing inmuseums, but it is believed to be not very great. Another bird which has become extinct within the last Phillip few years is one of a group of Parrots (Xestor) peculiar ti> Island Fia «nd P«rn)t {Sator proiviiU). From ipMlmeii In tlieBiitish Mu&eum. KeJuiCil. the New-Zealand Subregion, and though some of its con-geners still exist in the less-frequented and alpine parts ofthat country, this species (X. proJuclus) seems to havebeen confined to Phillip Island. The last known to havelived, according to information supplied to the writer byMr Gould, was seen by that gentleman in a cage in Londonabout the year 1851. Not much more than a dozen speci-mens are believed to exist in collections. BIRDS P.\RTIALLY LSTERMINATED. Trom Birds which have recently become altogether extinctwe naturally turn to those that have of late been extirpatedin certain countries though still surviving elsewhere. Severalsuch instances are furnished by the British Islands. Firstthere is the Crane (Grus commuHis) which in Turners timo(1555) was described as breeding in our fens. Then i
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