The mysterious Miss Rebecca Stone and her collection of birds from Hokianga, 1842: a window into early ornithology in Aotearoa New Zealand

A collection of 16 birds from Hokianga, including the type specimens of banded rail Hypotaenidia philippensis assimilis and black petrel Procellaria parkinsoni, is recorded as presented to the British Museum in 1842 by a mysterious “Miss Rebecca Stone.” She is identified as Rebecca Stones of London, who presented birds brought from Hokianga by her brother William Stones. A further search for the collector in Hokianga, based on the evidence of the specimens and how they were obtained, prepared and documented, points to the Wesleyan missionary William White, and also reveals much about the practices of ornithology of the time. It also reveals that Hokianga Māori, notably Mohi Tāwhai of Waimā, played a significant role in obtaining and naming birds for the collection. The type localities for New Zealand banded rail, black petrel, and Botaurus melanotus are restricted to Hokianga, Northland.