NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXIV. 1917. 267 



according to Geoft'roy St. Hilaire and Erliard, over half a century ago in Greece, 

 in the swamps of Osman-Aga, the plain of Helos, on the lakes Dystos and Kopai, 

 but it might possibly have been another species. 



2. Porphyria madagascariensis (Ijath. 



Madagascar and Africa to the Sahara, in Egypt along the Nile to Fajmm, 

 Lake Menzaleh and Alexandria. 



3. Porphyria poliacephalus caspius Hart. 



Wings : S 270-286, ? 258-266 mm. 



Shores of Caspian, very numerous at Lenkoran, rare in the Volga delta, 

 in Persia, especially in Seistan, East Persia, in Mesopotamia, and probably 

 Afghanistan, from where only one unsexed specimen could be measured. 



3a. Porphyria paliocephalus poliacephalus (Lath.). 



Wings : <J 257-269, ? 240-256 mm. 



India from Ceylon to the Himalaya, Burma to Tenasserim. 



Possibly the Ceylon form smaller again ? 



4. Porphyria alleni Thomps. 



Tropical Africa, as a straggler once Alexandria, twice Sicily, twice Lucca 

 in Italy, a number of times on the Azores, once in Madeira, once on the Mar 

 Menor south-east of Murcia, in December 1902 near Bizerta in Tunisia, in 

 December 1902 near Mazagan in West Marocco, in January 1902 at sea near 

 Yarmouth. 



It is certainly very remarkable that a species which breeds south of the 

 Sahara should occur so frequently in Europe, and I do not think that it is 

 impossible that it occurs regularly and nests in Southern Marocco, which is, so far, 

 not at all thoroughly explored. It might thus belong to the birds which, Uke 

 the Telephonus, Pycnonatus barbatus, Asia capensis tingitanus, Melierax canorus 

 metabates, Francalinus bicalcaratus (subsp.), and Streptopelia senegalensis phoenico- 

 phila, have extended their range from the Senegal along the coast to Africa 

 Minor, where most of them became changed into distinct subspecies. 



III. THE FORMS OF GALLINULA CHL0R0PU8. 



The " Moorhen " or " Water-hen," being very widely spread, and in most 

 countries not or only partially migratory, offers a very interesting subject for 

 the study of geographical variation. As usual, series from many breeding-areas 

 are not available, but from the material I was able to compare I am convinced 

 that we can distinguish the following races : 



1. Gallinula chloiopus chloropus (L.). 



Fulica chloropus Linnaeus, Syst. Nat. ed. x. i. p. 152 (1758—" Habitat in Europa." Restricted 

 terra typica, from the first quotation, England). 



Outward appearance of wings olive-brown. Wings: S 175-188, ? 165- 

 176 mm. 



Europe generally from Norway and Russia to the Mediterranean, east- 



