2(2 NOTITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXIV. 1917. 



2. Porzana Jusca phaeopyga Stejn. 

 Porzana phaeopyga Stejneger, Proc. U.S. Nat. 3Ius. x. p. 394 (1887 — Yayeyama, Eiu-Kiu Islands). 



Very closely allied to P. /. erythrothorax, but with bills as a rule thicker 

 and longer, the rufous colour of the chest perhaps a little more saturated. 



Stejneger's description is not in agreement wth these specimens. They 

 are not darker op the upperside than Japanese examples, and the whitish spotting 

 of the first primary is aberrational. ' None of our Riu-Kiu specimens shows 

 this, but one from C'ej'lon has pale rusty, one from Java whitish spots on the 

 outer webs of the first primary. Large series should be compared ! 



Riu-Kiu Islands : Yayeyama, Amami, Okinawa. 



3. Porzana fusca bakeri, subsp. nov. 

 Zapornia fiammiceps (sic) Hodgson, Gray's Zool. Misc. p. 86 (1844 — N omen nudum ! Nepal). 



As already pointed out by Sharpe, specimens from North India are larger 

 than those from Ceylon or South India and from the Philippine Islands. They 

 are nearly and sometimes quite as large as P. f. erythrothorax, but the rufous 

 underside is deeper, darker. The crown, as a rule, is entirely rufous. Wing 

 97-108 mm., once 110 mm. 



Type : ? ad., Bhim-Tal, Kumaon 20. vi. (Tring Museum.) 



Northern India from Kashmir to Cachar, Upper Assam and Burma, south 

 to Calcutta. Possibly northern birds may partially move south in winter, 

 for a specimen from Patani, Malay Peninsula, with a wing of 1 1 1 mm. can hardly 

 be P. f. fusca, which is evidently resident in the Malay Peninsula (Selangor). 



Named after my friend E. C. Stuart Baker, whom I first met in Calcutta, 

 twenty-nine years ago. 



This form is common in Assam, especially near Margherita. Mr. Baker 

 gave me the following measurements of eggs : 



31-8 X 23-6" 



308 X 24-2 

 31-0 X 240 

 310 X 23-6 

 31-2 X 23-6 



30. vii. 1905, Margherita. 



9 vii. 1907, Margherita. 



31-8 X 22-5| 



31-0 X 23-3l28.v. 1905, Margherita. 



33-5 X 21-8 



285 X 21-6 

 28- 4 X 22- 2 



12. vii. 1907, Margherita. 



