Report of a Mission to (i it a in. 31 



latter, which is not at all the case, as the specimen I secured of 

 P. cine fills was a fully adult female, with eggs almost ready for 

 laying. These birds are ([uite rare, and the only specimen I secured 

 was a female which had been snared by some native boys in a sweet 

 potatti patch near the Agaila river. General color above olive 

 brown ; on top of head the middle of feathers black, with the edges 

 olive brown ; a slight intermingling of ash gray showing on the 

 sides of the crown ; back of neck olivaceous green ; feathers of 

 back with broad black centres and edges of light buffy brown ; 

 lores and a small spot at base of gonys black ; cheeks, sides of neck, 

 and under neck ash gray merging into white on the chin ; a narrow 

 white superciliary stripe which broadens to the base of the U])per 

 mandible ; a white stripe on the upper edge of cheek extending 

 from chin to ear coverts ; cheeks, ear coverts, sides of throat, fore 

 neck, breast, and sides of body ash gray; flanks a buffy brown ; 

 belly white ; under tail coverts buff ; upper tail coverts dusky ; 

 under wing coverts and under side of quills ash ; axillaries dusky ; 

 bastard wing, primary coverts, and quills a light brown ; ash 

 below ; first primary wnth outer web whitish ; feet yellowish with 

 tint of greenish ; eye carmine ; bill dusky above, lighter below, 

 wnth a tint of greenish yellow on the tip of both mandibles. L,ength 

 6.50, wing 3.60, extent of wing 11, tarsus 1.30, culmen .75, its 

 depth at nostrils .25, mid-toe and claw 1.83. Hab. Guam. 



Genus GALI/INULA Brisson. 

 21. Gallinula chloropus Lath. Pulatel. Gallinule. 



The Water Hen or Moor Hen, Albiii, Xat. Hist. B., 1738, II., p. 66, pi. 72. 

 Fiilica r///nropiis. Linn., Sy.st. Nar., 1766, I., p. 258. 



GallhiuUi clilonipm. Lath'., Ind. Orn., II., p. 773; Steere, Li.st of :\Ianini. and B. I'hilip., i ^9*^, 

 p. 258; Hartert, Nov. Zool., V., p. 62. 



This bird is abundant in the marshy grounds and taro patches 

 all over the island ; it is highly prized by the natives for food. 

 General color a bluish slate, with mantle, rump, wdng coverts and 

 upper tail coverts a beautiful olive brown ; scapulars like the 

 mantle ; primar}' and secondary quills blackish brown ; outer pri- 

 mary and ba,stard wing feathers externally edged with white ; tail 

 feathers blackish ; crown and face blackish with a slight blueish 

 tint, which fades into a lighter slaty blue on the neck and fore 

 brea.st, and extends over the entire under surface of the body; pos- 

 terior part of belly with a still lighter grayish tint, while in some 

 specimens this part is almost pure white (immaturity). A few 

 white feathers on the sides and flanks ; under tail coverts white, 

 with the feathers of the vent and the long median tail coverts black ; 

 frontal shield and two-thirds of the bill a deep lake red, anterior 

 third a bright greenish yellow ; tarsus lemon ^-ellow ; garter of rich 

 lake red followed by a band of lemon yellow just above the knee ; 

 joint of the tarsus greenish ; toes du-sk}- with a slight tint of yel- 

 lowish ; iris reddish. No. 9595, an immature male, has the feathers 



