POIi/ANA 211 



October, 1S97, measures :~Lenutli (A) i-») x i-i6 inches; (IJ) 1-59 x 1-14 inches; (C) 1-55 x 

 1-14 inches; (D) 1-55 x 1-13 inches; (E) 1-57 .< ria inches; {F) 1-51 x 1-15 inches; (('■) 

 1-49 X 1-15 inches. A set of three in Dr. \V. Macp;illivray's Collection, laUen by Mr. \V. 

 McLennan, measures : — Length (.\) 1-43 x roi inches; (B) 1-44 x 1-03 inches; (C) (an 

 elongated specimen) 1-58 x 1-02 inches; one of the birds was shot at the nest. Eggs taken 

 in Australia are precisely similar to those described by me in the " Proceedings of the Linnean 

 Society of New South Wales,"* in 1887, f^O'" New Britain. .\ set of five taken by Mr. R. 

 Parkinson, in New Britain, measures; — Length (A) 1-57 x 1-15 inches; (B) i-6 x 1-15 inches; 

 (C) T-6 X I-I7 inches; (D) i'6 x i'i4 inches; (E) 1-65 x i-6 inches; specimens of the birds 

 were also procured at the time of taking the eggs. 



In North-eastern (Queensland the breeding season commences in Octolier and continues 

 until the end of March. 



Porzana fluminea. 



SI'O'ITKD WATER OEAKE. 



I'or-.nun jlutniiiia, Gould, Proc. Zool. .Soc, 1842, p. 1.39; uL, Bds. Austr., fol. Vol. VI., pi. 70 

 (1848): id., Handbk. Bd.s. Austr., Vol. II, p. 330 (1SG5) ; Sharpe, Cat. Bd.s. Brit. Mus., 

 Vol. X.KIII., p, 101 (1S94); Id, Hau.l-l. Bds., Vol. 1.. p. 101 (ISOO). 



AlJUI.r -MAJ.K. — drwraf rolmir nljuri' ol 1 1'plirDiru, all the ff.alhKrn Ji iifl i/ .■i/ni/ti^d or linriinj nlii'ft, 

 streakx of irh'iti', iuduL ijf tlieS'' markings hi'iiiii honhirrd above and heloir ii-ilh black; thf, iippi'f ba.fk 

 ct'uli'fd ivifb black, tlii'se black cetilrns increa/iiug iu size on lh>' bui-p.r back and niinji, being smaller 

 and less ilisfinrl on the liind-ncck : np/nr n-i ng-cocirls like the back, bnl n-i/h only indicalio7i!i of the 

 black centres on some of the greater series ; quills broivu, the innermost secondaries like, the back ; 

 tail-feathers olire-bro'rn n-ith blackish centres : firehend slatg-grey, tvitli. small dnski/ centres to the 

 feathers ; croiiui, of the head and najie olirediron-n, irith. blackish centres to the feathers, n-itJi here 

 and there line sliort streaks : the h ind-neck olire-broicn, but ivilli, scarcely any indication of the darker 

 centres ami narroii: u-jiite slrenks .■ lores, sii/es of face, throat and b>-east dusky slaty grey ,■ abdoineu 

 slaty-black crossed icitJi n-hile bands ; the t/iighs similar, hn.l t/ie u-hite bars narrower and not so well 

 defined : patch on the rent and under tail-corerls n^liite. 'J'otal lengtli in the Jlesh 7''>5 inches, nving 

 Jp.lo, tail 2-2.1, bill 07, tarsus 1!. 



Adult fkm.\LB. — Similar in phimage to the male. 



Distribution. — Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania. 



/"I^Hli range of the Spotted Water Crake is chiefly confined to the south-eastern portion of 

 J- the Australian continent ; it is likewise found in Tasmania. It frequents the rush or 

 reed-lined banks of swamps and rivers, or marshy localities thickly overgrown with rank herbage, 

 coarse grass tussocks, or clumps of rushes. Although more common in the coastal districts of 

 New South Wales, it also frequents Folygomni: and dwarf Saltbush growing in swampy 

 situations, back-waters and reed-beds inland. The late Mr. K. H. Bennett obtained specimens 

 at Mossgiel, about three hundred and fifty miles west of Sydney, and Mr. S. Robinson 

 found it breeding on Buckiinguy Station and the JMacquarie Marshes, in the Northern 

 Central District, and about three hundred miles in a direct line from the coast. Near Sydney 

 it is sometimes obtained at Botany, Long Bay, and La Perouse, but it is only a question of 

 time, however, when this famous haunt of the Family R.^lliDvE will be a thing of the past. 

 • North, Proc. Linn. Soc. N. S. Wales (2) n., p. 446 (1887). 



