541 



CREX PUSILLA. THE LITTLE CRAKE. 



Rallus pusillus. Lath. Ind. Ornith. II. 761. 



Little Gallinule. Gallinula niinuta. Mont. Ornith. Diet. Supplt. 



Olivaceous Gallinule. Gallinula Foljambei. Mont. Ornith. Diet. App. to 



Supplt. 

 Poule-d'eau poussin, Gallinula pusilla. Temm. Man. d' Ornith. II. 690. 

 Gallinula pusilla. Little Crake. Selby, Illustr. Brit. Ornith. II. 185. 

 Crex pusilla. Little Crake. Jen. Brit. Vert. Anim. 219. 

 Ortygometra pusilla. Bonap. Comp. List. 53. 



" Wings extending to the end of the tail; bill and feet of 

 a beautiful light green; feathers of the middle of the back 

 marked with a very few small white spots. Female differing 

 much from the male. 



Male. — " Throat, a streak over each eye, breast, and 

 belly bluish-grey, without spots ; upper parts olivaceous- 

 grey, but all the feathers blackish in the middle ; on the 

 fore part of the back a large black space varied with some 

 white marks, which are very thinly distributed; abdomen 

 and flanks marked with rather indistinct white and brown 

 bands ; lower tail-coverts black, barred with white ; bill of a 

 beautiful green, reddish at the base ; feet bluish-grey, with- 

 out any spot; iris red. Length 6 inches 9 lines, rarely 

 7 inches. 



Female. — " The female has the eye-streaks and the sides 

 of the head of a light grey ; throat whitish ; fore part of the 

 neck, breast, and belly reddish-grey; thighs and abdomen 

 grey ; lower tail-coverts tipped with white ; upper parts 

 reddish-brown ; the large blackish space of the fore part of 

 the back variegated with a small number of white spots ; 

 wing-coverts olivaceous-grey. 



