539 



CREX BAILLONII. BAILLON'S CRAKE. 



Poule-d'eau Baillon. Gallinula Baillonii. Tcmm. Man. d'Ornith. II. 692. 

 Crex Baillonii. Jard. and Selby, Illustr. of Ornith. part I. fol. 15. 

 Baillon's Crake. Crex Baillonii. Selby. Illustr. Brit. Ornith. II. 182. 

 Crex Baillonii. Baillon's Crake. Jen. Brit. Vert. Anim. 219. 

 Ostygometra Bailloni. Bonap. Comp. List, 53. 



Wings ending at the middle of the tail; bill dark green; 

 feet Jlcsh-colour ; a great number of white spots on the back 

 and icings. Female scarcely differing from the male. 



Having neglected the opportunities which I have had of 

 taking descriptions from skins or stuffed specimens of the 

 two species of this genus that remain to be described, and 

 not having any in my own collection, with the exception of 

 a single specimen of Crex Baillonii from India, or being in 

 a place well adapted for this kind of research, I must confine 

 my account of them to a translation of that given by M. 

 Temminck, and a few additional observations. 



Male. — " Throat, a streak over each eye, sides of the 

 neck, breast, and belly bluish-grey, shaded on the sides of 

 the body with olivaceous, these parts marked with a multi- 

 tude of white spots ; upper parts of a light olivaceous red, 

 varied on the top of the head with black streaks ; on the 

 back and on all the wing-coverts are numerous white spots 

 of various forms, and which are all surrounded with deep 

 black ; flanks, abdomen, and lower tail-coverts transversely 

 marked with broad bands of deep black and narrow bands of 

 pure white ; bill very dark green ; iris reddish ; feet flesh- 

 colour. Length 6 inches 7 or 8 lines. 



Female. — "The female differs from the male only in 

 having less bright and less pure tints. 



