THE BIRDS OF NORTHERN THAILAND 109 



30 (1929). I have collected it at Ban Mae Sai, Chiang Saen Kao, 

 Chom Thong, and Chiang Mai and have seen it at Nong Kliiat and in 

 the neighborhood of Chiang Dao. 



I found this bird on the marshes, where there were small areas of 

 open water, and on quiet ponds overgrown with lotus and the water- 

 hyacinth. It spends much of its time swimming about like a little 

 duck but never ventures far from reeds or other water plants, among 

 which it takes shelter at the least alarm. 



A female specimen had the irides bright brown; the frontal plate 

 coral-red; the basal two-thirds of the maxilla and the basal half of 

 the mandible bright red, the rest of the bill greenish yellow; a ring 

 around the tibia just below the feathers orange in front, red behind ; 

 the rest of the tibia bright yellow ; the tarsus bright yellow-green in 

 front, slaty green behind; the toes bright yellow-green, the joints and 

 soles slaty gray ; the claws slaty black. 



The adult has the head and neck slaty black, gradually changing 

 to slaty gray on the upper back, breast, flanks, and abdomen (the last 

 more or less mottled with white) ; the central under tail coverts black, 

 the others white; the remaining upperparts deep brown, strongly 

 washed with olivaceous. The immature has the upperparts wholly 

 brown; the underparts everywhere mottled gray, buffy, and white; 

 the under tail coverts as in the adult, but the white sometimes washed 

 with buff. 



Practically all seen in our provinces will be immature individuals. 

 Both old and young, however, may be readily known by the distinc- 

 tively marked under tail coverts, which show as the bird swims with 

 upturned tail. 



PORPHYRIO PORPHYRIO POLIOCEPHALUS (Latham) 



Indian Purple Coot 



G[allinula~\ poliocephala Latham, Index ornithologicus, Suppl., 1801, p. lxviii 



(India). 

 Porphyrio poUocepJiahts, Gyldenstolpe, Kungl. Svenska Vet.-Akad. Handl., 191G, 



p. 149 (Chiang Rai). 

 P[orphyrio'] poliocephalus, Robinson and Boden Kloss, Journ. Nat. Hist. Soc. 



Siam, 1921, p. 44 (Chiang Mai). 

 Porphyrio poliocephalus poliocephalus, Gyldenstolpe, Ibis, 1920, p. 764 



("Swampy plains of northern Siam"). — Deignan, Journ. Siam Soc. Nat. 



Hist. Suppl., 1931, p. 169 (Chiang Mai) ; 1936, pp. 81, 131 (Chiang Mai, Ban 



Nong Khiat). 



This large and handsome rail occurs on the marshes near Chiang Mai 

 in some numbers during the rains ; I found it there from June 28 (1930) 

 to November 23 (1936) and saw a solitary bird February 11, 1936. I 

 have taken specimens at Chom Thong in November. At Muang 

 Phayao it was common in August 1929, and near Ban Nong Khiat it 

 was abundant at the end of December 1935. 



