860 



S YSTEMA TIC S YNOPSIS. — PALUDICOL/E — RA LLI. 



GALLI'NULA. (Lat. gallinula, dimin. of gallina, a hen.) Gallinules. Moor-hens. 

 Water-hens. Mud-hens. Bill not longer than head, stout at base, tapering, compressed, 



the c'ulmen running directly up 

 on forehead and expanding into 

 a frontal plate of different shape 

 in different species. Nostrils 

 near middle of bill, linear. Feet 

 large and stout ; tibiae naked be- 

 low; tarsus shorter than middle 

 toe without claw, moderately 

 compressed, scutellate, but retic- 

 ulate on inner posterior part; 

 toes very long, outer longer than 

 inner, with an evident though 

 slight marginal membrane ; 

 claws long, slender, little curved, 

 acute. Wings short and rounded, 

 but ample. Tail very short, of 

 12 weak feathers, with long am- 

 ple under coverts, as in Rails. 

 Plumage not rich blue, etc Sev- 

 eral species of various countries. 

 a. galea'ta. (Lat. galeata, 

 lielmeted. Fig. 602.) COMMON 

 American Gallinule. Flor- 

 ida Gallinule. Red-billed 

 Mud-hen. Adult $ ?,: Head, 

 neck, and under parts grayish- 

 Idaek, darkest on the former, 

 jialer or whitening on belly. 

 Back brownish-olive. Wings 

 and tail dusky ; crissum, edge 

 of wing, outer web of 1st pri- 

 mary, and stripes on tianks, 

 white. Bill, frontal plate, and 

 ring round tibia red, the former 

 tipped with yellow ; tarsi and toes greenish, the joints bluish ; eyes red or brown. Young : 

 Similar, but lacking bright colors of bill and legs, the former simply greenisli or brownish ; 

 under parts extensively whitish, and consequently the white flank-stripes unmarked ; frontal 

 shield undeveloped ; chicks in down black, jetty above and sooty below, with silvery beards. 

 Length 12.00-14.00; extent 20.00-22.00 ; wing 6.50-7.50 ; tail 3.00; gape of bill about 1.50; 

 the culmen and frontal shield together about 1.75 when full grown: tarsus 2.25. S. Atlantic 

 and Gulf Stales, resident and abundant coastwise. N. in summer to New England, Ontario, 

 Minnesota, etc., and on the Pacific side to San Francisco ; West Indies, Bermuda, Central 

 America, and much of South America. Nidification exactly that of the coot (beyond). Eggs 

 8-12-14, 1.75 X 1.20, buff or brown of variable shade, spotted with dark brown. This is a 

 well-known bird of the marshes, with a great number of local names, too much mixed up 

 with those of Rails and Coots to be worth spreading on my page; it is occasionally called 

 ^' King Ortalan," but with most natives passes for a Mud-hen. 



Fig. f)01. — Purple Gallinule. (L. A. Fuertes.) 



