56 The Field Naturalist's Quarterly Feb. 



Secondly, as to the Porphyrios being incapable of sustained 

 flight and most reluctant to take wing, the same remarks 

 might be made concerning the Coot, Moorhen, Land-, 

 Water-, and Spotted - Rails. The three latter, however, 

 although so apparently crepuscular and difficult to flush, are 

 nevertheless regular migrants, and perform almost exactly 

 the same journey that the Porphyrios are said to be incapable 

 of. Both Moorhens and Coots have been obtained at light- 

 ships and migration observation stations, and those who 

 listen to the night sounds of nature know well enough how 

 far and how frequently "Moorcocks," which "shun the 

 day," stray from the vicinity of water at dark ; whilst any- 

 body who has witnessed the Hickling coot-shoots are well 

 aware of the power of these spluttering and ungainly-looking 

 fowl when they are once well up in the air. 



As to the third objection, that Porphyrio smaragdonotus 

 is not acknowledged or obtained on the Continent, between 

 Great Britain and Africa, the latter part of this argument 

 seems to imply that no " escapes " even are allowed to occur 

 from the importations that arrive at Paris and Antwerp, for 

 example, as well as London and Liverpool. As to the former 

 statement, Mr J. H. Gurney (to whom I am much indebted 

 for assistance in compiling these notes) states in ' Zool.,' 

 1886, p. 72: "P. smaragdonotus has occurred on different 

 occasions in Italy, and in the south of France, as might 

 have been expected : they may have escaped, but we can 

 look with less suspicion on our British ones from the fact of 

 their having occurred also in the intervening countries." 

 He also writes in the same place: "They" (i.e., P. smarag- 

 donotus and ccBruleus) "are just as capable of migrating as a 

 Moorhen ; moreover, they are migrants in Egypt, and the 

 Purple Gallinule (cceruleus) is a known migrant in Spain. I 

 believe I am correct in saying that neither of these species 

 has been as often brought alive to this country as their 

 black-backed ally from Australia (P. melanotus), which has 

 never been killed at large." This was true, as far as was 

 known, in 1886 ; but on p. 427 of ' Zool.' for 1894 he cor- 

 rects himself, having meanwhile examined the Porphyrio 

 taken at Redbridge, near Southampton, in 1864, and found 



