35. BOTAURUS. 253 



2. Erythrophoyx praetermissa. (Plate V.) 



Ardeirallus prfletermissus, Sharpe, B. 0. Club, iii. no. xi. p. iv (1893). 

 Erythrophoyx pra-termissa, Sharpe, Bull. B. O. Club, iii. no. xvii. 

 p. xxxviii (1894) ; id. op. cit. v. no. xxxi. p. xiii (1895). 



Adult (type of species). Similar to E. ivoodfordi, but darker and 

 more brown, with the hind-neck brown instead of chestnut, the 

 abdomen more ashy, and the under tail-coverts ashy grey instead of 

 sandy buff. Total length 19 inches, culmen 3-3, wing 8"2, tail 2"7, 

 tarsus 2-6, middle toe and claw 2-4. 



Young. Darker and browner than the adults, all the feathers of 

 the upper surface with straw-coloured edges ; the under surface 

 brown, instead of rufous, mottled with black and streaked with 

 white on the throat and fore-neck ; the abdomen dusky brown, 

 mottled mth sandy-buff' margins to the feathers. 



Hah. Molucca Islands : Ceram ; Batchian. 



a. Ad. sk. N. Ceram. Wallace Coll. 



(Type of species.) 



b. Juv. sk. Ceram. Wallace CoU. 



c. cJ juv. sk. Batchian. Wallace Coll. 



35. BOTAURUS. 



Botam'us, Briss. Orn. v. p. 444 (1/60) B. stellaris. 



Range. Temperate and Tropical regions of both north and. south 

 of both Hemispheres. 



Key to the Species. 



a. Crown of head uniform, not barred. 



a'. Primary-coverts and quills barred or mottled 

 with rufous. 

 a". Rufous bars on quills very distinct ; size 



larger, wing over 13 inches stellaris, p. 253. 



b". Quills not so distinctly barred with 



rufous, but rather mottled with the same ; 



size smaller, wing under 13 inches .... capensis, p. 267. 



b' . Primary-coverts uniform brown ; quills 



almost entirely brown, faintly mottled with 



rufous on the inner web ; frill covering the 



hind-neck uniform dusky brown jjwciloptilHs, p. 258, 



c'. Primary-coverts and quills uniform slaty 

 grey or slaty black with rufous tips ; head 



brown lentiginosus, p. 259. 



}. Crown of head barred with black and sandy 

 buff hke the hind-neck and sides of neck ; 

 primary-coverts and quiUs blackish brown, 

 with rufous tips pinnatus, p. 262 



1. Botaurus stellaris. 



The Bittern, Albin, Nat. Hist. B. i. p. 65, pi. 68 (1738) ; Lath. Gen. 

 Syn. iii. pt. 1, p. 56 (1785). 



