WATER-RAIL. 21 7 



Man. Brit. B. p. 501 (1889); Lilford, Col. Fig. Brit. B. 

 part XX. (1891); SharpC; Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xxiii. p. 20 

 (1894). 



{Plate CXVI.) 



Adult Male in Summer Plumage. — General colour above olive- 

 brown, broadly streaked with black, the feathers being all 

 longitudinally centred with black, the rump more uniform 

 olive-brown ; the upper tail-coverts centred with black like the 

 back; wing-coverts and inner secondaries like the back; the 

 outer coverts, bastard-wing, primary-coverts, and wing blackish- 

 brown, quite uniform, or slightly washed with olive externally ; 

 the first primary pale brown along the outer web ; tail-feathers 

 blackish, externally olive-brown ; crown of head and hind-neck 

 like the back, more minutely streaked with black ; a broad 

 eyebrow, sides of face, and under surface of body dark slaty 

 grey, with a slight dusky shade on the lores and region of the 

 eye ; throat and fore-neck rather lighter grey than the breast ; 

 sides of upper breast olive-brown, centred with black like the 

 back ; flanks and sides of vent black, transversely barred with 

 white ; lower abdomen and vent isabelline buff; under tail- 

 coverts black, barred with white and tipped with isabelline 

 buff, the lateral under tail-coverts white ; under w^ng-coverts 

 and axillaries black, barred and edged with white ; quills ashy- 

 blackish below. Total length, 11 inches; culmen, 17; wing, 

 4'9 ; tail, 2-3 ; tarsus, 1-5. 



Adult Female.— Similar to the male, but rather smaller ; bill 

 above nostril very dark brown, below nostril and lower man- 

 dible orange-red ; feet light fleshy brown ; iris orange-red. 

 Total length, 9*5 inches ; wing, 4-2. 



Adult in Winter Plumage. — Similar to the summer plumage, 

 but decidedly browner ; the under parts freckled with light 

 brown edges to the feathers, each margin preceded by a dusky 

 sub-terminal line ; the lower flanks and thighs strongly washed 

 with fulvous brown ; the outer upper wing- coverts with zig-zag 

 white bars ; throat whitish. 



Young. — Similar to the winter plumage of the adults, but 

 with a whiter throat, and the whole of the centre of the breast 

 and abdomen whitish, slightly washed with brown, and with 



