260 Mons. A. Milne-Edwards on the 



feathers, so as to form a sort of cervical crest. No indication of 

 wings is to be seen. The tail is rudimentary, and formed of 

 short, soft, and drooping feathers. The feet are somewhat long, 

 and very strong. The feathers of the legs stop short at some dis- 

 tance from the heel, so that the lower extremity of the tibia is 

 bare. The foot is covered with broad scutellations ; the toes, 

 four in number, are cylindrical, and have no interdigital mem- 

 branes, even at their base. The hallux, as I have already said, 

 is well developed, and rests in a great degree on the ground. 



The zoological position which this bird should occupy was very 

 difficult to determine; and Herr von Frauenfeld, after having 

 compared it with the Brevipennes, the Gallinacea, and the Ral- 

 lida, arrives at the conclusion that it unites the plumage and 

 the imperfect wing of the Apteryx, the carriage and the bill 

 of the Rails, with the feet of the GallinacecB. 



It is plain that, from an inspection alone of a coloured draw- 

 ing, the systematic position of the Poule rouge au bee de Becasse 

 could not be determined with greater precision ; and this ques- 

 tion would have been the object of discussions similar to those 

 which have taken place of late years with regard to the Dodo, 

 were it not that particular circumstances allow me to complete 

 now the history of this unexpected discovery, and to determine 

 the place which the Poule rouge should hold in the ornithologi- 

 cal scale. Among the remains collected with those of the 

 Dodo from the Mare aux Songes, in Mauritius, and submitted to 

 my examination by Mr. Edward Newton, are some bones of 

 the foot, which appeared to me most interesting, seeing that 

 they showed the existence of a new form allied to Ocydromus, 

 but more of a runner than that bird. 



I had also remarked a long and curved lower mandible, 

 which seemed to come from a bird having certain resemblances 

 to the Rallidcs, or from an entirely unknown Wader ; but I hesi- 

 tated much about referring it to the same bird as the leg-bones. 

 I was employed in describing them when Count Marschall in- 

 formed me of the discovery which had just been made in the 

 Emperor^s private library ; and, with his kindness, so well known 

 by all men of science, he sent me first an extract from Herr 

 von Frauenfeld's work, and then the publication itself. I im- 



