192 A MANUAL OF THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
Nestling —Covered with black, silky down. 
Nest.—Composed of fine grass and rushes, and situated in a swamp amongst 
thick rushes, which are usually drawn together above, so as to form a covering. 
There is a staging or landing leading to the nest, which is variously placed from six 
inches to three feet above the water. 
Hggs.—Cluteh, four to six; ground-colour pale stone, sparingly spotted with 
pinkish-brown spots, and more thickly with lavender-grey ones; axis 36-37 mm., 
diameter 28-29. 
Breeding-season—October to December. 
Distribution and forms.—Australia, New Guinea and South Flores. Four 
subspecies have been distinguished: R. pectoralis pectoralis Temminck and Laugier 
from Eastern and Southern Australia; R. p. clelandi Mathews from South-west 
Australia, a much larger and darker form, culmen 42, wing 114, tarsus 36 mm. 
against typical culmen 33, wing 93-103, tarsus 26-29 mm.; R. p. exsul (Hartert) 
from South Flores, with a more uniform chestnut head, more olivaceous back, 
and greyer breast, culmen 27, wing 101, tarsus 28 mm.; R. p. alberti (Rothschild 
and Hartert) from British New Guinea (Angabunga River) in its smaller size, more 
uniform chestnut head, the chestnut extending on to the shoulders, darker back 
and whiter throat ; culmen 26-30.5, wing 93.5-95, tarsus 30-31.5 mm. 
Genus TOMIRDUS. 
Tomirdus Mathews, Nov. Zool., Vol. XVIII., p. 193, Jan. 31st, 1912. Type (by original 
designation): Hulabeornis tricolor robinsoni Mathews. 
Medium, Rails with short stout bills, short wings, short tail and medium legs and 
feet. The bill is short, stout, laterally compressed and at the base the depth is 
more than one-third its length ; the culmen ridge is pronounced but flattened, the 
tip a little decurved and notched ; the nasal groove is large, extending more than 
half the length of the culmen, but shallow ; the nostrils are pervious slits placed 
near the anterior end of the groove parallel to the edges of the mandible. The 
culmen ridge shows no flattening nor extension at the fore-head where the frontal 
feathers approach on to the edge of the nasal groove. The rami of the under 
mandible are deep, the gonys nearly half the length and with a distinct upward 
tendency but scarcely angulated ; the intermandibular space is scarcely feathered, 
and a minute process is seen anteriorly. 
The wings are short and rounded, the first primary shorter than the seventh, 
the intervening ones nearly all the same length, the second and sixth shorter, third 
and fourth the longest ; secondaries long. The tail is short and rounded, composed 
of soft, broad feathers, and less than half the wing, and about twice the length of the 
culmen. The legs are of medium length, a small portion of the tibia exposed. The 
tarsus is scutellated in front and behind, a single narrow row on the sides between 
the two series of scutes ; the toes are long but the middle toe is shorter than the 
tarsus, the outer subequal with the inner and with their claws equalling the middle 
toe alone; the hind-toe is long, while the lateral membranes on the edges of the 
toes are very small. 
Coloration brown with red head, neck, and breast, the abdomen brown with 
yellowish bars. 
132. Tomirdus tricolor—RED-NECKED RAIL. 
{Rallina tricolor Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. (Lond.), 1858, p. 188, July 13th: AruIsland. Extra- 
limital. 
Gould, Suppl., pl. 78 (pt. v.), Aug. Ist, 1869. Mathews, Vol. I., pt. 4, pl. 49, Aug. 9th, 1911- 
Eulabeornis tricolor robinsoni Mathews, Birds Austr., Vol. I., pt. 4, p. 203, Aug. 9th, 1911 : 
Cairns, North Queensland. 
DisTrRIBuTION.—North Queensland. 
