198 A MANUAL OF THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
more than preceding ; the culmen ridge narrow, a little swollen but not expanded 
at fore-head where it meets with a semicircular base ; other characters of bill as in 
Tomirdus, but interramal space much narrower and gonys slightly less, an indistinct 
groove along the sides of the lower mandible reaching to the gonys. The wing is 
short, but strong for this group, the first primary comparatively long, but still 
shorter than seventh, the second, however, almost the longest, equalling or exceeding 
the third, the others successively little shorter ; inner secondaries long and pointed. 
The tail is composed of twelve rather narrow pointed feathers forming a wedge and 
less than half the length of the wing and not twice the length of the bill ; the tarsus 
is short and strong, though laterally compressed and scutellated in front and behind ; 
the toes are long, the inner with the claw equal to the middle toe but shorter than 
the outer; the hind-toe long. 
Coloration brownish above with white spotting, leaden-grey below, flanks and 
abdomen barred with white, 
136. Porzana fluminea.—SPOTTED CRAKE. 
Gould, Vol. VI., pl. 79 (pt. x.), March Ist, 1843. Mathews, Vol. I., pt. 4, pl. 51, Aug. 9th, 
1911. 
Porzana fluminea Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. (Lond.), 1842, p. 139, Feb. 1843 : New South Wales. 
Rallus novehollandie Pucheran, Revue Mag. Zool., p. 278, for June 1851 (July): ex Cuvier 
MS., New South Wales (Peron and Lesueur Coll.). 
Porzana fluminea whitei Mathews, Austral Av. Rec., Vol. I., pt. 3, p. 73, June 28th, 1912: 
Eyre’s Peninsula, South Australia. 
DisTRIBUTION.—Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, 
South-west Australia. 
Adult male-—General colour above olive-brown, the feathers centred with black 
mostly concealed, and thickly spotted with white on the mantle and streaked with 
white on the lower back and rump ; all the white markings edged with a narrow 
line of black ; upper tail-coverts also olive-brown, with concealed black centres to 
the feathers, which have small white spots on either web ; wing-coverts for the most 
part uniform olive-brown, the median and greater coverts with white spots, each 
of which is margined with black ; quills brown, the first primary with a few linear 
spots of white on the outer web, which is less indicated on the others; inner 
secondaries spotted with white, the innermost blackish down the centre and more 
profusely spotted with white, like the adjoining greater coverts ; tail-feathers 
olive-brown, centred with black and spotted or edged with white ; crown of head 
like the back, the white spots being very small and nearly obsolete on the mantle ; 
base of fore-head, sides of crown, sides of face and ear-coverts leaden-grey, the latter 
washed with olive-brown, and speckled with tiny white spots ; lores black ; feathers. 
in front of the eye, as well as the fore-part of the cheeks, grey ; throat, fore-neck and 
entire breast leaden-grey ; centre of abdomen whitish, barred with grey ; under 
tail-coverts black, lateral ones white ; sides of body and flanks distinctly barred with 
white and black, the black bars being somewhat the broader ; axillaries blackish, 
barred with white, and resembling the flanks ; under wing-coverts dusky-brown 
barred with whitish ; quills dull ashy-brown below; bill olive-green, orange-red 
at the base; feet dark olive-green. Total length 172 mm.; culmen 20, wing 93, 
tail 37, tarsus 27. 
Adult female—Similar to the adult male. 
Immature.—Upper-surface similar to that of the adult, but the back browner 
with buff edges to the feathers ; lores, sides of face and all under-surface paler with 
white tips to the feathers ; sides of chest washed with brownish ; abdomen and 
flanks feathers with less distinct brownish bars and tips; iris dark yellow; feet 
pale green; bill pale green. 
Nestling—Appears to be undescribed. 
