33. 
RALLIDA —GALLINULINA : GALLINULES. 675 
C. praten’sis. (Lat. pratensis, of fields.) EUROPEAN LAND Rain. CORN CRAKE. Adult 
& 2: Upper parts blackish-brown, variegated with brownish-yellow, the wing-coverts both 
above and below rusty-reddish, the quills rufous-brown. Below, bluish-gray of varying 
intensity, more ashy-whitish on throat and belly, the flanks and crissum barred with reddish- 
brown. Line over eye like under parts; a dark brown stripe through eye. Bill and eyes 
brown; legs pale. Length about 10.50; wing 5.50-6.00; tail 2.00; bill 0.80-1.00; tarsus 
1.60. Europe; casually in Greenland ; accidental in New Jersey and Bermudas. (Wedderb., 
Zool., 1849, p. 2591; Cass., Pr. Phila. Acad., vii, 1855, p. 265; Reinh., Ibis, 1861, p. 11; 
Bd., Am. Journ. Sci., xli, 1866, p. 339; Freke, Zool., v, 1881, p. 374.) 
Forehead shielded by a broad, bare, horny 
plate, a prolongation and expansion of the culmen. 
Bill otherwise much as in the shorter-billed rails, 
like Porzana ; general form much the same, 
though the body is not so compressed ; toes long, 
simple, or slightly margined. The Gallinules 
are somewhat Rail-like birds, of similar habits, 
inhabiting marshes; they agree with the Coots 
in possessing a frontal shield, but the feet are 
not lobate, nor is the body depressed, and the 
species swim no better than Rails. Some are of 
the richest and most elegant coloration. There 
are about 30 species of various parts of the 
=S —_ = =r ——— —_—_—_—— 
Fig. 467.—European Gallinule, Gallinula chlo- World, constituting several genera, two of which, 
oropus. (From Dixon.) very distinct from each other, occur in N. Am. 
GALLINULA. (Lat. gallinula, dimin. of gallina, a hen. Fig. 467.) GALLINULES. WATER 
Hens. Mup Heys. Bill not longer than head, stout at base, tapering, compressed, the culmen 
running directly up on the forehead and expanding into a frontal plate of different shape in 
different species. Nostrils near middle of bill, linear. Feet large and stout; tibiee naked 
below ; tarsus moderately compressed, scutellate ; toes very long, the outer longer than the 
inner, with an evident though slight marginal membrane; claws long, slender, little curved, 
acute. Wings short and rounded, but ample. Tail very short, of 12 weak feathers, with 
long ample under coyerts, as in Rails. Plumage not rich blue, ete. Several species of 
various countries. 
G. galea/ta. (Lat. galeata, helmeted.) ComMMON GALLINULE. FLORIDA GALLINULE. 
Rev-BinLED Mup-HEen. Adult ¢ 9: Head, neck, and under parts, grayish-black, darkest 
on the former, paler or whitening on the belly. Back brownish-olive. Wings and tail dusky ; 
crissum, edge _of wing, outer web of first primary, and stripes on the flanks, white. Bill, 
frontal plate, and ring round tibia, red, the former tipped with yellow; tarsi and toes 
greenish, the joints bluish; eyes red or brown. Young: Similar, but lacking the bright 
colors of the bill and legs, the former simply greenish; under parts extensively whitish. 
Length 12.00-14.00; extent 20.00-22.00; wing 6.50-7.50; tail 3.00; gape of bill about 
1.50; tarsus about 2.00. §. Atlantic and Gulf States, N. sometimes to New England, to 
Canada West, Minnesota, Kansas, ete., and on the Pacific side to San Francisco; W. [., 
C. Am., and much of S. Am. Resident in the Southern States, and abundant coastwise. 
Nidification exactly that of the coot (beyond). Eggs 10-12-14, 1.75 X 1.25. 
IONORNIS. (Gr. tov, ion, a violet; dps, ornis, a bird; alluding to the rich blue color.) 
SuLTAN GALLINULES. HyacintTus. Geueral character of Gallinula ; bill very stout and 
