Mr. W. R. Ogilvic-Grant on the Genus Turnix. 471 



The fully adult male differs from the female in the following 

 points : — It is smaller (wing ca. 3"9) and not so brightly- 

 coloured, the chin and throat are white spotted with black, 

 as in the younger examples ; many of the breast- feathers have 

 subterminal dots of black, though tliese have disappeared in 

 our oldest male example, and there is no rufous nuchal 

 collar, while the white edges of the back and scapular feathers 

 are retained even in the most adult, and the ocelli on the 

 wing-coverts are larger and more numerous than in the 

 female. 



In the second section of the genus Turnix, which contains 

 only six species, all are distinguished by having the tarsus 

 equal to or less than the middle toe and claw (see fig. 2, 

 p. 448). 



18. Turnix nigricollis (Gm.). (Woodcut, fig. 2 a, p. 448.) 



(1760.) La Caille de Madagascar {Coturnix madagas- 

 cariensis), Brisson, Orn. i. p. 252, pi. xxiv. fig. 2. 



(] 788.) Tetrao nigricollis, Gmelin, Syst. Nat. pt. ii. p. 767. 



(1885.) 7iMrm<2? m^nco//25, Milne-Edwards and Grandidier, 

 Madagascar, Ois. p. 494, pi. ccii. 



MM. Milne-Edwards and Grandidier, in their ' Histoire 

 de Madagascar, Oiseaux,' tell us that, as one would expect, 

 this species forms no exception to the other members of the 

 genus Turnix, for it is the female which is the larger and 

 more brightly coloured bird ; and they are of opinion that 

 Hartlaub is wrong in describing the male as being the bird 

 with the black throat and rufous shoulders. Our material is 

 certainly not extensive, for we have only 11 specimens in the 

 series, and, of these, three are little more than chicks. Out 

 of the remaining eight, seven are fully adult black-throated 

 specimens, of which four are sexed males and three are not 

 sexed, while the eighth is sexed a male (young ?), and is in 

 precisely the same plumage as the one figured by Milne- 

 Edwards and Grandidier in their work cited above. 



These facts would certainly seem to prove that Hartlaub 

 was correct with regard to the black-throated specimens 

 being males ; but I am inclined to believe that the bird 



