Ornitholoyists' Club. 431 



To the group of Bitterns with ten tail-feathers Dr. Sharp e 

 added two more genera^ whicli he proposed to call 



Xanthocnus, gen. nov. 



This genus contains four species, viz. : — X. fiavicollis 

 (Lath.)^ X melas (Saivad.), X. gouldi (Bp.)^ and X. nesophilus 

 (Sharpe). (See above, p. 427.) 



All these species have hitherto been placed in the genus 

 Ardeirallus, the type of which is A. sturmi of Africa; but 

 the genus Xanthocnus is distinguished by its long bill, which 

 is equal in length to the middle toe and claw. 



ErvthrophoyXj gen. nov. 

 This new genus contains two species hitherto placed in 

 Ardeirallus (potius Xanthocnus), but distinguished from the 

 species belonging to Xanthocnus by the long tarsus much 

 exceeding the length of the middle toe and claw. The type 

 of the genus is E. ivoodfordi (Grant), and a second sj)ecies 

 is E. prcetermissa (Sharpe) . 



Among the groups of Herons with twelve tail-feathers 

 Dr. Sharpe pointed out that Phoyx, a name proposed by 

 Dr. Stejneger as a subgenus to include the Purple Herons, 

 is really a very distinct genus, differing from all the others 

 in the length of its middle toe and claw, which is equal to 

 the tarsus in length ; the claw of the hind toe is also very 

 long, only slightly curved, and nearly equal to the hallux 

 itself. Two species are known, Phoyx purpurea (L.) and 

 P. manillensis (Meyen). 



The slaty-black Heron of Africa, Ardea calceolata, Du Bus, 



seemed to belong to a genus distinct from Herodias, and 



certainly from Demieyretta, with which it had been placed 



by some writers. The bill was not so long as the middle toe 



and claw, and it therefore belonged to the shorter-billed 



group, containing Florida and Herudias. The name proposed 



for it was 



Melanophoyx, gen. nov. 



Similar to Florida, but with elongated plumes on the crest 

 and breast ; the ornamental plumes on the back not reaching 

 bevond the tail. 



