52 Mr. R. Swinhoe on Amoy Ornithology. 



descending with a rapid sweep and beat of the wings to within 

 a few feet of the ground, then rising again and repeating the 

 movement, at the same time making a curious, loud, vibratory, 

 rushing noise, which I once heard as late as midnight on a still 

 moonlight night. The cock birds on the ground almost inces- 

 santly utter a loud " chuck, chuck." The hen birds are pretty 

 silent and quiet, merely rising with the usual sharp " quirk." 



I find a great difference in the size of the females, those that 

 are laying being much larger than those that are not. 



Gallinula angulata, Sundeval. Natal Gallinule. (G. 

 pumila, No. 58, Ibis, 1859, p. 249, pi. vii. ; Ibis, 1867, p. 254.) 



Male. Iris dark red ; bill greenish-yellow, ridge and frontal 

 shield bright scarlet ; tarsi and feet pale yellowish on the outer 

 surfaces. 



This species is numerous in the Transvaal, and breeds in the 

 swamps and valleys and also among the high reeds and rushes 

 on the banks of the Movi River ; but I have not yet succeeded 

 in finding a nest of these birds, owing to the inaccessible cha- 

 racter of the boggy ground which they frequent. 



IV. — Ornithological Notes from Amoy. By Robert Swinhoe, 

 Her Majesty's Consul, F.Z.S. &c. 



[Continued from ' The Ibis' for 1867, page 413.] 



Our Consulate is situated on a hill overlooking the fine bay 

 which constitutes the outer harbour of Amoy; and on the 

 evening of July 1 7th, the day after a heavy gale from the south- 

 east, I strolled into the verandah as the sun was just setting. 

 A strange large bird was soaring over the flagstaff. It seemed 

 to be black, with a white head and belly, and had a long, forked 

 tail and very long wings. In the grace of its flight it surpassed 

 any Kite, and yet it seemed uncouth and unnatural. There 

 was a Gull-like something about its appearance which bespoke 

 its connexion with the sea. To me the sight was a novelty ; 

 but I guessed what the stranger was, and, mad with excitement, 

 I seized my gun and rushed into the green in front of the 

 house. The bird stood motionless in the air, at such a height 



