POLIOL1MNAS. 73 



Genus POLIOLIMNAS Sharpe, 1893. 



Tarsus less than middle toe with claw and less than twice the culmen ; 

 plumage of under parts mostly white. 



64. POLIOLIMNAS CINEREUS (Vieillot). 

 ASHY CRAKE. 



Porphyrio cinereus VIEILLOT, Nouv. Diet. d'Hist. Nat. (1819), 28, 29. 

 Poliolimnas cinereus SHABPE, Cat. Birds. Brit. Mus. (1894), 23, 130; Hand- 

 List (1899), 1, 104; MCGREGOR and WORCESTER, Hand-List (1906), 17. 



Basilan (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Bohol (McGregor); Calayan (Mc- 

 Gregor) ; Cebu (Steere, Everett, Bourns <& Worcester) ; Dinagat (Everett) ; 

 Guimaras (Steere Exp.) ; Leyte (Everett, Steere Exp.) ; Luzon (Bourns & Wor- 

 cester, Cuming, Whitehead, McGregor) ; Marinduque (Steere Exp.) ; Mindanao 

 (Everett, Bourns & Worcester) ; Mindoro (Bourns d Worcester, Porter) ; Negros 

 (Bourns & Worcester) ; Panay (Bourns & Worcester] ; Sibuyan (McGregor) ; 

 Siquijor (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester) ; Ticao (McGregor). Oceania, Mala- 

 yan Peninsula, Greater and Lesser Sunda Islands, Buru, Australia. 



Adult (sexes alike). General color above wood-brown; scapulars, inner 

 secondaries,, lower back, rump, and tail seal-brown; scapulars and inner 

 secondaries with wide sandy brown edges ; top of head black or dark slate- 

 gray; a white line from bill over eye; a large loral space black, below 

 this a white band separating black post-ocular space from ashy ear-coverts ; 

 lower throat, sides of neck, and sides of body ashy gray; chin, upper 

 throat, thighs, and middle of breast and abdomen white; flanks, vent, 

 and under tail-coverts sandy buff or clay-color ; wings and tail dark brown ; 

 first primary edged with white. Iris bright red; bill yellowish brown; 

 legs brown with greenish and yellowish tints; nails brown. Length, 190 

 to 203. Three males from Bohol measure : Wing, 91 to 98 (average 95) ; 

 tail, 45 to 51 (average 48) ; exposed culmen, 23; tarsus, 36 to 39 (average 

 37.8) ; middle toe with claw, 46 to 52 (average 46). 



Young. The fully feathered young resembles the adult in color pattern 

 but top of head and blackish loral band are brown and the ashy gray of 

 ear-coverts, lower throat, and sides is replaced by yellowish buff. The 

 downy young is coal-black. 



A downy young bird was collected in Calayan, October 8, 1903, and a 

 half -grown bird was collected in Ticao, April 22, 1902. 



"Very common about lakes and fresh-water pools. Breeds abundantly 

 in the tall grass and rushes. Called by the natives "y-a-gut-yut." 

 (Bourns and Worcester MS.) 



Genus LIMNOB^ENUS Sundevall, 1873. 



In colors this genus resembles Rallina but has the middle toe with claw 

 longer than the tarsus. 



