PORZANA. 643 



sides of the body and lower abdomen olivaceous ; flanks, vent and under tail 

 coverts dark brown, irregularly and indistinctly barred with white ; the whole 

 upper plumage, wings and tail olive brown ; under wing coverts brown edged 

 with white. The female has the ferruginous of the lower parts paler and the 

 white of the throat extends lower down ; irides crimson ; eyelids plumbeous, 

 the edges red ; bill greenish brown ; legs and toes red ; hinder parts of leg 

 fuscous. (Oates.) 



Length* &'$ inches; tail ry5; wing 3*8; tarsus 1*4; bill from gape ro. 



Hab* Southern and Central India, Punjab, N.-W. Provinces, and Raj poo- 

 tana (rare). Common in Lower and Eastern Bengal, also in British Burmah. 

 Breeds during July and August on the Woolar Lake in Cashmere, also in 

 Burmah, where, according to Gates, it is a permanent resident. It is also 

 recorded from Arracan, Ceylon and the Malay Peninsula. 



1331. Porzana minuta(/v/.), Naum. Vog. t. 239; Gould, B. Eur. 



pi. 345 ; Hume, Sir, F. i. p. 251 ; Murray, Hdbk.^ Zooh, fyc., Sind, p. 224. 

 Porzana parvus, Scop* The LITTLE CRAKE. 



Crown of the head deep brown ; sides of the head, both above and below 

 the eye, ash or slate colour; chin and throat dull or greyish white, the forepart 

 of the neck pale ash; under parts ashy or grey blue in the males, light rufous 

 buff in females; lower abdomen and vent deep or olive brown, spotted with 

 white; neck behind and shoulder of the wing olive brown, back deep olive 

 brown, the feathers with broad mesial dark stripes, their inner margins pale, 

 with some white linear spots and streaks ; primaries and secondaries d-eep 

 brown with pale edges; lesser wing coverts plain dull olive brown ; tail dusky 

 olive brown ; under tail coverts slaty grey with spots and bars of white. 



Length. 7 to 8 inches; bill 0*7 ; wing 3*8 ; tail 1*5 to 1*75 ; irides red ; 

 bill and legs yellowish green. 



Mr. Hume in Str* F. i. p. 251, says: " Bailloni (pygmaea) may always be 

 distinguished at a glance from minuta by its smaller size, shorter, and in pro- 

 portion deeper bill, and by having the back, scapulars and greater wing coverts 

 all more or less profusely variegated with bluish white, whereas in minuta the 

 white markings, which are somewhat broader and purer white, are confined as 

 a rule to the centre of the back, though occasionally some of the longer 

 scapulars are also faintly edged with bluish white. In minuta the wing varies 

 from 3*75 to 4*1 ; the bill at front 07 to 076; in Bailloni (pygmaea) the wing 

 Varies from about 3*45 ; to 3*62, and the bill O'6 to 0*62. 



Hab, Sind, Eastern Turkistan and Cashmere. Not known to occur any- 

 where else in India. It is abundant in all the large inland pieces of water or 

 dhunds. 



' 1332. Porzana akool (Sykes), Jerd., B. 2nd. iii. p. 722, No. 908; 



Hume, Str. F. iv. p. 21 ; id. and Marsh., Game Birds, Ind. ii. p. 226. The 

 BROWN AND ASHY CRAKE, 



