GALLINULA. BIRDS. 305 



male begins to sit, the male is frequently heard to make a singular kind of noise, 

 much resembling that of a comb when the finger is drawn along its teeth. The nest 

 is loosely formed of moss or dry grass, generally in some hollow place among thick 

 grass, and the female lays from seven to sixteen eggs, of a reddish- cinereous white, 

 marked with rusty and ash-coloured spots and blotches. The young run about as 

 soon as hatched. 



G. porzana, Lath. Spotted Water-Hen or Spotted Rail. Plumage 

 olive-brown., variegated with spots and dashes of black and white 

 above ; ash-coloured, with white markings beneath^; bill greenish- 

 yellow, but red at the base ; legs greenish-yellow ; iris brown. 

 7^ inches long. Europe. B. Donov. Brit. Birds, v. pi. 122. 



G. pusilla, Bechst. Dwarf Rail. Plumage above olive-gray ; wings 

 ending at the extremity of the tail ; bill and legs bright green ; 

 feathers of the middle of the back marked with little white but 

 not numerous lines. The female differs much from the male. 7 

 inches long. Inhabits Europe. B. Shaw, xii. pi. 28. 



G. Baillonn, Vieill. Plumage olive-red ; wings ending at half the 

 length of the tail ; bill deep green ; legs flesh-coloured ; a great 

 number of white spots on the back and wings. 6| inches long. 

 Inhabits Europe. Shaw, xii. pi. 27- 



* Ridge of the upper mandible dilating on the forehead into a 

 naked plate. 



G. chloropus, Lath. (Fulica, Lin.) The Water-Hen. Head, throat, 

 and lower parts of a slaty-blue ; upper parts olive-brown ; the 

 exterior margin of the wings, longitudinal spots on the flanks, 

 and the lower tail-coverts white ; base of the bill and frontal 

 plate bright red, point of the bill yellow ; legs greenish ; a red 

 naked circle on the tibia. 12 to 14 inches long. Inhabits Eu- 

 rope. B. Shaw, xii. pi. 30. 



G. Cayanensis, Tern. Plumage olive-brown ; crown and under parts 

 red ; cheeks dusky ; quills black. 7 inches long. Inhabits Cay- 

 enne. Shaw, xii. 220. 



Gen. 30 PARRA, Lin. Jacana, Briss. 



Bill as long as the head, straight, slender, compressed, some- 

 what inflated towards the tip, the depressed base dilated in 

 front into a naked plate or elevated crest; mandibles unequal; 

 nostrils lateral, placed near the middle of the bill, oval, legs 

 very long, slender ; nudity of the tibia very long ; toes very 

 long, slender, entirely divided ; wings ample. 



The birds of this family are natives of Asia, Africa, and South America. In their 

 natural habits and dispositions, the shortened form of their body, the figure of their 

 bill, and the smallness of their head, they resemble the Gallinulse ; but they have 

 spines or spurs on their wings, and most of them have caruncles onjthe forehead ; 

 their toes are completely separated, and their claws are extremely long, straight, and 

 slender. They haunt the marshes of hot countries; walk on the broad'and floating 

 leaves of plants on the surface of the water with great nimbleness ; and fly more 

 frequently and more vigorously than the Gallinulae. They are monogamous, nestle 

 on the ground among the aquatic herbage, and lay four or five eggs. The young 

 as soon as hatched follow their parents. 



