THE MALAY BANDED RAIL. 341 



lower green, remainder of the bill dark brown ; eyelids grey ; legs black ; 

 claws dark horn-colour. 



Length about 10 inches, tail 2' 2, wing 5 '5, tarsus 1'75, bill from 

 gape 1*3. 



A live specimen of this Rail was captured by Colonel Horace Browne 

 in the verandah of his house at Thayetmyo some years ago. The bird 

 reached me alive the same day ; and this is the only instance I know of the 

 occurrence of this species in British Burmah. 



It is everywhere rare and migratory, and it seems to have a great 

 fondness for taking refuge in buildings. Little is known regarding the 

 movements of this bird. It arrives in Ceylon in October in considerable 

 quantities and it comes to that island in an exhausted condition, so that we 

 may presume it has travelled a long distance. It remains in Ceylon till 

 February. The occurrence of this Rail has been recorded from various 

 widely separated localities in India. It is known to occur with certainty 

 in various islands of the Philippine group ; and Count Salvadori gives 

 Java, Malacca and Singapore as localities whence specimens have been 

 obtained. 



Nothing is known about the nidification of this Rail, and very little 

 about its habits. 



694. RALLINA FASCIATA. 

 THE MALAY BANDED RAIL. 



Rallus fasciatus, Raffl. Trans. Linn. Soc. xiii. p. 328. Rallina fasciata, Salvad. 

 Ucc. Born. p. 337 ; Wald. in El B. Burm. p. 162 ; id. Trans. Zool. Soc. ix. p. 231 ; 

 Hume, S. F. iii. p. 188 ; Hume $ Dav. S. F. vi. p. 467 ; Hume, S. F. viii. p. 113 ; 

 Hume $ Marsh. Game Birds, ii. p. 235, pi. 



Description. The whole head, neck all round and breast deep chestnut, 

 rather paler on the chin and throat ; back, rump, upper tail-coverts and 

 tail ruddy brown ; scapulars and tertiaries ruddy brown, with a few 

 obsolete ferruginous bars near the tips of some of the feathers ; lesser 

 wing- coverts ruddy brown, with a ferruginous spot in the centre of each 

 feather ; the remaining coverts and all the quills brown, with rufous-white 

 bars on both webs ; abdomen, vent, sides of the body, under wing-coverts, 

 axillaries and under tail-coverts broadly barred with black and white, the 

 latter part tinged with ferruginous. Mr. Hume states that the sexes are 

 alike. 



Legs, feet and bare portion of tibia coral-red ; bill black, dark horny 

 blue or plumbeous blue; iridcs dull rod, cinnabar-red or red-brown; 

 orbital skin and gape bright vermilion. (Davison.) 



