346 BIRDS OF BRITISH BURMAH. 



barred with white ; vent and under tail-coverts ferruginous under wing- 

 coverts white barred with brown. 



Bill greenish yellow, orange at the base ; irides red-brown ; legs and 

 feet bright yellowish green. (Jerdon.} 



Length 8'5 inches, tail 2'1, wing 4'5, tarsus V3, bill from gape '8. The 

 female appears to be of about the same size. 



The Spotted Crake is recorded from Arrakan by Mr. Blyth. 



It is found throughout a great part of India, where it appears to be 

 more or less migratory ; in Central Asia from Yarkand westwards ; and 

 throughout Europe and Northern Africa. 



This species seems restricted to the densest cover, reed-beds and thick 

 paddy, and is less often seen even than the last. 



698. PORZANA FUSCA. 

 THE RUDDY CRAKE. 



Rallus fuscus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 262. Porzana fusca, Jerd. B. 2nd. ii. p. 724 ; 

 El. B. Burm. p. 161 ; Hume, S. F. iii. p. 188 ; Wold. Trans. Zool. Soc. ix. p. 230 ; 

 Legge, Birds Ceylon, p. 769 ; Hume fy Marsh. Game Birds, ii. p. 217 ; Oates, S. F. 

 x. p. 242. Rallina fusca, Hume, Nests and Eggs, p. 604 ; Salvad. Ucc. Born. 

 p. 338 j Anders. Yunnan Exped. p. 691 ; Hume # Dav. S. F. vi. p. 467 ; 

 Hume, S. F. viii. p. 113. 



Description. Male. The forehead as far back as the eyes, the sides of 

 the head and neck, the fore neck, breast and upper abdomen rich ferru- 

 ginous ; chin and throat whitish ; 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. 



Iris crimson ; eyelids plumbeous, the edges red ; bill greenish brown ; 

 legs and toes red ; hinder part of leg fuscous. 



Length 8*5 inches, tail 1*75, wing 3*8, tarsus 1*4, bill from gape 1. The 

 female is barely smaller than the male. 



I have examined a considerable series of P. erythrothorax from China, 

 and find that it differs from P. fusca merely in being larger; but this 

 greater size is only exhibited in the wing, which varies from 4'1 to 4*6 

 inches in length. The tarsus, toes and bill are of the same size in the two 

 species ; and I cannot discover any difference in coloration. I have not, 

 however, been able to examine a similarly good series of P. fusca, and 



