THE INDIAN GALLINULE. 351 



Subfamily FULICIN.E. 



Genus POEPHYRIO, Briss. 



702. PORPHYRIO POLIOCEPHALUS. 

 THE INDIAN GALLINULE. 



Gallinula poliocephala, Lath. Ind. Orn. Suppl. p. Ixviii. Porphyrio neglectus, 

 Schleg. Mm. P.-B., Ealli, p. 53 ; Hume, S. F. i. p. 249 ; id. Nests and Eggs, 

 p. 594 ; id. S. F. iii. p. 185. Porphyrio poliocephalus, Jerd. B. Ind. ii. p. 713 ; 

 El. B. Bnrm. p. 161 ; Butler, S. F. iv. p. 20 : Oates, S. F. v. p. 165 ; Hume $> 

 Dav. S. F. vi. p. 464 ; Elliot, S. F. vii. p. 22 ; Cripps, S. F. vii. p. 305 ; Hume, 

 8. F. viii. p. 113 j Legge, Birds Ceylon, p. 795 ; Bingham, S. F. ix. p. 197 ; Oates, 

 S. F. x. p. 241. 



Description. Male and female. The feathered portions of the head and 

 neck grey, tinged with lavender on the hind neck ; the cheeks, chin and 

 throat washed with blue ; back, rump, scapulars and upper tail-coverts 

 deep purplish blue ; tail bluish brown ; wing-coverts and tertiaries greenish 

 blue ; primaries and secondaries greenish blue on the outer webs, black on 

 the inner ; breast and under wing-coverts greenish blue, similar to the 

 wings ; abdomen, sides of the body, vent and thigh-coverts deep purplish 

 blue like the back ; under tail-coverts white. 



Anterior half of bill dull red, basal half and the whole culmen nearly 

 to the tip very dark blood-red ; round the nostrils white ; central portion 

 of the shield deep red, the edges brighter red ; iris bright red ; eyelids 

 plumbeous ; legs and toes red, the joints more or less brown ; claws dark 

 horn-colour. 



Length 17 inches, tail 4, wing 9*6, tarsus 3*6, bill from gape 1*5. The 

 female is of about the same size or rather larger. 



P. edwardsi from Siam and Cochin China is very likely to occur in 

 Tenasserim ; it has the back, rump, upper tail-coverts, tail and wings uni- 

 form greenish black. P. calvus, which inhabits the Malay peninsula, is also 

 likely to be found in Tenasserim ; it resembles P. poliocephalus in general 

 appearance, but it has the occiput, sides of the face and the chin black. 

 P. ccelestis from China is described as having a white rump, a feature 

 sufficient in itself to separate it from all the other known species of 

 Porphyrio. 



The Indian Gallinule is found over the whole of Burmah except perhaps 

 in the southern half of Tenasserim, where Mr. Davisou does not appear 

 to have met with it. 



It inhabits the whole of India and Ceylon, and is probably also distri- 

 buted throughout the Indo-Burmese countries. 



