GRALLATORES. GALLINULA. 187 



inch in length. Middle toe, with its claw, one inch and 

 a half long. Wing-spine small and short. 



In the female, the eyebrows and cheeks are pale grey. Female. 

 The throat greyish- white. Neck and breast of a paler 

 grey, slightly tinged with yellowish-brown. The dark 

 mesial line on the back having fewer white spots. 



The young have few or no distinct white spots upon the Young. 

 upper parts of the body ; and the fore part of the neck, 

 the breast, and belly, are of a yellowish- white. The 

 flanks, vent, and under tail-coverts brown, barred with 

 pale yellowish-brown. 



For a more detailed account of this bird, I refer my 

 readers to the Supplement to MONTAGU'S Ornithologi- 

 cal Dictionary, under the article Gallinule, Little. 



GENUS GALLINULA, LATH. GALLINULE. 



GENERIC CHARACTERS. 



Bill thick at the base, compressed, slightly swollen to- 

 wards the tip, subconic, as short as the head. Upper man- 

 dible convex, with the culmen extended and dilated, forming 

 a naked frontal plate or shield ; lateral furrow wide. Man- 

 dibles of nearly equal length ; angle of the lower one as- 

 cending. Tomia of the under mandible slightly intracted, 

 and covered by the upper. 



Nostrils lateral, pervious, pierced in the membrane of the 

 furrow in the middle of the bill ; longitudinal, and linear. 



Wings (as in Rallus and Creoi) armed with a small sharp 

 recumbent spine. 



Legs strong, of mean length, naked for a short space 

 above the tarsal joint. Front of the tarsus scutellated ; 

 hinder part reticulated. Feet four-toed, three before and 

 one behind ; toes long, divided, and bordered through their 

 whole length by a narrow entire membrane. 



