PORZANA. 165 



Habits, $-c. A thoroughly aquatic bird, often seen running over 

 leaves of water-lilies and other floating plants, and living mainly 

 on water-insects and larvae. It swims well and has even been 

 seen to dive, and it has a fairly strong flight. It does not, in all 

 probability, breed in India. The nest and eggs are very similar to 

 those of the next species. 



1393. Porzana pusilla. The Eastern Baillon's Crake. 



Rallus pusillus, Pallas, Reis. Rus*. Reichs, iii, p. 700 (1776). 

 Porzana pygmaea, apud Blyth, Cat. p. 284 ; Jerdon, B. I. iii, p. 723 ; 



Hume $ Renders. Lah. to Yark. p. 293 ; Blanf. S. F. v, p. 247 ; 



Godw.-Aust. J. A. S. B. xlvii, pt. 2, p. 21 ; Biddulph, Ibis, 1881, 



p. 98 (nee Brehm, nee Naum.). 



Zapornia pygmaea, Hume, 3T. $ E. p. 603 ; Butler, S. F. v, p. 215. 

 Ortygometra pygmaea, Hume, S. F. ii, p. 301. 

 Porzana bailloni, apud Hume 8f Dav. S. F. vi, p. 467; Ball, S. F. 



vii, p. 229 ; Hume, Cat. no. 910 ; Scully, S. F. viii, p. 358 ; Legge, 



Birds Ceyl. p. 766 ; Hume fy Marsh. Game B. ii, p. 203, pi. ; 



iii, p. 435, pi. ii (egg) ; Vidal, S. F. ix, p. 87 ; Butler, ibid. p. 432 ; 



Scully, Ibis, 1881, p. 590 ; Reid, S. F. x, p. 73 ; Gates, B. B. ii, 



p. 344 ; Barnes, Birds Bom. p. 370 ; Hume, S. F. x, p. 415 ; xi, 



p. 328; St. John, Ibis, 1889, p. 178 (nee VieilL). 

 Porzana pusilla, Gates in Hume's N. Sf E. 2nd ed. iii, p. 395 ; Sharpe, 



Yark. Miss., Aves, p. 147 ; id. Cat. B. M. xxiii, p. 106. 



Jhitti, Nepal. 



Fig. 34. Head of P. pusilla. \ . 



Coloration. Upper parts rufescent olive-brown, all the feathers 

 except the wing-coverts with broad black median stripes ; feathers 

 of back and rump, with the scapulars and some of the wing-coverts, 

 streaked with white in a peculiar way as if smeared with white 

 paint ; edge of wing white ; quills dark brown ; first primary with 

 a white outer border ; tail-feathers blackish brown ; an ochreous- 

 brown streak from the lores, including orbit and ear-coverts, to 

 side of neck, which is uniformly brown; superciliary stripes, cheeks, 

 and lower parts to abdomen ashy grey ; abdomen brown with white 

 cross-bars ; lower tail-coverts barred black and white. Sexes 

 alike. 



Young birds have the lower parts whitish or white, not grey, 

 but more or less tinged with brown. 



Bill green, dusky on culmen and at tip ; irides red in adults, 

 reddish brown in young birds; legs and feet green with a 

 yellowish tinge ; claws pale brown (Hume). 



Length 7*5 ; tail 1*75 ; wing 3'5 ; tarsus 1-1 ; bill from gape '7. 



Distribution. Eastern Asia generally, including all India, Ceylon, 



