174 RALLID/E. 



In young birds the forehead, crown, and upper parts generally 

 are olive-brown, and the white of the face and underparts obscured 

 by dusky tips to the feathers. 



Bill green, the frontal portion red ; hides brown to red ; legs 

 and feet yellow to yellowish olive. 



Length 12'5 ; tail 2-5 ; wing 6'5 ; tarsus 2*25 ; bill from gape 

 1*5. Females are rather smaller than males, and skins from 

 Ceylon appear to measure less than those from Northern India. 



Fig. 36. Head of A. phoenicurus. ^. 



The race inhabiting the Andamans and Nicobars forms the sub- 

 species A. insularis of Sbarpe. It has the white of the forehead 

 extended over the anterior part of the crown, whilst that of the 

 breast is confined to a narrow strip in the middle. Undoubtedly 

 the insular form is a well-marked race, but its peculiarities are 

 sometimes found in mainland specimens. 



Distribution. Almost throughout India, Ceylon, and Burma, 

 with the greater part of the Oriental region, to Celebes and 

 Formosa. This Water-hen appears not to be found in the 

 Himalayas above the swampy ground at the foot of the hills, and 

 becomes rare in North -western India. 



Habits, <$f*c. This is the commonest and most familiar Indian 

 bird of the whole family, and is often found about gardens and 

 village cultivation, as well as near tanks and marshes. It feeds 

 in the open, and when disturbed runs rapidly, with its tail raised, 

 into cover. It feeds on insects, molluscs, grain, &c. It is an ex- 

 cessively noisy bird : its loud, hoarse, reiterated call, predominating 

 in the evening and morning over the cries of the other waders and 

 the ducks in the village tank, must be familiar to most people in 

 India. The breeding-season is from May to September, varying 

 with the locality. The nest, sometimes 011 the ground, more often 

 on reeds, bamboos, bushes, or trees standing in water, is the usual 

 pad of grass, rushes, and leaves, often resting on twigs. The eggs, 

 4 to 8 in number, measure about 1-57 by 1*18, and are buff with 

 spots, streaks, and blotches of brownish red and pale purplish 

 grey. 





