368 GALLINULINJ:. 



nostrils longitudinal, in a groove in the middle of the bill ; wings 

 moderate, second, third, and fourth quills sub- equal, with a small 

 sharp tubercle or spur ; tail short ; tarsus moderately long, 

 narrow, edged by a very narrow membrane. 



Gallinula chloropus, Lin. 



905. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. II, p. 718 ; Butler, Guzerat ; 



Stray Feathers, Vol. IV, p. 20 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers, 



Vol. IX, p. 431 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, 



p. 262 ; Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India; Ibis, 1885, p. 135, 

 THE WATER HEN. 



Length, 12 to 13 ; expanse, 20 ; wing, 675 ; tail, 2'95 ; tarsus, 

 1*8 ; bill from gape, I'l. 



Bill red, yellow at tip ; irides red ; legs pale olive -green, with 

 an orange garter above the knee. 



Head dusky-grey ; the upper plumage deep olive ; the wing 

 dusky ; edge of the wing white ; throat, neck, and breast, dusky- 

 grey, the rest of the under parts deep bluish -grey ; the feathers 

 edged with whitish, and the flanks with large streaks of white ; 

 under tail-coverts pure white, with a few black feathers intermixed. 



The young has the head and under parts olivaceous-brown ; 

 the throat, neck in front, and a spot beneath the eye whitish ; 

 breast and beneath pale grey. 



The Water Hen is a common permanent resident throughout 

 the district, breeding from July to September. The nest varies 

 much according to the situation in which it is placed ; when 

 built in low bushes (always overhanging water), the nest is neat 

 and carefully made, but when placed among reeds and flags, it 

 is a much less pretentious affair. The eggs, seven to nine in 

 number, are moderately broad ovals in shape, and in color they 

 are pale stone or drab, more or less thickly sprinkled with spots, 

 streaks and blotches of red, or reddish-brown. The larger 

 markings are frequently surrounded by a reddish halo. 



They measure 1'62 inches in length by 1*21 inches in breadth. 



GENUS, Erythra. 



Intermediate between Gallinula and Porzana. 



Erythra phoenicura, Penn. 



907. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. II, p." 720 ; Butler, Guzerat ; 

 Stray Feathers, Vol. IV, p. 21 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol. 

 IX, p. 43 1 ; Gallinula phcenicura, Penn, ; Murray's Vertebrate 

 Zoology of Sind, p. 263. 



THE WHITE-BREASTED WATER HEN. 



Length, 12'75 ; expanse, 21 ; wing, 6'5 ; tail, 2'5 ; tarsus, 

 2-5 ; bill at front, 1'5. 



Bill greenish-yellow ; culmen orange ; irides blood-red ; legs 

 greenish. 



