204 A MANUAL OF THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 



Gallinula ruficrissa Gould, Birds Austr. Suppl., pt. v. (pi. 79), Aug. 1st, and Ann. Mag. Nat. 



Hist., Ser. IV., Vol. IV., p. 110, Aug. 1st, 1869 : Cape River, Queensland. 



Oallinula moluccana yorki Mathews, Austral Av. Rec., Vol. I., pt. 8, p. 194, March 20th, 1913 : 



Cape York, Queensland. 



DISTRIBUTION. North Queensland, Northern Territory. 



Adult Head, hind-neck and mantle olive-brown, becoming chocolate-brown 

 on the scapulars, back, upper tail-coverts and tail ; wing-coverts like the back, 

 somewhat more chestnut-brown on the greater coverts, which resemble the inner 

 secondaries ; bastard-wing, primary-coverts and quills dark brown, somewhat 

 paler on the outer webs ; lores and sides of head and ear-coverts dull slaty-grey, 

 lighter on the cheeks and inclining to greyish-white on the chin and upper throat ; 

 lower throat, breast and abdomen darker slaty-grey, slightly washed with olive on 

 the fore-neck ; sides of body entirely olive-brown ; lower-abdomen vinous-isabelline ; 

 a patch of feathers on each side of the vent, thighs and under tail-coverts vinous- 

 chestnut ; under wing-coverts and axillaries dark sepia-brown ; quills dusky-brown 

 below ; bill green, frontal shield orange ; iris reddish-brown ; feet yellow. Total 

 length 213 mm. ; culmen, including frontal shield, 30, wing 143, tail 56, tarsus 56. 



Immature. A little paler than the adult above and below, the throat whitish, 

 the under tail-coverts paler, the frontal plate not developed ; bill green, iris dark 

 brown, feet yellowish-brown. 



Nestling. Appears to be unknown. 



Nest. Composed of coarse grass and other herbage ; 3J inches in breadth. 



Eggs. Clutch, four to six ; colour creamy-white, with rust-brown spots and 

 blotches, and underlying spots of lilac-grey over the entire surface, more thickly 

 at the larger end ; axis 41 mm., diameter 29. 



Breeding-season . January . 



Distribution and forms. Through the Moluccas, New Guinea to New Britain 

 and Northern Australia. Subspecies not accurately determined but Australian 

 form well marked by means of smaller bill and legs and warmer coloration of the 

 upper-surface. Schlegel described a uniform bird from unknown locality received 

 via N.E. New Guinea as Oallinula frankii, which may be applicable to this species. 

 Mathews named the Cape York form O. m. yorki as being altogether paler than 

 Gould's Cape River bird. Recently the species has been recorded from the Northern 

 Territory, but we have seen no specimens. 



Genus GALLINULA. 



Oallinula Brisson, Ornith., Vol. I., p. 64, Vol. VI., p. 2, 1760. Type (by tautonymy) : 

 Oallinula = Fulica chloropus Linn6. 



Hydrogallina Lacepede, Tabl. Ois., p. 19, Dec. 1799. Species added by Daudin in Hist. Nat. 

 (Buffon) ed. Didot, Quadr., Vol. XIV., p. 336 [1799] = (Oct.) 1802. Type (by subsequent 

 designation, Mathews, List, p. 27, 1913) : F. chloropus Linne\ 



Stagnicola Brehm, Vogel Deutschl., p. 702, 1831 (pref. July). Type (by subsequent designa- 

 tion, Mathews, List, p. 27, 1913) : F. chloropus. 



Large Moorhens with long stout bill with well-developed frontal shield, long 

 wings, short tail, long legs and very long toes. 



The bill similar to that of the preceding but a little more slender with a horny 

 plate extending backwards and covering the fore-head ; the nostrils longer and 

 gonys less marked ; the nasal apertures linear and long, and pervious as usual. 

 The wing long, the feathers strong, the first primary long and equal to the sixth, 

 the second and third longest, the former generally exceeding the latter ; inner 

 secondaries very short. The tail is short and little rounded, composed of twelve 

 broad feathers and only about one-third the length of the wing. The legs are long 

 and stout, a short exposed tibia scutellated behind but reticulated like the joint in 

 front ; the tarsus is covered with broad scutes in front and various size scales on 



