102 RALLIDJl. 



bird, figured and described in Montagu's Supplement to his 

 Ornithological Dictionary, under the name of Little Galli- 

 nule, appears to be a female, but the sex was not noted. 



The next specimen, recorded by Montagu, is Mr. Fol- 

 jambe's bird, obtained in the shop of a London poulterer, 

 in May 1812 ; this is also figured and described in the 

 Appendix to his Supplement, and is considered to be an 

 old male. This example was received from Norfolk. 

 About the same time Mr. Plasted, of Chelsea, obtained 

 another which was shot on the banks of the Thames, near 

 that place. At the sale of Mr. Plasted's birds, this speci- 

 men passed into the possession of Mr. Leadbeater, and is 

 now, I believe, in the collection of Mr. Lombe, who re- 

 sides near Norwich. This bird, which I saw several times 

 while it belonged to Mr. Leadbeater, agreed with the 

 figure and description of Montagu's Olivaceous Gallinule, 

 and was believed to be an old male. 



An extract from the Minute-book of the Linnean Society, 

 dated November 4th, 1823, is thus inserted in the four- 

 teenth volume of the Transactions of that Society, page 583. 

 " In a letter from W. Fothergill, Esq., of Carr-end, near 

 Arkrigg, in Yorkshire, it is stated that the Rallus pusillus 

 of Gmelin, Gallinula minuta of Montagu, and G. pusilla of 

 Temminck, was shot on the 6th of May 1807, by John 

 Humphrey, Esq., of Wensley, on the banks of the Yore, 

 near that place. It was alone, and suffered itself to be 

 approached very near, without betraying any sense of 

 danger. It ran with great rapidity, carrying its tail 

 erect." 



In March 1826, a female of this species was caught at 

 Barnwell near Cambridge, which is now in the collection of 

 Dr. Thackeray, the Provost of King's College ; and the 

 figure of the bird in the front of the illustration here given, 



