340 BIRDS OF SOUTH AFRICA. 



gated with numerous white stripes ; plumage very lax. 

 Length, 5" 6'"; wing, 2" 9'"; tail, 1" 8"'. 



9. Above, blackish, varied with numerous undulated, 

 transverse lines of light fulvous brown, which assume the 

 appearance of stripes on the head and neck ; beneath whitish, 

 with black stripes on the neck and breast, and bands on the 

 flanks and body ; tail and tail-coverts black ; banded with 

 ferruginous lines. 



Of this rare little Rail I have only seen one single specimen, procured 

 at the Knysna by Mr. G-, Itex. The female has been described as a 

 distinct species by Mr. Swainson, loc. cit. His type specimen is in 

 the Cambridge Museum. 



637. Oorethrura Capensis. (Linn) 



Capensis, Linn. ; Brown's 111., PL 38 ? ; Guv., Vol. 3, 

 p. 405 ; Shaw, Vol. 12, p. 216. 



HEAD, neck, back, and lower parts of the neck, ferruginous ; 

 the lower part of the breast, the belly, thighs, vent, quills, 

 and tail, undulated with black and white ; the two middle 

 tail-feathers ferruginous ; bill black ; legs blood-red. Size 

 of the common Crake. 



" Inhabits the Cape of Good Hope." Shaw, loc. cit. Non vidi. 



The Sub-Family, GALLINULIN.3E, or Gallimiles, 



have the bill short, with the culmen more or less elevated and 

 advancing on the forehead, and the sides compressed ; the 

 wings short and rounded ; the tail short and rounded ; the 

 tarsi long and slender ; the toes very long, slender, more or 

 less margined on their sides, and the hind toe long ; the 

 claws generally long and slightly curved. 



O Genus PORPHYRIO, Brisson. 



Bill short, very much elevated at the base, which is flat, 

 and broadly dilated on the forehead; the culmen much arched 

 to the tip, and the sides much compressed ; the nostrils placed 

 in a small basal groove, and rounded ; wings moderate, with 

 the second, third, and fourth quills nearly equal and longest ; 

 tail short and rounded ; tarsi long, shorter than the middle 

 toe, and scutellated with broad transverse scales ; toes very 

 long, slender, and free at their base, with the lateral ones 

 unequal, the outer longest; the claws long, slender, and some- 

 what curved. 



