PORPHYRIORNIS. GALLINTJLA. 



123 



Genus PORPHYRIORNIS, Allen. 



Porphyriornis nesiotis (Scl.). 

 (Plate IX. fig. 7.) 



Porphyriornis nesiotis, Sharpe, Cat. Birds B. M. xxiii. p. 166 (1894) ; 

 id. Hand-l. i. p. 107 (1899). 



The egg of the Tristan d'Acunha Gallinule in the Collection 

 is of a narrow oval form, nearly glossless, and of a pinkish cream- 

 colour, marked with a few small roundish spots and some rather 

 large blotches of reddish brown. The blotches about the middle of 

 the egg are larger than those elsewhere. There are also some small 

 pale purple underlying blotches, evenly distributed over the shell. 

 It measures 1'95 by 1'3. 



1. Tristan d'Acunha Island. A. Earle, Esq. [P.]. 



Genus GALLINULA, Briss. 

 Gallinula tenebrosa, Gould. 



Gallinula tenebrosa, Gould, Handb. Birds Austr. ii.p. 328 (1865) ; Camp- 

 bell, Nests $ Eggs Austr. Birds, p. 60 (1883) ; North, Nests fy Eggs 

 Austr. Birds, p. 325 (1889) ; Sharpe, Cat. Birds B. M. xxiii. p. 168 

 (1894) ; id. Hand-l. i. p. 107 (1899). 



The eggs of the Sombre Gallinule in the Collection are of a 

 very broad oval form, have a considerable amount of gloss, and 

 are of a creamy- white colour, marked with numerous specks, spots, 

 streaks, and small blotches of a bright rusty brown, which are more 

 dense at the larger end than elsewhere. There are also a few 

 inconspicuous specks and spots of pale purple underlying the others. 

 The two specimens measure respectively : 1*57 by 1*17 ; 1'6 by 1'2. 



2. New South Wales. Gould Coll. 



Gallinula chloropus (Linn.}. 



Gallinula chloropus, Thien. Fortpflanz. ges. Vb'g. tab. Ixxiii. fig. 8, a-f 

 (1845-54) ; Baedeker, EierEur. Vog. tab. 44. tig. 7 (1855-63) ; Hewit- 

 son, Eggs of Brit. Birds, ii. p. 378, pi. cvii. fig. i (1856) ; Saunders, Ibis, 

 1871, p. 225 ; Dresser, Birds Eur. vii. p. 313 (1879) ; Legge, Birds 

 Ceyl. p. 781 (1880) ; Seebohm, Brit. Birds, ii. p. 557, pi. 23 (1884) ; 

 Oates ed. Hume, Nests fy Eggs Ind. B. iii. p. 389 (1890) ; Sharpe, 

 Cat. Birds B. M. xxiii. p. 169 (1894) ; Seebohm, Eggs of Brit. Birds, 

 p. 87, pi. 22. tig. 7 (1896) ; Grant % Whitehead, Ibis, 1898, p. 246; 

 Sharpe, Hand-l. i. p. 107 (1899). 



Gallinula chloropus, var. pyrrhorrhoa, Milne-Edicards fy Grandidier, 

 Hist. Nat. Madag., Ois. ii. p. 594, pi. 306. fig. 5 (1885). 



The eggs of the Moor-hen are normally of a broad oval form, and 

 have a small amount of gloss. The ground-colour varies much, being 

 creamy white, pale greenish white, pale buff or pinkish buff. The 

 markings consist of specks, spots, and bold blotches of deep reddish 

 brown, and a few underlying pale purple spots. The combinations 

 in which these markings occur are numerous. In some, the 



