PORZANA 709 



having the chin, lower cheeks, and throat white, the sides of the head 

 only greyish slate-blue ; lower throat, breast, and abdomen pinkish buff, 

 the lower abdomen and under tail-coverts as in the male but paler. 



Hob. Central and Southern Europe, but of irregular oc- 

 currence as far north as Great Britain and Southern Scan- 

 dinavia ; winters in North Africa ; South-west and Central 

 Asia east to North-west India. 



In its habits it is shy and secretive like its ally Baillon's 

 Crake, frequenting similar localities. Its call-note is a tolerably 

 loud kik, kik, kik. Its nesting habits are similar to those of 

 Baillon's Crake, but the nest is larger and of coarser materials ; 

 the eggs, which are deposited late in May or in June, are 

 rather larger and paler, the ground-colour more ochreous and 

 the surface spots more scattered. In size they measure about 

 118 by 0-87. 



990. BUTTON CRAKE. 

 FORZANA EXQUISITA. 



Porzana exquisite, Swinhoe, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist. (4) xii. p. 376 

 (1873) ; id. Ibis, 1875, p. 135, pi. iii. ; Sharpe, Cat. B. Br. Mus. 

 xxiii. p. 128 ; P. undulata, Tacz. J. f. 0. 1874, p. 333 ; id. F. 0. 

 Sib. 0. p. 999 ; Seebohm, B. Jap. Emp. p. 358. 



Shima-kuina, Jap. 



$ ad. (Japan). Upper parts, wings, and tail rufescent olivaceous, 

 blotched with black and marked with white, the first quill white on the 

 outer web, the secondaries white on the apical two-thirds ; throat, breast, 

 and abdomen white, the lower neck, fore throat, sides of neck and flanks 

 reddish brown with an olivaceous tinge, barred with blackish and margined 

 with white ; bill deep brown, but greenish yellow at base of lower mandible 

 and on rectus ; legs and feet light flesh-brown, dark on joints and claws ; 

 iris brown. Culmen 0'55, wing 3'0, tail 1*05, tarsus 0'8, middle toe and 

 claw 0'95. The male is smaller, has less white on the wings, and the 

 under parts are less mottled. 



Hob. Darasun in Dauria, the Ussuri country, Japan, and 

 North-eastern China. 



Is most nearly allied to P. noveboracensis (Gm.) of North 

 America, but is smaller and darker. Like its allies it is shy 

 and secretive, hard to flush, and flies awkwardly. It frequents 

 damp, swampy localities, and nests on the ground, making a 

 nest of leaves of aquatic plants. The eggs are yellowish 



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