observed during the Voyage of the c Valhalla.' 695 



Rallus abbotti Nicoll, Bull. B. O. C. xvi. p. 106. 



Three adult males, one adult female, one immature male. 



Iris reddish hazel ; bill red at base, brown at tip ; tarsi 

 and toes dark brown. 



Abbott's Rail is one of the most abundant birds on 

 Assumption, and at once makes its presence known by a 

 curious note which much resembles that of our Water-Rail 

 (R. aquaticus). When uttering this note, it puffs its feathers 

 out and looks almost twice its natural size, then gradually 

 collapsing, as it were. The nesting-season was apparently 

 over when we were on the island, though I saw several young 

 birds covered with black down like young Water-hens. 

 This species, like most other Rails, appears to shed all its 

 wing-quills at once and to be then flightless ; at other times 

 it can, I believe, fly, although I never saw a wild bird do so. 



Jt was extraordinarily tame, and would feed unconcernedly 

 while we were beating out the bushes within a few inches 

 of it. We obtained an adult and an immature bird alive ; 

 they throve wonderfully on raw meat, fish, and bread-crumbs, 

 and may now be seen in the Zoological Gardens. 



As I believe that the plumage of the immature bird has not 

 previously been described, I append a short description of an 

 immature male obtained on March 13th, 1906 : — 



Upper parts olive-brown, feathers of mantle centred with 

 black, crown of head uniform brownish ; chin, centre of 

 throat, and neck white ; lower neck and breast pale reddish 

 brown ; abdomen faintly barred with buff; under-tail-coverts 

 darker red ; under-wing-coverts and axillaries black, broadly 

 bordered and tipped with white. 



- Akdea cinerea Linn. 



Ardea cinerea Ridgway, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. xviii. p. 530 

 ( Aldabra) . 



One immature female. 



I saw several of these Herons on Assumption and others 

 on Aldabra, but unfortunately was unable to obtain more 

 than one example. From its large size, however, I am nearly 

 sure that it is of a different species from our Common Heron, 



