98 Mr. D.G. Elliot on a new Species of Water-bird. 
Puate VIII. 
Fig. 1. Top view of the skull of the male Solitaire. 
Fig. 2. Under view of the skull of the female Solitaire. 
Both figures are of the natural size. 
XIII.—Description of a new Species of Water-bird from 
Cochin China belonging to the Genus Porphyrio. By D.G. 
Extior, F.R.S.E. &e. 
Porphyrio Edwardst. 
Adult, Far-coverts, lores, and round the eyes greyish 
white. Back of head brown, darkest in the centre, where it 
is almost a brownish black with a purple tinge, shading off to 
a greyish white towards the frontal plate and the sides of the 
head. Cheeks bluish white. Chin and throat brownish, 
with a bluish shade. Back and sides of neck, lower part of 
breast, and flanks dark violet-blue. Front of neck and upper 
part of breast, shoulders, and under wing-coverts deep tur- 
quoise-blue. Back, rump, wings, secondaries, primaries, and 
tail uniform greenish black. Middle of abdomen and crissum 
brownish black. Under tail-coverts pure white. Baill, frontal 
plate, legs, and feet apparently bright red. Total length 164 
inches, wing 102, tail 43, bill along gape 14, width of frontal 
plate at posterior margin 4, tarsus 33, middle toe 33, claw 2. 
Young. Top and back of head covered with downy black 
feathers; sides of head grey; chin and throat white ; breast 
dark turqoise-blue, flanks and abdomen violet-blue. Crissum 
and thighs brownish black, streaked in certain places with 
white. Wings and back greenish black. Rump brownish 
black. Bull’ red, with the culmen and lengthened spots on the 
mandibles near the commissure black. Frontal plate small, 
apparently red. Legs and feet paie red. Total length 103 
inches, tarsus 22, bill at gape 1. 
Hab. Cochin China; Saigon (Germain) ; Bangkok (Bo- 
court). 
Four specimens of this fine species are in the collection of 
the Paris Museum, three adults and one young bird, obtained 
in different localities in Cochin China. It has probably been 
confounded with the P. poliocephalus, Lath., of India, which 
it resembles in certain portions of its plumage. ‘The present 
species differs in being darker on the back of the head, in 
having the blue of the breast of a darker shade, and especially 
in having the upper parts, including the entire wings, greenish 
black, instead of the purple back and rump and pale greenish 
blue wings of P. polocephalus. 'This colouring of the upper 
