218 DR. G. HARTLAUB ON EROESSA TENELLA. [May 8, 



another, of which examples are contained in my own and Mr. "Wal- 

 lace's collections from Timor, and a fourth from Batchian. Al- 

 though these four birds are intimately allied, they possess distinctive 

 characters by which each of them may be readily recognized. As 

 I have here only to deal with the Australian members of the genus, 

 I shall content myself with remarking that this new species is to be 

 distinguished from the southern M. trivirgata by the unsullied 

 whiteness of its axillaries, abdomen, and lower part of its flanks, by 

 the black of the forehead and throat being somewhat more exten- 

 sive, and by the larger size of the white terminal portion of the outer 

 tail-feathers. 



Bill and legs olive lead-colour ; forehead and a narrow stripe above 

 the eye, upper portion of the ear-coverts, and the throat jet-black ; 

 cheeks, lower part of the neck, and the chest bright ferruginous ; 

 abdomen, axillaries, and a considerable portion of the under surface 

 of the wing snow-white ; crown of the head, back of the neck, and 

 back bluish grey ; primaries greyish brown ; upper tail-coverts and 

 tail black, the three outer feathers of the latter largely tipped with 

 white. 



Total length 5^ inches, bill f, wing 3, tail 2|-, tarsi ^. 



Hab. The Cape York district of Queensland. 



I am also enabled to add to the list of Australian Birds, pub- 

 lished by me in my lately issued ' Handbook to the Birds of Au- 

 stralia,' the following species — 



Rallina tricolor, G. R. Gray, P. Z. S. 1858, p. 188, 



a bird brought by Mr. Wallace from the Aru Islands. 



Of this species of Water-Rail, which appears to be common in the 

 New Guinea group of islands, an example has been sent to me from 

 the Cape York district, and the bird will doubtless be hereafter found 

 in other parts of northern Australia. 



Hydrochelidon leucoptera (Meisn. & Sch.). 



Schlegel having, I believe, given Celebes as one of the localities 

 of this species, it will not be a matter of surprise that two examples 

 should occur in the Cape York collection. Of these one is certainly 

 immature, the other in a dress which is probably that of winter. 



On a New Genus and Species of Birds from Madagascar. 

 By Dr. G. Hartlai ib, F.M.Z.S. 



Eroessa, n. g. 



Char. Gen. — Rostr. longiusculum, gracillimum, rectum, acutum, 

 vix. emarginatum, apicem versus magis magisque conqiressum, 

 culmine valde carinato, dimidio apicali parum arcuato ; gonyde 

 recta ; vibrissis vix ullis ; naribus lamella cornea clausis. Alee 

 quadrato-obtusee, caudce medium superantes ; remige primo 



