GALLINULA JARDINII. 



DIMENSIONS. 



Inches. Lines. 

 jA'iigth from the tip of the bill to the 



end of the tail .5 6 



of the bill from the angle of the 



mouth Oj 



of the wings when folded 2 9 



ofthctail 1 8 



Inches. Lines. 



Length of the tarsus 



of the inner toe 7 



of the outer toe 7$ 



of the middle toe it^ 



of the hinder toe 3 



Though I have never seen the female of this species, yet, from information 

 1 have received, I am disposed to believe she resembles the male in point 

 of colours. 



This elegant little rail is but rarely obtained by collectors in South Africa. The figure here 

 given is a representation of the only specimen I have ever procured, though I remember 

 having once seen another in the possession of a dealer in Cape Town. It resorts to marshy 

 grounds, or the vicinity of lakes, and is occasionally to be seen flitting about among the reeds, 

 by which the lakes are generally margined. It also at times extends its peregrinations upon 

 the aquatic plants which sometimes coat the surface of stagnant waters ; and while in such 

 a position it appears actively engaged in feeding upon the aquatic insects which occur upon 

 these plants. 



Should Alecthelia of Lesson prove a good groupe, and should the South African bird which 

 Swainson has described under the name of ^fcc^Ae/ia lineata* belong to it, then the present 

 species must stand as Alecthelia Jardinii, and that represented in Plate 20, as Alecthelia 

 dimidiata. I believe Swainson's bird to be the young of the latter. 



* Lardner's Cytlopsedia, Jlenageries, page 338. 



