L E'P T ON YX macropus 



Great-footed Babbler. 



i— 



Family Merulidse. Sub-family Crateropodinae. Genus Malacocircus, 

 Sw. Sub-genus Leptonix. (The Rasorial type.) Nob. 



Sub-generic Character. 



Feet of extraordinary size and thickness, all the anterior toes of 

 nearly equal length ; the claws long, slender, and but slightly 

 curved. Tail slightly rounded, of fourteen feathers. Wings 

 very short. 



Specific Character. 



Above brown beneath ivhiteish, with transverse undulated lines; 

 breast and rump, rufous brown ; chin, stripe above and 

 beneath the eye, ivhiteish. 



For the use of this new and singularly formed bird, we are 

 indebted to Professor Hooker, who, with his usual liberal- 

 ity, has recently sent for our inspection, a valuable box 

 of Chilian birds, most of which are undescribed. They 

 form the foundation of his son's, Mr William Hooker's 

 collection, who has already commenced with much zeal the 

 study of this interesting science. 



All the rasorial characters are strikingly displayed in 

 this extraordinary type ; which exhibits the greatest 

 developement of the foot of any insessorial bird yet 

 discovered. It no doubt lives entirely upon the ground; 

 for the feet are formed precisely on the same model as 

 those of Menura and Orthonyx, both of which are the 

 rasorial types of their respective circles , and are conse- 

 quently representatives of Leptonyx : the same analogy 

 explains its resemblance to a partridge, and more dis- 

 tantly to the sub-genus Erythaca Sw. by its rufous breast 



The Indian bird erroneously called Pitta thoracica 

 by M. Temminck, follows this in close affinity, and is 

 cither the Grallatorial type, or the immediate point of 

 connection between Malacocircus Sw. and Timalia Uorsf. 



Total length 9 inches ; bill from the gape 1-fo ; wings 4; 

 tail 3 ; tarsuslf ; hind toe and claw H. 



117. 



