THE GENUS PORPHYRIO AND ITS SPECIES. 21 



PorpJiyrio smaragdonotus, Licht. Nomencl. Av., p. 97, (1854). — 



von Mull. Jour. fiir. Ornith. (1856), p. 228. — Gum. Ibis, 



(1868), p. 469.— von Heugl., Ornith. Nord. Ost. Afr. (1873), 



Band. II., p. 1230. 



Porphyrio agyptiacus, Heugl. Syst. Uebers., p. 65, No. 672, 



(1856).— Hartm., Jour; fur j Ornith. (1863), p. 231. 

 Porphyrio hyacinthinus, (nee Temm.) Shelley Birds, Egypt, 



(1872), p. 297. 

 Ilab. — Africa, Madagascar, Natal, (Gumey) ; Mauritius, (E. 

 Newton) ; Sardinia, (P runner) . 



This species has been referred to the Gallinula madagasca- 

 riensis, Latham (1. a), but this does not seem to me correct. 

 Latham's description is as follows : — u G. purpureo-fusca, sabtus 

 coemlea, capite griseo-carulescenie, gula pectore humerisque viri- 

 dibus." This does not answer for any species of Porphyrio 

 known to me, although it may possibly be an immature speci- 

 men of the G. poliocephala, Lath. It certainly will not answer 

 for the adult of the present species, and I have therefore adopted 

 for it Vieillot's name of chlorynothos (lege chloronotus), which 

 antidates Temminck's appellation of smaragnotus. Sykes 

 gives this species as a native of the Deccan, but he of course 

 intended to indicate the poliocephaltjs, Lath., as the P. 

 chloronotus is not found in India. It is a native of Africa, 

 Madagascar and the Mauritius. It is stated to have been 

 obtained once in the south of France, and twice in Sardinia, but 

 its appearance north of the African coast can only be regarded 

 as accidental. It is generally distributed throughout the con- 

 tinent of Afiica as far as the Cape of Good Hope. Anderson 

 says it is rather scarce" in Damara and Great Namaqua Land ; 

 not uncommon in the rainy season at Ondonga, and pretty 

 abundant on the rivers Teoghe and Okavongo. Specimens 

 vary in their dimensions, as is the case with other species of 

 this genus, but these slight differences cannot be considered 

 as having any specific value. Messrs. Roch and Newton state 

 that this bird is very common at Tarafata and Foule Point in 

 Madagascar, and that their flesh is much prized for the table. 

 In the colony of Natal, according to Gurney, this species is 

 pretty generally distributed. During the winter it leaves the 

 high reeds in the mornings and evenings to catch the sun's 

 rays, and perches on clumps of reeds. It feeds upon the soft 

 parts of the shoots of reeds and other water plants. If there 

 is any difference between the sexes, the female is a little the 

 smaller. 



Adtdt. — Occiput, back of neck, lower part of breast and 

 flanks, deep rich blue ; sides of face and neck in front, throat 

 and upper part of breast, turquoise blue, apparently lightest in 



