THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 163 



The eggs in my own collection (a set of four) were from Slab 

 Creek, South Queensland. They are similar in every respect to 

 the Tasmanian eggs, with the following dimensions in lines, viz. : 

 — (i) 14J X lof 3 (2) i4^x_io|; (3) 15-I- X II ; and (4) 14 x lof. 

 In the case ot this nest, it was taken among water-lilies and 

 rushes, and was composed of dead rushes in a wet state. 



Since my figure and description of Tabuan Crake {P. tabuensis) 

 in "Nests and Eggs," I have received another example from 

 Tasmania, which is more elongated in form, and is i inch 2\ lines 

 x 10 lines as against i inch 2 lines x 1 1 lines in the figure. The 

 late Mr. T. H. Potts's dimensions are i in. 4 lines x 10 lines. 

 The nest of the Tabuan Crake is found near water, constructed 

 of soft grass, and generally situated under a thick tussock of 

 grass, on the lee side, where it droops over. The complement of 

 eggs appears to be four in number. 



The nest and eggs of the Little Crake (P. palustris) have been 

 accurately described by Gould. 



The White-eyebrowed Crake {Erythra quadristrigaid) is the 

 fourth and last of the Australian water crakes. Dr. Ramsay 

 described an immature egg taken from the oviduct of this bird in 

 1868. But, through the goodness of Dr. Kutter, of Germany, who 

 thoughtfully forwarded me extra pages of " Cabanis' Zeitschrift 

 fiir Ornithologie" (1884-6), containing a more complete descrip- 

 tion of his examples of nest and eggs of this Crake, taken in the 

 Austro-Malayan Archipelago, I embody with much pleasure the 

 following : — 



576. Erythra {Porzand) quadristrixjata {cinereiis), (White- 

 eyebrowed Water Crake). Locality — North Australia and 

 Queensland. Egg—'Y\iQ. form is somewhat elongated, with well- 

 rounded ends ; the ground colour a light clay-yellow. The 

 markings consist of specks or dots, usually close together, and 

 partly confluent, and blotches of reddish-brown. Shell pretty 

 thin, slightly lustrous, and of fine uniform texture. Length, i 

 inch 3 lines; breadth, io| lines. 



Two nests were found on the ground, nth and 14th April, 

 I883, with two and four eggs respectively, slightly incubated. 

 One nest was somewhat shallow, constructed of the bottom part 

 of rushes and covered with fine grasses. Diameter about 2| x 

 if inches. The other was, according to the description of the 

 collector, built of the leaves of rice-straw. 



The eggs resemble the former description, but are somewhat 

 broader, and of more compressed form. The markings on the 

 light clay-yellow ground are usually stronger and of a reddish- 

 brown, and a few violet dots and spots are distributed sparingly 

 over the surface of the shell. Only at the larger end are the 

 markings in the form of a belt or zone, so that some of these 



