BIRDS OF UPPER PEGU. 185 



901.— Hydrophasianus chirnrgus, Scop. 



Mr. Oates remarks : " I have only seen one specimen. It is a 

 rare bird with us. A male shot on the 11th February, in winter 

 plumage, measured : Length, H'05; expanse, 22; tail, from vent, 

 3; wing, 6*7; bill, from gape, l - 06; tarsus, T96. 



" The irides were pale yellow ; eyelids, well clothed ; bill, dark 

 brownish black ; the basal half of the lower mandible, bright 

 yellow ; legs, dull greenish ; claws, horny/'' 



902.— Porphyrio neglectus, Schlegel. 



This, according to Mr. Gray, is the name under which our Sul- 

 tana Coot should stand; certainly it is not jJoliocej)//alus, Latham, 

 which has a brown back, and which has the whole head, neck, 

 and lower parts, a unicolorous pale lavender blue. Specimens 

 from Thayetmyo appear to differ in no respect from birds from 

 Sindh and all parts of India. The only specimen sent however 

 has, even for a female, a rather unusually small bill. 



Mr. Oates remarks : ' ' This species is common in the Engmah 

 Swamp, and is found also occasionally in other jheels. 



" Except where found as a mere straggler, this bird is gregari- 

 ous. In the Engmah Swamp fewer than twenty or thirty are 

 rarely seen in one flock. At Boulay, where the bird is uncommon, 

 they occur singly. They move, through bushes very cleverly, 

 stepping from one branch to another very quickly and without 

 much commotion. 



" A female measured — 



" Length, 17 ; expanse, 31*5 ; tail, from vent, 4 ; wing, 9'6 ; bilL, 

 from gape, 1*48; from posterior margin of shield to tip, 2*55; 

 tarsus, 3*6. 



" Anterior half of bill, waxen red ; basal half and culmen to near 

 the tip, very dark blood red ; the region of the nostrils, whitish ; the 

 central portion of shield, the same blood red as the bill ; the edges, 

 bright coral red; irides, bright red; eyelids, plumbeous; legs and 

 feet, fleshy red, more or less dusky on all the joints ; claws, horny/'' 



903 Us.— Podica personata, Gray. 



Mr. Oates says : " I procured one specimen on the Engmah 

 Swamp. It flew up near the canoe with a heavy flight. I do not 

 think the bird is rare, but being very unwilling to rise, it is often 

 overlooked in the dense masses of vegetation floating on the 

 water. A male measured — 



" Length, 22 ; tail, from vent, 5*8 ; wing, 10*1 ; bill, from gape, 

 2*31 ; tarsus, 2*1. From the back of the shield to the tip of the 

 bill, 2'3. The hind-toe has no web or lobe; the inner toe where 

 the lobes are broadest was 0'88 broad; the middle toe, 0*8; and 

 the outer, 0-7. 



