186 A FIRST LIST OF THE 



" There are eighteen tail feathers ; the gizzard is very muscular } 

 the contents of the stomach entirely shell fish, swallowed shells 

 and all, the shells being found in the stomach broken into small 

 pieces. 



" The irides, hazel brown; tarsus and toes, light green; the lobes, 

 yellowish towards the edges ; claws, horny ; bill, waxen orange, 

 becoming slightly yellowish towards the tip ; inside of the mouth, 

 pale lilac ; eyelids, yellowish fleshy ; their edges, sickly yellow." 



I think this bird is decidely more nearly allied to Fidica and 

 to Gallicrex than to any other genera. I may add to Mr. Oates' 

 remarks that the tibia is bare for about 0*6; that the tarsus is 

 broad and strong, not compressed as in the Grebes ; and the 

 claws too are claws, and not nails as in the Grebes ; the inner 

 toe claw is much the largest; the mid-toe to root of claw is 2 - 6 ; 

 its claw from root to point straight, 049 ; outer toe to root of 

 claw, 2'2; its claw, 0*45 ; inner claw to root of claw, 1*9; its 

 claw, 0'6. 



The second and third primaries are the longest ; the first is 

 1-3, the fourth 0-2, the fifth 07, the sixth 1-25, the seventh 

 1*80, and the tenth 3*25 shorter than the longest. 



The tail is very much rounded, the exterior pair 2 inches, the 

 next pair 1*5, the next l'l, the next 0*8, the next 06, the next 

 0*3 shorter than the six central ones, which are longest. 



The whole of the front of the head, as far as a line drawn 

 across the crown from a little in front of the posterior angles of 

 the eyes, and a broad streak from above the posterior angle of 

 the eye backwards to the nape, the whole of the lores, cheeks, 

 part of the ear coverts, chin, throat, and part of the front of 

 the neck, velvet black, and more or less glossy ; the width of 

 the black on the front of the neck, regularly diminishing, and 

 terminating in a point about 2*5 inches from the base of the 

 neck. From the posterior angle of each eye a white slanting 

 line runs down to the end of the black point, thus defining 

 the black along its whole length. Just in front of the black 

 lores there is a narrow white line dividing them from the sides 

 of the upper mandible. The crown, occiput, and a broad ill- 

 defined streak down the back of the neck, a sort of dusky 

 greenish bluish grey. The sides of the occiput between the 

 black streak and the dark greenish bluish grey band running 

 down the back of the neck on the one side, and the white 

 bounding line of the black of the face and the throat on the 

 other, pale brown, with a sort of olive green tinge. The lower 

 part of the neck in front, the sides and flanks, a sort of drab 

 brown ; the latter, darker, and with the faintest possible fulvous 

 or perhaps rufescent tinge; breast and middle of abdomen, vent, 

 and shorter lower tail coveits, white, more or less tinged fulvous, 

 faintly barred with a pale drab brown in the middle of the 



