RECENTLY-DESCRIBED SPECIES. 283 



Total length 10 inches ; bill, from the gape, 1| ; wing, 1\ ; 

 tail, 4| ; tarsi, f . 



Hob. — Torres Straits.* 



Remarks. — Two specimens of this bird are now before me — 

 one, a female, which has been in my collection for many years ; 

 the other, a fine adult male, forming part of the collection above 

 mentioned, and Avhich had lately been received at Adelaide 

 from the northern territory at Port Darwin. 



I have carefully compared this species with the Stermda nereis 

 of Australia, the S. minuta of Europe, and the stermda of 

 India, supposed to be identical with the latter (but this, I think, 

 is a question). I have also compared it with all the little Terns 

 of America, both North and South. Its nearest ally seems to- 

 be the European species ; but from this it differs in having 

 considerably longer wings, in the snow-white hue of the shafts 

 of the primaries, and in the larger and well-defined mark of 

 black on the tips of the mandibles ; from S. nereis it is distinguish- 

 ed by having black instead of white lores. — A. Sf M. N. H. } 1871, 

 p. 192. 



Porzana bicolor, t Walden. 



Chin greyish white, passing into pure grey on the throat ; 

 entire head, throat, neck, breast, abdomen, flanks, and thigh, 

 coverts ashy-grey ; nape, back, uropygium, shoulder-coverts 

 and scapulars ferruginous olive ; tail, upper and lower tail- 

 coverts dark slate-colour, almost black ; quills above ash- 

 coloured, washed with light brown, underneath pale brown ; 

 under wing-coverts pale brown, tinged with ashy ; shoulder- 

 edge white; quill-shafts underneath white; bill black at the tip, 

 dark-green at base. Wing, 4*50 inches; tarsus, 1'50; middle 

 toe, 1'50 ; hallux, 037, nails not included ; bill, from gape, 112, 

 from forehead 0*87 . 



This well-marked and handsome Rail was shot at Rungbee, 

 Darjeeling.— A. % M. N. B., 1872, p. 47. 



Cisticola ruficollis, Walden. 



Stripe over the eye, ear-coverts, thigh-coverts, flanks, under 

 tail-coverts, and a broad baud extending from the sides of the 

 neck across the nape bright rufous ; feathers of the head pale 

 fulvous at base, changing to rufous at extremity, many with 

 broad black centres ; dorsal feathers and wing-coverts ' black, 

 with narrow fulvous edgings, those on the rump edged and 

 tipped with rufous ; quills dark brown, with yellowish-rufous 

 edgings ; rectrices above also dark brown, the outer webs washed 



* Has been obtained in Cejlon. — Ed., S. P. 



f Months previously to the publication of this notice, I had named this species 

 P.Elwesi after its discoverer Captain Elwes, and sent a full description home to the 

 Editor of the Ibis, who forgot to publish it, — Ed., S. E. 



