OBNITHOLOGT OF NEW GUINEA. 821 



58. TiGBisoMA HBLiosTLOS. — Botaurus heliosylos, Less. Voy. 

 Coq. pi. 44 ; Gray, Iland-l. B. iii. p. 32. 



Adult. Q-eneral colour above black, transversely banded with 

 deep ochre ; crown of head entirely black, the nape also less di- 

 stinctly banded with ochre ; wing-coverts resembling the back ; 

 the edge of the wing white, forming a conspicuous patch ; quills 

 black, the primaries with a slaty, grey gloss, the ochreous cross 

 bands being more broken and forming mottlings, paler and inclin- 

 ing to white on the inner web ; lower portion of the back and 

 rump creamy white, tinged with ochre on the upper tail-coverts, 

 the longest of the latter being slaty black towards their tips, with 

 oval spots and transverse bars of ochre; tail blackish, tipped 

 with a narrow band of ochraceous, and crossed with seven other 

 bands of the same colour, increasing to nine in number on the 

 outer feather ; cheeks and ear-coverts white, transversely barred 

 with black ; throat pure white, the lower part with a few wavy 

 lines of dusky black ; the fore neck and chest and ruff deep ochre, 

 broadly banded across with black ; rest of under surface of body 

 uniform pale fawn-colour, shading off into white on the abdomen 

 and under tail-coverts ; under wing-coverts creamy white. Total 

 length 30 inches, culmen 4-1, wing 13"8, tail 5-8, tarsus 4-2. 



a. Mangroves of Aleya, March 1876. 



The figure in the Atlas to the Voyage of the ' Coquille ' is very 

 bad, and does not do justice to this fine Bittern, being much too 

 dull in colour and not showing the ochraceous colour of the under- 

 parts. 



Order ANSEEES. 



Earn. A^TATiDjE. 



54. Tadoena radjah, Gam ; Gray, Rand-l. B. iii. p. 80. 

 a, b, c. Nicura, Dee. 1875. March and April 1876. 



