98 Mr. G. M. Mathews on the 



13. Eula'beornis castaneoventris melvillensis. Grey Chest- 

 nut-bellied Bail. 



Eidabeornis castaneoventris melvillensis Mathews, Austral 

 Av. Rec. vol. i. 1912, p. 29 : Melville Island. 



This was the first bird's call heard on Melville Island by 

 Mr. Rogers. Near Derby he was able to bring this Rail 

 up to him by beating two sticks together. The nest on 

 the Island was built on a fallen mangrove in the centre 

 of a large patch of this timber, and placed about four feet 

 from the mud. The materials were coarse twigs, and the 

 nest was of the usual straggling build and exactly resembled 

 those found iu the north-west of Australia. 



The natives of Melville Island confirm what the natives 

 of Port Torment in north-west Australia say — namely, that 

 this bird cannot fly. 



Two eggs were collected near Apsley Straits on the 6th of 

 November ; these have the ground-colour light stone or 

 buff, sparingly covered with dots of dull red and lavender, 

 and measure 52^54 mm. by 36*5. The clutch generally 

 numbers four or five. 



13. Poliolimnas ciiiereus leucophrys. Northern White- 

 browed Crake. 



Porzana leucophrys Gould, Proc, Zool. Soc. 1817, p. 33 : 

 Port Essington. 



This bird was numerous on the north side of the Island 

 in the great swamp. 



Nest. Bowl-shaped, and placed in a half-dead bunch of 

 water-lilies and reeds. It consisted of dead and green 

 rushes bent down and interlaced. Inside this outer founda- 

 tion was the nest proper, composed of short pieces of dead 

 rushes, which were interwoven into the outer nest. The 

 bottom was lined with short pieces of dead rushes. The 

 measurements are : outside 9 by 9 by 8 inches deep, inside 

 4j by 4i by 2 inches deep. It was found on the 12t]i of 

 January, 1912. 



Eggs. Clutch four ; ground-colour pale stone, covered all 

 over^ but more thickly at the larger end, wdtli reddish-brown 



