(}90 Birds of Celebes: Rallidae. 



The Bald-faced Rail is one of the peculiar types of Celebes. Its nearest 

 known affinities are with G. phtmbeiventris Gray of the Papuan Islands and 

 Halmahera group, a species which is included in the same genus Gymnocrex 

 by Count Salvadori and others. The two birds differ widely, however; 

 G. rosenberffi has a longer tarsus and shorter toes, the middle toe and claw being 

 less than Vs of the length of the tarsus, as against ''/s in the other form; 

 the bill of G. rosenbergi is but little more than half the length of the tarsus 

 und presents a curiously dwarfed, wasted appearance towards the end , while 

 the bill of plumbeiventris is over ^4 of the length of the tarsus; the latter 

 species has also a comparatively small extent of bare skin on the face, chiefly 

 behind the eye. In plumage the chestnut head, breast and mantle, the greenish 

 olive back, and the black rump and tail of G. plumbeiventris give it a very dif- 

 ferent appearance from G. rosenbergi. 



The habits of G. rosenbergi may be expected to afford many interesting 

 peculiarities; unfortunately nothing is known about them at present. The long 

 tarsus and short toes call to mind certain plovers and herons; the thin, worn- 

 down end of the bill Avith the cutting edges rolled inwards suggests that the 

 bird pecks about for its food to a depth of half an inch or more in sand or 

 gravel or such like; its long wings show it to have good powers of raising itself 

 in the air, though their rounded and somewhat hollow shajje below seems to 

 betoken short flights. It is a rare bird in North Celebes — or, at least, is 

 hard to obtain; some half dozen specimens only have been recorded in European 

 collections. 



GENUS ARAMIDOPSIS Sliarpe. 



As is pointed out below this peculiar Celebesian Rail is allied to Aramides 

 of South America, but differs by having the rectrices no longer than the over- 

 lying feathers of the rump and flanks, the primaries hardly longer than the 

 secondaries, forming a short, square wing, and the bill less stout at the base. 

 Its differences from Rallus are shown in the text. From the other Rails occur- 

 ring in Celebes it may be distinguished by its long straight bill, which, measured 

 from the nasofrontal suture, is about as long as the tarsus; the middle toe is 

 slightly shorter than the tarsus. 



-f * 295. ARAMIDOPSIS PLATENI (W.Blas.). 



Long-billed Rail. 



Plate XLII. 



<i. Rallus plateni (1) W. Bias, in Russ' Isis 1886, 103; (2) id., "Braunschw. Anzeigen" 

 3. Marz, 1886; (3) Schalow, J. f. 0. 1886, 399; (4) Heine & Rchw., Nomencl. 

 Mus. Hein. 1890, 321. 



