706 Birds of Celebes: Rallidae. 



1894, 130, 337; (3) Bourns & Worces., B. & M. Menage Exped. 1894, 30; (4] 

 Hart., Nov. Zool. 1S96, 180. 



7w. ? Gallinula superciliaris (1) Eosenb., Zool. Garten 1881, 167; (2) Joest, Holontalo 

 1883, KKJ. 



Amaurornis cinerea (1) M. & Wg., Abb. Mus. Dresd. 1896, Nr. 1, p. 6. 



"Tuwiel", Minabassa, Nat. Coll. 



"Tatao" (?), Gorontalo, Joest m 2. 



"Tamaroro", or "Tenggok", Talaut, Nat. Coll. i 23. 



For further synonymy and references cf. Salvador! i 7; Wiglesworth i 21 (Polynesia); 

 Sbarpe / 2. 



Figures and descriptions. Gould cl I, g 1; Reicbenbach c 1, d II; Scblegel f 1; Finsch 

 & Hartlaub h 2; Salvador! i 7; Vorderman j i; Sbarpe 12. 



Adult male. Above bair-brown, more bistre on lower back, more broccoli-bro-mi on tlie 

 wing-coverts, all tbe featbers witb darker centres, blackisb centres on back, scapulars, 

 inner remiges, rump, upper tail-coverts, and tail; bead above slaty grey, becoming 

 dark bair-brown in tbe middle, as on bind neck; supraloral region wbite; around 

 tbe eyelid, lores and featbers at base of lower bill black; malar stripe, 

 passing under tbe eye and above tbe ear-coverts white; ear-coverts asby 

 bistre; under surface wbite, ligbt grey on jugulum and sides of breast, blending 

 witb tbe bair-brown of the bind neck; flanks isabelline, browner on lower sides 

 and outside of thighs, more buff on under tail-coverts; under wing-coverts 

 drab, tips of these and edge of wing whitish; quills below paler drab; "iris lake; 

 bill yellow [greenish yellow], the under mandible tinged with lake at tbe base; feet 

 dull obve-green" — Whitehead {(f, Kema, 11. IX. 93: P.&F. Sarasin). 



Female. Smaller than the male, and, apparently, with a less black tone on tbe head, and 

 tbe black loral stripe narrower and less intense (W. Blasius i 12). 



Young. Lighter brown above than the adult; no grey on tbe bead or under-parts; lores not 

 black; white supraloral and malar stripe obscurely indicated; sides fulvous brown; 

 ^ abdomen buffy white; under wing-coverts with more wbite (Kabruang, Talaut, Nov. 

 1893: Nat. Coll. — C 13044). 



Measurements. (14 adults: N. Celebes) wing 93 — 111 mm, (6 adults: Talaut) -wing 93—96; 

 tail ca. 50 mm; tarsus (Celebes) 36—41, (Talaut) likewise 36 — 41; middle toe with 

 claw ca. 45 — 48; bill from feathers of forehead 21 — 24. 



Eggs. "Dr. Platen sent me several eggs from Rurukan in tbe INCnabassa which are like 

 those in my possession from islands of the South Seas. Tbe ground-colour is grey- 

 yellow; the numerous small light brown spots are distributed equally over all tbe eggs, 

 so that some of them appear uniform in colour. They resemble tbe eggs of our 

 Blackbu'd, Turdus merula, save that tbe ground-colour is grey-yellow instead of bluish. 

 Tbe measurements are: 30 — 32.5 X 22.5 — 23 mm" (Nehrkorn MS. — see, also, 

 Nehrk. h 3, North g 2, witb fig., Kutter i 10, i 11). 



primaries. The bird is, however, a Water-hen, having httle affinity with Porzana, but differing in structure 

 in no way whatever, so far as can be seen, from Amaurornis (Erythra^ phoenicura, as Gould was already 

 aware; and the affinity is further proven by its characteristic egg, which is sometimes a miniatm'e of the 

 egg of that species (i ill. It may also be mentioned here that the Celebesian Amaurornis isdbellina is 

 erected to a new genus Oenolimnas by Dr. Sharpe, who compares it with Crex, with which in our opinion 

 it has nothing to do; on the other hand it appears impossible to separate it from Amaurornis : we can see 

 no single structural difference by which to do so. Further, Sundevall's genus Limnohaenus is upheld for 

 Porzana fusca ; this bird differs pretty widely from P. maruetta. the type of Porzana, but between it and 

 certain of the little Crakes, such as P. tabuensis, we can see nothing sufficient to warrant generic separation. 



