Birds of Celebes: Rallidae. 72] 



furnished "a singularly small delicately formed specimen" (Layard, Ibis 1880, 

 292); very large birds occur in New (/aledonia; the largest race with the darkest 

 upper suface is found in Australia (except the West) and New Zealand (Porphi/rio 

 melanonotus); another large bird with azure-blue on the throat comes from West 

 Australia (P. hellus Gould); and so on. 



These differences have led ornithologists, who have gone into the question 

 from different collections, to arrive at their own conclusions and to express 

 different opinions, and, it may be, to harbour thoughts about their predecessors' 

 work which were advisedly left unspoken. Some of the chief work on the 

 genus has been done by Schlegel, Mus. P.-B., Ralli, 1865, 55 — 58; Elliot, Str. F. 

 1878, VII, 6 — 25; Salvadori, Atti Ac. Sc. Torino 1879, XIV, 1165—1170; 

 Meyer, Abh. Mus. Dresd. 1891, No. 4, p. 15, 16; Sharpe, Cat. B. 1894, XXIII, 

 200—206'). 



For the present it might be wisest to speak of all the races from Java to 

 New Zealand as Porphj/rio calvus, and when the amount of individual, sexual 

 and seasonal variation, and changes due to age are known, then the local races 

 may be defined and studied. 



The Blue Coot is plentiful in North Celebes. Meyer observes (c 5) that 

 the birds swim well and run rather than fly. The males fight much together 

 and are very noisy. They feed on fishes, but also damage the rice-fields very 

 much; they eat the tip of the young plant before it has flowered. Their cry 

 is tet, tet, tet, very sharp and loud. No specimens except those of Mr. Wallace 

 are on record from South Celebes, where it may be rarer. In Fiji Layard (e 1) 

 found that it fed on fish, crabs, insects, sugar-cane, and berries, to get which 

 it perches on trees. A pair in captivity pecked out the brains of some young- 

 Parrots, and a similar observation has been made by Canon Tristram on an 

 allied Blue Coot, which treated a young duckling in this manner. In feeding 

 the Australian bird was observed by Dr. Bennett always to take its food in its 

 foot, so eating it like a Parrot. 



310. PORPHYRIO PULVERULENTUS Temm. 



Philippine Blue Coot. 



Porphyrio pulverulentus (I) Temm., PI. Col. V, pi. 405 (1826); (II) Rchb., Hb. Fulicariae 

 t. CYin, figs. 1098—99 (1852); (3) Wald., Tr. Z. S. 1872, YUl, 92; (4) id., ib. 

 1875, IX, 228; (5) Steere, List Coll. B. & M. PMlipp. Is. 1890, 25; (6) Sharpe, 

 Cat. B. 1894, XXni, 207; (7) Bourns & Wore, B. Menage Exp. 1894, 30. 



1) As latest authority Dr. Sharpe will probably be followed until yet another system is advanced; we 

 do not, therefore, hesitate to say that in our opinion Dr. Sharpe's treatment of Porphyrio is, for him, sur- 

 prisingly disappointing. Two specimens from Viti Levu are placed under P. ellioii, two others from the same 

 island under another species; the specimens from New Britain are placed under one species smaragdinux, 

 Meyer's name thereto, neohrittanicus, is made a synonym of another, ellioti; a bird from the N.W. end of New 

 Guinea, Dorey, is identified with Australian ones, though shown to differ; specimens from S.E. New Guinea 

 are made a different bird; an assortment of specimens from all soi-ts of localities constitutes species Nr. 10; 

 and Temminck's name, umaragrHnus, is removed from the Javan bird and conferred upon this! 

 lleyev i; W i <t1 <• ^ w n vth , Birds of Celebes (Dec. l«t, 1897). 91 



