Birds of Celebes: Parridae. 727 



Distribution. Borneo — Lake Bangkau (Grabowsky 6, 10); Celebes — Lake Limbotto 

 (Forsten c 1, Rosenberg c 1, a 3, etc.); Macassar (fide Walden 2, Wallace 15); 

 ?Amboina, ?Banda, Mysol, New Guinea (Salvad. 4, 13). (Australia — Queensland 

 and New South Wales — Gould, Ramsay.] 



"Want of material from Australia prevents us from uttering any opinion on 

 the racial distinctness of the Australian bird, called H. novaehollandiae by Count 

 Salvadori on account of its larger size and paler upper surface; but Prof 

 W. Blasius (10) has shown that females usually much exceed the measure- 

 ments given by Salvadori for East-Indian birds. 



This remarkable species is very local in its distribution: for instance it is 

 as yet known only from Lake Bangkau in Borneo, and only (with certainty) 

 from Lake Limbotto in North Celebes and from Macassar ('? near) in the South. 

 On Lake Limbotto it occurs in flocks, Here Rosenberg obtained its eggs, 

 and remarked how its lengthened claws enable it to run about with facility 

 on the floating leaves of "Nelumbium speciosum". A good account of its habits 

 is given by Gilbert in Gould's works. It swims and dives well, but its flight 

 is weak; it feeds on aquatic insects and some kind of vegetable matter. All 

 naturalists write with pleasure of its handsome and striking apjiearance in its 

 native haunts. 



The genus Hydralector is represented by the present species only. In its 

 wonderfully lengthened hind claw it surpasses all the other Jacanas, which, 

 like it,- have feet especially adapted for running over floating water-plants. 

 The comb is another peculiarity of the East- Indian form. Its nearest affinities 

 seem to be with the Water Pheasant, Hi/drophasianus, of India, Ceylon and 

 China to the Philippines and Borneo, and with the Jacana of South America, 

 and systematically they appear to come between the Rails and the Plovers. As 

 Prof. Newton says (14), the Jacanas "have most frequently been classed with 

 the Rallidae, but are now admitted to form a sejjarate family, Parridae, whose 

 leaning is toward the Limicolae, as apparently first suggested by Blyth, a view- 

 supported by the osteological observations of Parker (Proc. Zool. Soc. 1853, 513), 

 though denied by Prof. A. Milne-Edwards (Ois. Foss. France II, p. 110)." 



Metopidius indicus (Lath.) 



In the geographical distribution of this species Dr. Sharpe indicates Celebes 

 (Cat. B. 1896, XXIV, 72). His authority seems to be Schlegel (Mus. P.-B., 

 Ralli, 1865, 68), who, however, simply catalogues a "tres jeune individu, indique 

 par Mr. Temminck, mais probablement par erreur, comme ayant ete recueilli 

 par Mr. Forsten a Gorontalo dans I'ile de C'elebes". There is therefore at 

 present insufficient evidence of the occurrence in Celebes of this species, which 

 may be distinguished from Hydralector gallinaceus by its blackish green remiges 

 and by its not having an erect comb on the frontal lappet. 



