414 CLASS AVES. 



belly, and thighs, black ; neck and sides, blue ; frontal 

 plate, produced much behind the back of the eyes ; 

 middle toe, without the claw, much shorter than the 

 tarsus. When young, bluish-black. New South 

 Wales. 



Mealy Porphyrio. Porphyrio Pulverulentus, T. 

 Col. 405. 



Bluish-grey ; back, rump, and secondaries, olive- 

 brown ; vent, white ; frontal plate produced behind 

 the eyes ; bill and feet, red ; wings, ashy -blue. South 

 Africa. 



India Porphyrio. Porphyria Smaragdinus, T. Col. 

 421. P. IndicuSy Horsf. 



Dark-blue ; chin, throat, wings, and thighs, green ; 

 vent, white ; frontal plate produced beyond the eyes ; 

 bill and feet, red. Java. 



White Gallinule, Porphyrio Alhus, L. Phil. Bot. 

 Bay. pi. 273. J. White, p. 238. 



Whole of the plumage, pure white ; legs, red ; claws, 

 brown ; sharp spur on the bend of the wing. Islands 

 of the Pacific Ocean, &c. When young, bluish-ash. 



See also the Black-pointed Gallinule, or Porphyrio ; 

 and the New Holland Gallinule, Lath. Hist., both 

 from New Holland. 



Finally, 



FuLiCA, properly so called. 



They unite to a short bill and considerable frontal 

 plate, toes very much widened by a festooned bor- 

 der, which makes them excellent swimmers. Accord- 

 ingly they pass their entire life in marshes and ponds. 

 Their lustrous plumage is not less adapted than their 



