GALLICREX CINEREA. 793 



drier portions of the centre of the peninsula, Behar, and the North-west Provinces (except in the sub- 

 Himalayan zone), the Punjab, Rajpootana, and Sindh." Mr. Blanford, however, notes its occurrence in 

 Sindh, and considers it to be a straggler to that Province. Mr. Adam only saw it once at the Sambhur 

 Lake, and that is the sole record in ' Stray Feathers ' of its occurrence in that part of India. Jerdon 

 writes that it is far from common in Southern India, as also in Central India, but says that it is the reverse 

 in Lower Bengal, and still more plentiful in Sylhet, Chittagong, and Burniah. Mr. Ball notes it from 

 the Rajmehal hills and Manbhum; and Mr. Cripps says that it is very common during the rains (though absent 

 in the cold weather) all over the country in Furreedpore, wherever there is standing paddy. He likewise 

 speaks of it breeding in the Dacca and Tipperah districts. 



Mr. Oates records it as common in "Upper Pegu. Mr. Hume likewise records it from Arakan and Lower 

 Pegu ; but I observe that it did not come under Dr. Armstrong's notice in his exploration of the Irrawaddy 

 Delta. Captain Wardlaw Ramsay procured it at Tonghoo ; and Messrs. Hume and Davison only observed 

 it in the central and northern portions of Tenasserim, noting it from Thatone, Attaran River, Tavoy, and 

 Shymotee. The latter gentleman met with it commonly in the Andamans about Aberdeen, but did not 

 see it at all in the Nicobars. From the Malay peninsula there is a specimen in the Calcutta Museum recorded 

 by Blyth, and no doubt it is common there. 



It is found in Java, where it was procured by S. Muller, Kukl, Von Hasselt, and Diard. In Borneo it 

 is probably pretty evenly distributed ; for Mr. Mottley procured it in the extreme south at Banjermassing, 

 and recently Mr. Treacher obtained it in the north-west on the Lawas river. From Borneo it extends (probably 

 through Palawan) to the Philippines, where it is, however, only known as inhabiting Luzon, specimens having 

 been procured at Manilla by Messrs. Cuming and Dussumier. In the island of Formosa Swinhoe obtained it; 

 and on the mainland of China it is found as far north as Cheefoo, extending westward to Szechuen and, 

 according to David, as far north as the basin of the Yangtse. It inhabits, in all probability, the intervening 

 regions of Cochin China and Siam, in common with other species found in the Malay Peninsula and China. 



Habits. — The Kora, as it is called in India, affects long grass, standing corn or paddy, sedgy, reedy 

 marshes, and such-like damp situations which afford it complete cover. Although in wild districts, where it 

 is very plentiful, it may be seen in the open, where its haunt is guarded by a belt of impenetrable jungle or 

 scrub, yet in cultivated and inhabited districts it affects the greatest concealment in the daytime, and is, 

 I imagine, entirely nocturnal as regards its manner of feeding and habit of moving about. I have never once 

 seen it in paddy-fields or grassy swamps on the move, but have invariably put it up when firing at some 

 other bird. It then flies swiftly and takes sometimes a long stretch on the wing, carrying its legs straight 

 out behind it. I have generally found it among rather thick, moderately high rushes ; but it frequently 

 resorts to paddy-fields, and is consequently called " Paddy-fowl " by sportsmen, who flush it when Snipe- 

 shooting, and generally do not let it escape, as its flesh is very good eating. 



It has never been my good fortune to hear its remarkable note, which, I apprehend, is uttered chiefly in 

 the breeding-season. Mr. Oates says it has a loud, deep, booming call, and that it is crepuscular in its habits. 

 " Its stomach,'" he remarks, " is extremely muscular ; one I examined contained green rice, rice-leaves, and 

 a small shell.-" 



Mr. Davison writes of it : — " The Watercock found at the Andamans belies its name by never (as far 

 as I have observed) being found near water. The only places in which I have observed it are the sugarcane- 

 fields ; in these it is not uncommon, especially about Aberdeen. During the day it keeps under shelter ; 

 but in the morning and evening comes into the open to feed, seldom, however, wandering far from cover, to 

 which it retreats on the slightest alarm.'" In Tenasserim the same writer states that these birds were most 

 common about rice-fields in the mornings and evenings. 



I have found its food to consist of paddy- and grass-seeds, usually mixed with aquatic insects. Jerdon 

 has some interesting notes on its habits, which I transcribe as follows : — " It affects concealment much more 

 than the Waterhens, running with activity through the tangled grass or paddy, or on the surface of weedy 

 tanks. It feeds on rice and other grains, or shoots of various water-plants, and also on small mollusks and 

 insects. It is a very noisy bird, and its loud, sonorous, booming cries, especially during the breeding-season, 

 must be familiar to many. 



