EALLUS. 315 



Pam. RALLID-Sl. 



The Rallidae may be divided into two subfamilies, viz. the Rallinae and the Fulicinee, 

 the latter consisting of the Coots, which have their toes externally scalloped with a 

 web, as in the Grebes. The remaining species have long and slender toes, armed with 

 a sharp claw, and they may be divided into two main groups, the Rails and the 

 Water-hens. The former have a slender body, while the latter are somewhat plump, 

 resembling the Coots in their general aspect, and, like them, having a frontal shield, 

 but not possessing the lobed toes of the Fulicinae. 



The external characteristics of the family are evident to all students of ornithology, 

 and the anatomical characters may be summed up as follows : — A schizorhinal palate, 

 holorhinal nostrils, a single notch on the posterior margin of the sternum, and a tufted 

 oil-gland. 



The species are of almost cosmopolitan distribution, 



Subfam. BALLING. 



The true Rails have very long toes and a long beak. The Crakes, which have the 

 outward characters and habits of the species of the genus Ballus, have a shorter and 

 more thick-set bill, less than the length of the middle toe and claw; they are mostly 

 of sombre coloration. The Purple Gallinules and Moor-hens, on the other hand, are 

 birds of large size, remarkable for the development of their toes, and are ornamented 

 with a bare shield of red or yellow on the forehead. 



Members of the subfamily Rallinae are to be found in all tropical and subtropical 

 portions of the globe, and the species, being mostly non-migratory, are confined within 

 certain definite limits. They are usually restricted to marshes and the neighbourhood 

 of rivers. 



The eggs are generally buff or cream-coloured, with numerous spots, and of small 

 size. The young are covered with down, and are able to shift for themselves very 

 shortly after emerging from the shell. 



RALLUS. 

 Rallus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 261 (1766) ; Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. xxiii. p. 6 (1894i). 



The Rails, of which the genus Ballus is typical, differ from the Crakes and Water- 

 hens in their long and delicate bill and short tarsus, as compared with the slender toes. 

 The culmen equals, and sometimes exceeds, the middle toe and claw in length ; and 

 the tarsus is never longer than the middle toe and claw, the genus differing in this 

 respect from Aramides. 



Species of Ballus are to be found in most parts of the globe. The American repre- 



40* 



