PORZANA. 



139 



Genus PORZANA Vieillot. (Page 136, pi. XLL, figs. 1-3.) 



Species. 



% l . Secondaries without white. 



b\ Wing more than 4.00; above olive-brownish, striped with black. (Sub- 

 genus Porzana.) 

 c 1 . Neck and breast olive, speckled with white ; flanks brown, narrowly 

 and irregularly barred with white. Adult: Broad superciliary 

 stripe, malar region, chin, and throat, uniform grayish ; ear-coverts, 

 neck, and chest light hair-brown, irregularly speckled with white. 

 Young: Superciliary stripe finely speckled with white; malar 

 region, chin, and throat whitish,, speckled with brown, the breast 

 and belly washed with pale buff. Length about 8.50, wing 4.20- 

 4.50, culmen .68-72, tarsus 1.20-1.30, middle toe 1.25-1.35. Eggs 

 8-12, 1.32 X -95) dull buffy, spotted with vandyke-brown and pur- 

 plish gray. Hab. Northern portion of eastern hemisphere ; occa- 

 sional in Greenland 213. P. porzana (Linn.). Spotted Crake. 



c 2 . Neck and breast without white specks ; flanks broadly and regularly 

 barred with white and slate-color. Adult: Anterior portion of 

 head, with chin and throat, uniform black; top of head olive-brown, 

 with a broad median stripe of black ; rest of head and neck, with 

 chest and breast, plain plumbeous. Young : Lores and superciliary 

 stripe brownish, the chin and throat whitish ; rest of head and 

 neck, with chest and breast, light brownish. Downy young : Uni- 

 form, dull black, the shorter down interspersed with numerous long, 

 glossy black, hair-like filaments; on throat, a tuft, directed for- 

 wards, of stiff, coarse, orange-colored, bristle-like feathers. Length 

 7.85-9.75, wing 4.15-4.30, culmen .75-.90, tarsus 1.25-1.35, middle 

 toe 1.30-1.45. Eggs 8-12, 1.23 X -89, brownish buff, rather sparsely 

 spotted with brown and purplish gray. Hab. Whole of temperate 

 North America, breeding from northern United States northward ; 

 in winter, south to West Indies, Middle America, and northern 



South America 214. P. Carolina (Linn.). Sora. 



b 1 . Wing less than 3.75 ; above dusky, sometimes speckled with white. (Sub- 

 genus Creciscus Oabanis.) 

 c 1 . Wing 2.95 or more ; back speckled with white. 



Adult: Head, neck, and lower parts plain dark plumbeous, or 

 slate-color, darker (sometimes nearly black) on top of head ; 

 belly and under tail-coverts brownish black, barred with white ; 

 hind-neck and back dark chestnut-brown, marked with small 

 dots and irregular bars of white. Young : Similar to adult, but 

 breast, etc., dull grayish, the throat whitish, and top of head 

 tinged with reddish brown. Downy young: "Entirely bluish 

 black." Length 5.00-6.00, wing 2.50-3.20, culmen .50-.60, 



