Carriker : List of the Birds of Costa Rica. 411 



Little remains to be said regarding the status, habits, and nesting of 

 this bird, which can add to the knowledge of it already given by Dr. 

 Richmond in his excellent paper (Auk, XII, 1895, T 9)- Its Costa 

 Rican range covers the whole of the Caribbean lowlands and up to a 

 considerable altitude on the eastern slope, probably as far as Cartago, 

 but for the Pacific Coast I can find no records. The reason for its 

 absence on the Pacific is probably due to the dry season, which lasts 

 there for six months, and is evidently very hard on such a moisture- 

 loving bird. 



I found it very common throughout the Santa Clara Valley, inhabit- 

 ing the pastures of para- and guinea-grass. In fact in any spot where 

 para-grass was to be found the rail was always present, along the rail- 

 roads, the banks of streams, etc. They begin breeding around Gua- 

 piles about the first of May, and continue for some time. Nearly fresh 

 eggs were found as late as July 13. In this locality the nests were 

 almost invariably made of the dried leaves of a very wide-bladed grass 

 locally known as " Cola gallo " (rooster tail), were globular in shape, 

 with the entrance at one side and were usually placed in a clump of 

 grass about one or two feet from the ground. Four eggs were the 

 usual number laid. They are pale creamy-white, dotted and speckled 

 with shell-markings of lilac, overlaid by reddish-chestnut scattered 

 sparsely over the entire surface. Measurements: average, 30 x 22 mm. 



48. Gallinula galeata Bonaparte. 



3allinula galeata Bonaparte, Amer. Orn., IV, 1832, p. 128, PI. XXXVII, 



fig. I. — Salvin, Ibis, 1870, 115 (Costa Rica [J. Carmiol]). — SHARrE, Cat. 



Birds Brit. Mus., XXIII, 1894, 177 (Costa Rica [J. Carmiol]). — Salvin 



and Godman, Biol. Centr.-Am., Aves, III, 1903, 326. 



There seem to be no other records of the taking of this species in 



Costa Rica except that of the single male collected by Carmiol and 



recorded first by Salvin (Ibis, 1870, 115). I can find no Costa Rican 



specimens in the museums of this country, nor did I see the bird during 



my stay in Costa Rica. 



49. Porphyriola martinica (Linnaeus). 



Fulica martinica Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., 1766, I, 259. 



Porphyrio martinica Frantzius, Jour, fiir Orn., 1869, 375 (Pacaca, San Mateo, 



Santa Clara). — Salvin, Ibis, 1870, 115 (Costa Rica [Carmiol]). 

 Porphyriola martinica Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., XXIII, 1894, 189 (Costa 



Rica [Carmiol]). — Salvin and Godman, Biol. Centr.-Am., Aves, III, 1903, 



327 (Laguna de Cartago [Underwood]). 



