JACANA. 393 



the quills are dark, with the margins and ends white, but do not 

 end either in points, or appendages of any sort : in the tail are four 

 very long feathers, two of them longer than the others; the bill and 

 legs are pale. 



C — T observe another with the head and neck to the breast white, 

 hind part of the neck clay-colour, between the two a line of black, 

 springing from the nape ; back fine rufous brown ; beneath from the 

 breast brownish black ; some of the quills end in a point; two elon- 

 gated feathers only in the tail. From the above it appears that much 

 variety takes place in this beautiful, and elegant species, but how far 

 arising from age or sex cannot well be determined; in all, however, 

 the wing coverts are more or less white; and except the greatly elon- 

 gated feathers, the tail is of a moderate length. We cannot doubt 

 of there being four of such in every complete bird, although only two 

 may appear in some drawings, as may be seen in our plate* In 

 some the ends of several of the quills are pointed, in others the ends 

 continue narrow for some length, and several have the ends finished 

 as quills are in common. I find the Indian name to be Pekwar, or 

 .lull Mor; called by the English, the Water Peacock. We find a bird 

 of this kind, met with by D'Entrecasteaux in the Island of Bouro, 

 which is said to differ very little from the Chinese Jacana, but is no 

 further described. By some admired for the agility with which it is 

 enabled to walk from leaf to leaf of the Great Water Lily. 



10— AFRICAN JACANA. 



Parra Africana, Ind. Orn. ii. 764. Gm. Lin. i. 709. 

 African Jacana, Gen. Syn. v. 246. pi. 87. 



LENGTH nine inches and a half. Bill dusky, tip horn-colour; 

 forehead bare, and blue; the plumage above very pale cinnamon ; 



* In General Hardwicke's drawings there are four of the long tail feathers, two longer, 

 and two shorter. 



VOL. IX. E E E 



