3 



close resemblance to the original stock can hardly be accounted for by any other 

 supposition. 



" Bloxham, in 1826, mentions ' Fulica chloropus ' as a Hawaiian bird ; but he appa- 

 rently obtained no specimen. Peale, during the United States Exploring Expedition, 

 obtained a specimen from Oahu, but lost it, and Streets' specimen was from the 

 same island. Dr. Finsch (I. c), during the summer of 1879, observed the Gallinule in 

 the lagoons near Waike and Kahalui, Maui, and near Waimanalo (Oahu). Knudsen's 

 specimens show that it also occurs on. Kauai. This completes, so far as I know, the 

 published record of this bird on the islands. 



" Mr. Knudsen writes that this species is called by the natives ' Alai ula,' Eed Alai, 

 as distinguished from ' Alai Jceokeo,' the coot with the white frontal shield [Fulica 

 alai). He says that the latter also occurs in Kauai. 



Comparative Table of Measurements, 

 a. Gallintjla sandvicensis. 



TJ. S.Nat. 

 Mus., No. 



Collector. 



Sex 

 and 

 age. 



Locality. 



Date. 



1 



mm. 



174 



178 

 168 



1 



mm. 



68 



65 

 63 



to 



\% 2 



ii 



3 P 

 O 



mm. 



46 



44 



45 



| 



si 

 ft 



mm. 



26 



29 



27 



H 



'S 



II 



mm. 



72 

 70 



75 



110025 .. 



110026 .. 

 67361* .. 



Knudsen. 



Ditto. 

 Streets. 



ad. 

 ad. 

 ad. 



Kauai, Hawaiian Islands. 



Ditto. 

 Honolulu, Oahu. 





56 

 59 

 55 



* Type. 



b. Gallintjla galeata. 



80912 .... 



84683 .... 

 60317 .... 



84684 .... 



Ober. 

 Maynard. 

 Latimer. 

 Nelson. 



d ad. 



2 ad. 



ad. 



d jun. 



Montserrat, W. I. 



Florida. 



Porto Eico, W. I. 



Illinois. 



Jan. 3, 1872. 

 Aug. 25, 1874. 



169 

 174 

 165 



195 



63 



70 

 63 



83 



48 

 43 

 44 

 40 



27 

 26 

 27 

 28 



58 

 £5 

 53 

 56 



78 

 79 

 71 

 81" 



I regret to say that I obtained but a single specimen, shot near Kiholo, on the 

 Island of Hawaii ; while I failed to note the colour of the tarsus, upon which so much 

 stress is laid in the foregoing account. The Alae is common in the swampy taro 

 patches throughout Hawaii, Oahu, Maui, and Kauai, on all of which islands I 

 personally observed it, though I neglected to secure more examples. Mr. Dole, in his 

 * List,' briefly refers to the derivation of its native name a-lae — burnt forehead— 

 from a tradition of the Hawaiians of its being the discoverer of fire. This legend is— 



