THE CAROLINA CRAKE. 833 



neck brown to greenish-brown streaked black and occasionally 

 with a few white spots ; mantle and scapulars with wider black 

 streaks and edges of feathers streaked white ; back, rump and 

 upper tail-coverts black margined brown with only occasionally a 

 few white spots ; black down centre of throat sometimes mottled 

 grey ; breast slate, lower feathers narrowly barred and tipped to 

 varying extent, white and dusky-black ; sides and flanks brown 

 with broad white bars margined black ; centre of breast and belly 

 white ; tips of lower flank-feathers buff ; under tail-coverts buff, 

 but longer feathers white ; axillaries brown-black barred white ; 

 under wing-coverts grey-black barred and tipped white, showing all 

 white along edge of wing ; tail-feathers as upper -parts with often a 

 little white edging on central feathers ; primaries and secondaries 

 as Porzana porzana, but innermost long secondaries with narrow 

 lines of white margined black down their sides and a few incomplete 

 bars ; inner greater and median wing-coverts similarly lined and a 

 few in middle with spots or incomplete bars of white margined black, 

 rest of coverts and all lesser uniform brown. This plumage is 

 acquired by complete moult (wing- and tail-feathers are moulted 

 simultaneously) July-Sept., occasionally commencing June. 

 /Summer. — The body-plumage is again moulted Jan. to Mar. some- 

 times commencing Dec, but wing-feathers and coverts are not 

 moulted and not as a rule tail-feathers though sometimes one or two 

 are moulted. As winter but black stripe down throat unbroken and 

 broader than usual in winter. 



Adult female, — Like adult male but black on fore-head and lores 

 not so intense ; black stripe down throat much reduced in length 

 and width especially in winter ; back and rump and especially wing- 

 coverts often more spotted with white. 



Nestling. — Like that of Porzana porzana. 



Juvenile. Male and female. — Like adults but with no slate - 

 colour and upper-parts warmer brown with less greenish tinge ; 

 black stripe in centre of crown extending to base of bill and margined 

 on each side with uniform brown ; lores and sides of head paler 

 huffish-brown ; chin and centre of throat whitish with buff tinge 

 and sometimes buff marks ; sides of throat and breast buff with 

 slate-grey bases of feathers not entirely concealed ; flanks browner 

 than in adult and white of bars tinged grey or buffish. 



First winter. — Varying considerably individually, most birds 

 generally like juvenile with varying amount of slate on breast, a 

 few black-tipped feathers on chin, some slate on sides of head ; 

 many like juvenile except for a little slate on breast ; a very few 

 become almost like adult. The juvenile body-plumage is moulted 

 to a varying extent and very gradually July to Dec, but not wing- 

 feathers, wing-coverts or tail. First summer. — Appears to become 

 like adult after moult but probably those birds with less black on 

 chin and throat are first summer. 



Measurements and structure. — $ wing 104-117 mm., tail 46-53, 

 tarsus 30-38, bill from feathers 19-22 (12 measured). $ wing 



VOL. II. 3 H 



