Tlii' ground colour of the egg is a dark, shiny, raw-sienna tint, over which are traced in various directions 

 a scries tit' broad and tine hair-like contorted lines of brownish-black, which, by occasionally uniting laterally 

 and crossing each other, form here and there large blotches. Although these markings are of the same 

 character <>n each egg, they are somewhat differently distributed. The egg is, moreover, rendered 

 remarkably conspicuous by the singular pointed form of the .smaller end, and by its small size as compared 

 with the bird : but, above all, by the form and disposition of the markings, which are as if traced by the 

 hand <>f a person w ho had amused himself by attempting to cover the surface with fantastic streaks, blotches, 

 and contorted curves from end to end. Length. I, 1 , lines; breadth, 10.', lines. 



Hack of the head, line dow n the back of the neck, tips of the shoulders, under surface of the wings, 

 flanks, and a broad band crossing the chest and abdomen, deep bluish-black; chin and throat, white; orbits, 

 ear-coverts, sides of the neck and breast, pale glossy yellow, deepening at the edges; back and scapularies, 

 bion/.v olive-green, becoming nearly black at the base of the neck and on the rump; wing-coverts, olive- 

 brown; the remainder of the wings and tail, greenish-black; vent and under tail-coverts, buffy- white ; hides, 

 light sulphur yellow; bill, greenish-grey at the extreme tip, then black to near the nostrils; the basal portion 

 of the upper mandible and the helmet, aurora-red ; base of the lower mandible, light primrose-yellow ; legs 

 and feet, greenish-grey. 



The young Parra has all the under surface white ; crown of the head and occiput, reddish-chestnut ; 

 line down the back of the neck, brown, and the back reddish-brown, each feather margined with a .still redder 

 hue; the helmet only faintly indicated; irides, light brown; bill, aurora-red, except the base of the lower 

 mandible, which is light yellowish-white. 



Habitats : Rockingham Bay, Wide Bay District, Port Denison, Richmond and Clarence River 

 Districts, New South Wales, south coast of New Guinea (?). 



GALLINULA RUFICELSSA (Gould). 



RUFOUS GALLIXULE. Genus: Gallinul.e. 



rpllOUGH some forty years have elapsed since Gould figured this bird as a new species in his Supplement, 

 -L very little substantial information has been added to his monograph. That it is not a typical Gallinule 

 is evident from the absence of white spots on the flanks and the uniform pale rufous colouring of the vent and 

 under-tail coverts. In this departure, it approaches more nearl}" to the G. olivacea, which has the same parts 

 similarly coloured, instead of being black and white as in true Gallinules, 



Gould writes thus of its individuality : — " This bird appears to be most nearly allied to the Gallinula 

 <'l"-ficea of Meyen ; but that species is of larger size, and has legs still more disproportionate to the size of 

 it- body. The White-Breasted Indian Gallinule and the Gallinula akool of the same country are, in my 

 opinion, also nearly allied to it. Prof. Reichenbach has instituted the genus Amanroenis for the reception 

 of Gallinula olir<ir< <i with which the late Prince Bonaparte associated the G. femoralis of Tschudi. It is 

 for ornithologists to decide upon the propriety of this subdivision." 



Head, all upper surfaces, wings and tail, brownish olive ; sides of the neck, throat, and under 

 surfaces, deep olive grey ; vent and tail coverts, rufous-red ; bill, greenish yellow, with a red mark on the 

 base of the culmen ; legs and feet, greenish yellow. 



Total length, 10 inches. 



Habitats : Wide Bay District ; Dawson River, G. B., south coast of New Guinea. 



