PARRINiE. 
alarmed,  to  dive  into  the  water,  or  skulk  among  the  reeds  and  other  kinds  of  herbage  that  grow  on  the  margins : 
occasionally  they  seek  safety  by  a  short  Might.  The  remarkable  length  of  their  toes  and  claws  enables  them  to  walk  or 
run  with  great  facility  over  the  plants  that  float  on  the  surface  of  the  water,  while  seeking  their  food,  which  consists  of 
aquatic  insects,  and  buds  and  seeds  of  the  plants.  The  nest  is  formed  among  the  reeds,  and  the  female  usually  lays 
four  eggs. 
1.  P.jacana  Linn.  PLenLS22.j  Edwards's  Birds,  pi.  357. — 
Parra  variabilis  Linn.  PI.  enl.  816.,  Edwards's  Birds,  pi.  48. 
2.  ?  P.  viridU  Gmel. 
3.  ?  P.  brasiliensis  GmeL 
4.  ?  P.  nigra  Gmel. 
5.  P.  hypomelana  G.  R.  Gray. 
6.  ?  P.  eJulenais  Molin.  Chil.  p.  229. 
7.  P.  gyfnnostomatyVtLj£L.  Isis,  1881.  p.  516. 
8.  P.  mrdifera  Less.  Rev.  Zool.  1842.  p.  210. 
!).  P.  qflricana  Gmel.  Lath.  Gen.  Syn.  v.  pi.  87.,  Swains.  Zool. 
111.  n.  s.  pi.  6. 
10.  P.  capensis  A.  Smith,  111.  S.  Afr.  Zool.  Hirds,  pi.  32. 
11.  Y.albinncha  I.  Geoffr.  Mag.  de  Zool.  1832.  Aves,  t.6. — 
Parra  atricollis  Swains.  Two  Cent,  and  a  Quart,  p.  334. 
12.  P.  indica  Lath. —  Parra  tcnea  Cuv. ;  P.  melanoviridis 
f'icill.  Gal.  del  Ois.  t.  264.  ;  P.  supcrciliosa  Horsf.  Linn.  Trans, 
xiii.  p.  194.,  Zool.  Res.  pi.  ;  Type  of  Motopidius  Wagl.  (1832.) 
13.  P.  cristate  Vicill.  N.  Diet.  d'Hist.  Nat.  xvi.  p.  460.  ;  Type 
of  Ilydralector  Wagl  (1832.) 
14.  P.  gallinacca  Temm.  PI.  col.  464.,  Gould,  B.  of  Austr.pl. 
Hydrophasianus  Wagl.* 
Wings  very  long,  with  the  first  quill  nearly  us  long  as  the  second,  which  is  the  longest,  the  shaft  of 
the  first  three  (jiiills  more  or  less  prolonged,  and  the  first  one  slightly  and  partly  webbed ;  the  ends  of 
the  fourth  to  the  seventh  prolonged,  narrowed,  and  falcated.  Tail  narrowed,  with  the  four  centre 
feathers  much  prolonged,  and  the  lateral  feathers  short  and  graduated.  The  base  of  the  bill  and  head 
entirely  covered  with  feathers.    The  other  characters  like  those  of  the  former  genus. 
The  bird  which  forms  this  division  is  found  in  various  parts  of  India;  and  its  habits  and  manners  are  similar  to  those 
previously  given. 
H.  sinensis  (Gmel.)  Wagl.  Lath.  Gen.  Syn.  Suppl.  pi.  177-,  Gould,  Cent,  of  B.  pi.  —  Parra  luzoniensis  Gmel.  Sonn.  Voy.  t.  45. 
*  Established  by  Wagler  in  1832  (Isis,  1832,  p.  279-). 
May,  1846. 
4  v 
