RALLTN^. 
Ocydkomus  Wagl* 
Bill  rather  long,  and  very  strong,  with  the  culmen  slightly  curved  and  the  sides  much  compressed  to  the 
tip,  which  is  slightly  emarginated ;  the  gonys  short  and  ascending ;  the  nostrils  lateral,  and  placed  in  the 
fore  part  of  a  membranous  groove,  with  the  opening  oval  and  exposed.  Wings  very  short  and  rounded, 
with  the  fifth  and  sixth  quills  equal  and  longest ;  the  secondaries  and  the  coverts  lengthened  and  very 
soft.  Tail  more  or  less  lengthened,  round  and  soft.  Tarsi  robust,  shorter  than  the  middle  toe  and 
covered  with  transverse  scales.  Toes  long  and  strong,  with  the  inner  toe  rather  shorter  than  the  outer, 
the  hind  toe  short,  and  rather  slender,  the  claws  moderate  and  rather  acute. 
The  typical  species  is  found  in  New  Zealand,  where  it  inhabits  the  open  country  near  the  sea-coast,  living  on  the 
around  among  the  long  grass,  or  in  thickets  of  low  bushes,  whence  it  can  easily  spring  on  small  birds  perched  on  the 
branches  near  the  ground.  It  seems  to  seek  its  food  during  the  dusk  of  the  evening  or  in  the  moonlight,  and  that  is 
considered  the  best  time  to  hunt  for  specimens.  They  feed  on  shell-fish,  worms,  and  young  birds,  and  run  with  great 
swiftness ;  they  scratch  the  earth  like  the  domestic  fowl,  and  conceal  themselves  in  holes  in  the  ground  at  the  roots  of 
trees.  At  night  and  in  rainy  weather  they  utter  a  melancholy  note.  The  female  lays  from  three  to  five  eggs,  and  the 
young  are  protected  and  fed  by  the  parent  until  they  are  nearly  full  grown. 
1.  O.  australis  (Sparrm.)  Strickl.  Mus.  Carls,  t.  14.  —  Rallus 
troglodytes  Font.  Desc.  Anim.  p.  110.,  Icon.  ined.  126.,  Ellis, 
Icon.  ined.  70. 
2.  O.?  DieffenbachiiG.  R.  Gray,  Dieff.  Trav.  N.  Z.  App.  p.  197-, 
Voy.  Ereb.  &  Terr.  Birds,  pi.  15. 
3.  O.  brachypterus  (Lafr.)  Rev.  Zool.  1841.  p.  24.3.  Mag.  de 
Zool.  1842.  Ois.  t.  24.  —  Type  of  Gallirallus  Lafr.  (1841). 
*  Established  by  Wagler  in  18.30  {System  der  Amphibien,  p.  <)8.).    GaViraUus  of  Baron  de  Lafresnaye  (1841)  is  synony 
November.  1  846. 
