THE MOOR-HEN. 
347 
therefore I cannot express any decided opinion about the distinctness or 
identity of the two birds. 
The Ruddy Crake is said by Mr. Blyth to be common in Burmah. I 
met with it at various places in Pegu_, and should put it down as fairly 
common and generally distributed in that Division. In Arrakan it is 
probably the same! In Tenasserim, however Mr. Davison never met with 
it ; but it is premature to conclude that it is absent from that Division. 
It is found in various parts of the Indian peninsula and Ceylon^ the 
Indo-Burmese countries^ and probably all the way down the Malay penin- 
sula; for it is met with in Sumatra_, Java^ Borneo and the Philippine 
Islands. 
This Crake is a constant resident in Burmah_, and is the only one of the 
Crakes which can be said to be at all common. It frequents all sorts of 
jungle^ provided there is water about ; and it comes out into the open 
rather frequently. It breeds in Burmah ; but I have not been able to find 
its nest. It nests in India in July and August^ and its mode of nidification 
does not appear to differ materially from that of the other Crakes. 
Genus GALLINULA, Briss. 
699. GALLINULA CHLOROPUS. 
THE MOOR-HEN. 
Fulica chloropus, Linn. Stjst. Nat. i. p. 258. Gallinula chloropus, Jerd. B. Ind. 
h. p. 718 ; Hume J Nests and Eggs, p. 597 ; id. S. F. i. p. 250, iii. p. 187 ; Bl. 
B, Burm. p. 162 ; David et Oust. Ois. Chine, p. 485 ; A.tiders. Yunnan Exped. 
p. 692 5 Dresser, Birds Eur. vii. p. 313, pi. ; Hume ^ Dav. S. F. vi. p. 466 ; Legge, 
Birds Ceylon, p. 781 ; Hume, 8. F. viii. p. 113 ■ Gates, S. F. x. p. 242. 
Description. — Male and female. Whole head and neck dark smoky grey^ 
darker on the top of the head; back, rump, upper tail-coverts, scapulars, 
tertiaries and upper wing-coverts rich rufescent oHve-brown ; primaries 
and secondaries brown, the outermost primary edged with white on the 
outer web ; tail dark brown tinged with olive ; lower plumage from the 
fore neck smoky grey ; the feathers of the abdomen, vent and lower breast 
fringed with white ; the sides of the body broadly streaked with white ; 
under tail- coverts white, with the exception of a few of the central feathers, 
which are black ; under wing-coverts blackish, some of the feathers fringed 
with white ; edge of the wing white. 
Iris red ; frontal shield and basal half of the bill dull red ; remainder of 
the bill greenish yellow ; tibia and front of tarsus greenish yellow ; hind 
