THE MASKED FINFOOT, 
353 
Family HELIORNITHID^. 
Genus PODICA, Less. 
704. PODICA PEESONATA. 
THE MASKED FINFOOT. 
Podica personata, G. R. Gray, P. Z. S. 1848; p. 90, Aves^ pi. 4 ; Hume, S. F, iii. 
p. 185 ; Bl. B. Burm. p. 162 j Hume Sf JDav. S. F. vi. p. 465 ; Hume, S. F. viii. 
p. 113 ; Oates, 8. F. x. p. 241. 
Description. — Male. Forehead, lores, a supercilium extending to the 
nape^ cheeks^ the anterior part of the ear- coverts^ chin, throat and front 
of the neck black ; this black patch bordered by a white line terminating 
on either side at the posterior corner of the eye ; crown, nape and upper 
neck dark ashy ; sides of neck olive-brown ; back, rump, scapulars_, upper 
tail- coverts and the whole of the wing brown tinged with green; sides of 
the breast and of the body brown ; breast and abdomen white, the latter 
barred with brown ; vent and under tail- coverts brown^ closely barred with 
whitish, the longer feathers of the coverts almost wholly brown j under 
wing-coverts sooty brown ; tail plain brown^ tipped paler. 
^\<d female has the chin_, throat and front of the neck white with a black 
margin all round which extends a little over the lores, and has the same 
white outer border as has the black mask of the male. (Tickell.) 
Iris hazel-brown ; tarsus and toes light green, the webs turning to 
yellow towards the edges ; claws horn-colour ; bill orange-yellow, paler at 
the tip j edges of eyelids yellow. The female has the bill dull yellow and 
the iris straw-yellow. 
Length 22 inches, tail 5*8, wing 10, tarsus 2*1, bill from gape 2*3. The 
female is considerably smaller. 
The Masked Finf oot is an excessively rare bird, of which very few speci- 
mens have been procured. The only example I ever met with was secured 
by Mr. Richardson when we were shooting Ducks in the Engmah swamp 
some years ago ; it flew up from under the canoe which was being poled 
through matted vegetation. Another specimen was brought to me by 
Lieut. Lloyd, E.E., who shot it in some part of Karennee. Colonel Tickell 
observed it in Tenasserim, and Mr. Davison procured it in this Division at 
Amherst, Mergui and Bankasoon. 
This bird was originally described from Malacca, where Mr. Davison 
also met with it, and it is known to occur in Cachar and Assam. A skin 
VOL. II. 2 A 
