244 
ORIENTAL GALLINULE. 
hanging down ; and when disturbed will frequently 
perch : when in the act of running or swimming it 
is continually flirting up its tail. Its nest is made 
of flags or rushes, and placed near the surface of the 
water on the branch of a tree or bush, or on the 
stump of an old willow, in the most retired situations. 
The female lays from five to eight eggs, of a light 
yellowish-brown, marked with rust-coloured spots: 
the young are hatched in about three weeks, and in- 
stantly take the water : they are covered with a black 
down ; and are often destroyed by pikes and other 
voracious fish. 
Their chief food consists of water insects, small 
fishes, worms, aquatic plants, and seeds: they will 
also eat grain. 
ORIENTAL GALLINULE. 
(Gallinula orientalis.) 
Ga. dijfeo Jrontali ovato ocidos fere nttingentc. 
Gallinule with an ovate frontal clypeus, nearly touching the eyes. 
Gallinula orientalis. Horsfield. Linn, Trans, xiii. 195. 
This species differs from the preceding in being 
considerably smaller, and in having a much wider 
and difFei-ently shaped frontal clypeus : its length is 
thirteen inches. Inhabits Java. 
