270 
CHINESE JACANA. 
short, sharp, horn-coloured spur: the (four) middle 
tail-feathers half the length of the bird, and shaped 
like those of the Gold Pheasant : (two) of them 
longer than the others, ending in a point ; the adjoin- 
ing one (on each side) less sharp at the end, and 
marked near the tip with an oval spot of white : legs 
green.'* 
The young bird is also described, by the same cele- 
brated author, by the name of the Luzonian Jacana, 
from the Voyage of Sonnerat as follows : " beak of 
a greyish-colour, straight, and a little enlarged at 
the end : top of the head deep brown : over the eye 
a stripe of white passing down on each side of the 
neck, and changing into pale yellow behind the eye : 
through the eye another stripe of an ash-colour ac- 
companies the first quite down to the wing : the back 
is brown : the under parts, from the chin to the vent, 
white, except a large spot of brown on the breast : 
at the bend of the wing is a sharp spur : the lesser 
wing-coverts are white, the others pale brown, trans- 
versely barred with black ; the second quills white ; 
the prime ones black; from the three last of these 
arise three naked shafts, two inches long, and ending 
in a lance-shaped feathered point ; they spring from 
the middle of the feather to which they belong, the 
shaft appearing as divided, or branching into two at 
that part : the toes and claws are very long, and of 
a dusky black. 
Inhabits China, India, Java, and the adjacent coun- 
tries and islands ; frequenting the low marshy borders 
of the sea and rivers. 
