PORZANA PALUSTRIS, Gonid. 
Water Crake. 
Porzana palustris, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part X. p. 139. 
This little Water Crake would appear to be more abundant in Van Diemen’s Land than on tlie continent of 
Australia, for although I clearly ascertained that it inhabits New South Wales, it is not so numerous 
there, in consequence, probably, of the country being much less fluviatile, and therefore much less suitable 
to its habits ; for, like the Porzana fluminea, the present bird finds a natural abode in morasses covered 
with reeds and luxuriant herbage, to the more dense parts of which it is exclusively confined. Like 
all the other members of the genus, the present species swims with great facility, and displays the same power 
of diving, to which it equally resorts in time of need, and thus often successfully eludes the attacks of its 
natural enemies ; in addition, few birds are more agile or thread the reeds with greater activity ; hence, like 
the last species, it is seldom to be caught sight of unless the greatest vigilance he exerted in search of it. 
I am indebted to the Rev. T. J. Ewing of Van Diemen’s Land for the nest and eggs of this bird ; the 
former is a flat structure formed of various kinds of grasses, and the latter are four or five in number, of a 
nearly uniform brownish olive, about one inch in length by three quarters of an inch in breadth. 
Head and back of the neck rusty brown, with a stripe of blackish brown down the centre of each feather ; 
feathers of the hack, scapularies and secondaries brownish black margined with rusty brown, and with an 
oblong stripe or mark of white, interrupted in the middle with black ; wing-coverts rusty brown, a few of 
them marked on their inner webs like the scapularies ; primaries brown, two or three of the innermost with 
a mark or marks of white at the tip ; tail dark brown, fringed with rusty brown ; face, throat, chest and 
upper part of the abdomen grey ; lower part of the abdomen and flanks blackish grey, crossed by broad 
irregular hands of grey ; bill and feet olive-brown. 
The figures are of the natural size. 
