2 
The following description is taken from my notes : — “ Head, 
cheeks, and back of the neck light buff, each feather (but especially on 
the crest) broadly and boldly striated with brownish black. Back 
wings and tail, deep vinous gray, each feather broadly banded with 
black ; the tail has six bands ; chest and under surface light buff, the 
former well marked by bold wedge-shaped black streaks, and the latter 
with lines of the same color all in the centre of each feather ; under 
surface of tail light gray, banded with darker gray. The quills are 
black both in the primaries and tail where the dark bands cross, and 
white at the lighter parts. The bill is bluish-white, blackish on the 
culmen and tip. Cere and feet yellow* Iris (?) ; length, 21 inches ; 
wing, 14J ; tail, 11 ; bill, If ; tarsus, 2. Shot by Mr. Cockerell in 
April of the present year, in Whitsunday Passage, about latitude 20 
degs. 30 mins. Two were seen but only one secured.” 
I have also the pleasure of bringing before your notice a large and 
beautiful rail, which is certainly new, at least to the fauna of Austra- 
lia. I shall provisionally refer it to Mr. Grould’s genus JEulabeornis , 
which it much resembles in form, the principal difference being that 
the JE. castaneoventris of Grould has a longer tail than the present 
species, which I propose to call JE. griseoventris. I was aware of the 
existence of this species before from a sketch taken by Mr. 
Bishop when with Mr. Daintree, the geologist, from a skin which 
unfortunately was lost. Mr. Cockerell has been more fortunate with 
his specimens, the habitats he has given me being Cape York and 
Thirsty Sound. It runs with amazing swiftness, and that is all the 
imformation I have about it. 
The description in my notes is as follows : — “ Head, neck, upper 
part of back and chest, deep chestnut ; wings and middle of the back, 
olive brown ; primaries, light chestnut ; lower portion of back and 
tail, deep black ; abdomen, dark grey ; vent and under tail coverts, 
black ; feathers of the flanks and under surface of shoulder, black, 
broadly tipped with white ; throat, whitish, barred with chestnut ; bill, 
greenish yellow, darkest at the base, and lighter at the tip ; iris, 
bright scarlet ; bare space round the eye, also scarlet ; legs and feet, 
Vermillion; length, 15i inches; wing, 7^; tail, 2i ; bill, 2^ ; tarsus, 
2 \ ; mid toe ly. ” 
The drawings of the two species will, I think, sufficiently show 
their relationship. That of JE. castaneoventris is from a specimen kindly 
lent me by Mr. P. G-. Waterhouse, of the Institute Museum, Adelaide ; 
and which he received from the Northern Territory, near Port Darwin. 
This paper was originally printed in the Brisbane Courier. 
