696 
Birds of Celebes: Eallidae. 
Nest. In swampy ground, usually of debris from floods, about 23 cm diam., slightly hollowed 
(North 16). 
Distribution. PluHppines — Luzon (Everett 7, dl, Whitehead 20)-, Celebes — Minahassa 
(h orsten 2, Meyer 9, etc.); Grorontalo Distr. (E,os. 2, Riedel 14, etc.); Kandari, 
S. E. Cel. (Beccari ff); Macassar (Wallace d l]\ Bulekomba, S. Cel. (Everett 
21)\ Direction Id., W. of Borneo (H. 0. Forbes a 5); Cocos Is. (H. O. Forbes a 6); 
Timor (Wallace 17, d 1); Moluccas — Buru, Goram, Koor (cf. Salvador! ll); 
Papuasia - New Britain, Duke of York, New Ireland, Solomon Is. (fide Salvad. 11)] 
Is. of Torres Str. (Macgillivray, etc. 11, d 1)] Australia — known almost throughout 
(Ramsay 15V, New Zealand (Duller a VIl)- W. gr-oups of Polynesia - Marianne 
and Pelew Is., New Caledonia, Loyalty Is., New Hebrides, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga 
(fide Wiglesw. a <9); Mauritius fA. & E. Newton b 6). 
In the wide geographical range of this Rail many gaps are seen, the 
majority of which may well be filled up by collectors in course of time; in the 
Philippines, for instance, the only definite locality known to Major Wardlaw 
Ramsay in 1881 was Luzon, where the bird w'as found by Mr. Everett, and 
later by Mi’. AVhitehead and, so far as we know, it has not vet been discovered 
elsewhere in the group; in the Moluccas Count Salvador! records it from three 
islands only, and not at all from New Guinea. It occurs in New Zealand, 
where it seems to be on the increase, and, if the Pacific Rail of Latham is 
the same, which is doubtful, it was met with in Tahiti by the naturaRsts ac- 
companying Cook. It has also been encountered far out at sea: on a journey 
from Sydney to Samoa, many miles east of the Australian coast, one settled on 
board the ship on which Dr. Graffe was travelling, so tired that it could be 
captured by hand. This may be the specimen in the Leyden Museum taken 
more than 300 miles (100 lieues) from the coast of Australia in the Godeffroy 
Expeditions. At least one example has reached Mauritius (6 6, Diet, of Birds 
1894, 764). 
Considering that it sometimes makes such great journeys, it is no wonder 
that ornithologists working with plenty of specimens have found it impossible 
to establish any constant racial differences. Some amount of local variation un- 
doubtedly exists, however; Dr. Sharpe remarks that “the large majority of Aus- 
tralian birds possess a broad praepectoral band [of cinnamon-buffi, and I have 
never seen a single specimen which had absolutely lost all trace of the orange, 
as is the case with the majority of the Philippine and Fijian specimens”. AVe 
take it that the Celebesian, Philippine and Fijian birds are somewhat more 
advanced in development than the Australian and New Zealand ones, since the 
pectoral band is better developed in young than in adult examples of the first- 
named a reason why Australia should be the original home of the species, 
for emigi’ants are likely to become most changed. 
A race of this Rail, H. macquariensts Hutton, with the back almost un- 
spotted, occurs on Macquarie Island. H. stnata is easily distinguishable by its 
wanting the long pale grey stripe over the eyes and ear-coverts, by its plum- 
beous face, jugulum and breast, by its dusky remiges narrowly barred or notched 
