706 
Birds of Celebes; Rallidae. 
1894, 130, 337; (3) Bourns & Worces., B. & M. Menage Expecl. 1894, 30; (4) 
Hart., Hot. Zool. 1896, 180. 
w. ? Gallinula superciliaris (1) Eosenb., Zool. Garten 1881, 167; (2) Joest, Holontalo 
1883, 106. 
Amaurornis cinerea (1) M. & Wg., Abb. Mus. Dresd. 1896, Hr. 1, p. 6. 
“Tuwiel”, Minahassa, Hat. Coll. 
“Tatao” (?), Gorontalo, Joest vi 2. 
“Tamaroro”, or “Tenggok”, Talaut, Hat. Coll, i 23. 
For further synonymy and references cf. Salvadori i 7; Wigleswortb i 21 (Polynesia); 
Sharpe I 2, 
Figures and descriptions. Gould d I, g V, Reichenbach cl, d II\ Schlegel fp, Finscli 
& Hartlaub h 2\ Salvadori *7; Vordermany’i; Sharpe 12. 
Adult male. Above hair-brown, more bistre on lower back, more broccoh-brown on the 
wing-coverts, all the feathers with darker centres, blackish centres on back, scapulars, 
inner remiges, rump, upper tail-coverts, and tail; head above slaty grey, becoming 
dark hair-brown in the middle, as on hind neck; supraloral region white; around 
the eyelid, lores and feathers at base of lower bill black; malar stripe, 
passing under the eye and above the ear-coverts white; ear-coverts ashy 
bistre; under surface white, light grey on jugulum and sides of breast, blending 
with the hair-brown of the hhid neck; flanks isabelline, browner on lower sides 
and outside of thighs, more buff on under tail-coverts: under wing-coverts 
drab, tips of these and edge of wing wdn'tish; quills below paler drab; “iris lake; 
bill yellow [greenish yellow], the under mandible tinged with lake at the base; feet 
dull olive-green” — Whitehead (o’, Kema, 11. IX. 93: P.&P. Sarasin). 
Female. Smaller than the male, and, apparently, with a less black tone on the head, and 
the black loral stripe narrower and less intense (W. Blasius i 12). 
Young. Lighter brown above than the adult; no grey on the head or under-parts; lores not 
black; white supraloral and malar stripe obscurely indicated; sides fulvous brown; 
abdomen bulfy white; under wing-coverts with more white (Kabruang, Talaut, Hov. 
1893: Hat. Coll. — 0 13044). 
Measurements. (IJ adults: H. Celebes) wing 93—111 mm, (6 adults: Talaut) wing 93—96; 
tail ca. 50 mm; tarsus (Celebes) 36 — 41, (Talaut) likewise 36 — 41; middle toe with 
cla,w' ca. 45 — 48; bill from feathers of forehead 21 — 24. 
Eggs. “Dr. Platen sent me several eggs from Rurukan in the Minahassa w'hich are like 
those in my possession from islands of the South Seas. The ground-colour is grey- 
yellow; the numerous small hght brown spots are distiibuted equally over all the eggs, 
so that some of them appear uniform in colour. They resemble the eggs of our 
Blackbird, Turdus menda, save that the ground-colour is grey-yellow' instead of bluish. 
The measurements are: 30—32.5 x 22.5—23 mm” (Hehrkorn MS. — see, also, 
Hehrk. h 3, Horth g 2, wdth fig., Kutter i 10, i 11). 
primaries. The bird is, however, a Water-hen, having little affinity with Porzana, but differing in structure 
in no way whatever, so far as can be seen, from Amaurornis (Ergthra! ^hoenicura, as Gould was already 
aware; and the affinity is further proven by its characteristic egg, which is sometimes a miniature of the 
®gg of that species (i ll). It may also be mentioned here that the Celebesian Amaurornis iaaJieUina is 
erected to a new genus Oenolinmas by Dr. Sharpe, who compares it with Crex. with which in our opinion 
it has nothing to do; on tlie other hand it appears impossible to separate it from Amaurornis: we can see 
no single structural difference by which to do so. Further, Sundevall's genus Limnohaenus is upheld for 
Porzana fusca ; this bird differs pretty widely from P. maruetta, the type of Porzana, but between it and 
certain of the little Crakes, such as P. tahuensis, we can see nothing sufficient to warrant generic separation. 
