Birds of Celebes: Rallidae. 
707 
Nest. A loose, flat basin of nish-leaves, lined witli fine grasses: 7 cm diam., 3.5 cm in depth; 
found on the ground. A second nest was built of the leaves of rice-straw (Kutter 
ill, after examples obtained by Grrabowsky in Borneo). 
Distribution. Malacca (Maingay 12), Penang (Cantor 12), Singapore (Davison 12, f 4, 
Kelham /" 5); Sumatra (Klaesi i 13, Modigl. i 20)-, Java (Horsfield b 1, Boie 
fl, etc.); Borneo (Grabowsky id, ill, Breitenstein, Everett i 14)-, Philipinnes 
— Luzon, Guimaras, Panay, Mindoro, Cebu, Negros, Dinagat, Leyte, Siquijor, Marin- 
duque, Mindanao, Basilan (Everett i5, Steere ilo. Bourns & Worcester I 3)\ 
Talaut — Karkellang, Kabruang and Salibabu (Nat. Coll, in Dresden Mus. i 23)’, 
Celebes — Minahassa (Meyer i 6, Eischer i 4, etc.), Gorontalo Distr. (Forsten f 1, 
V. Rosenberg f 1, etc.). Macassar (Weber i 22)\ Djampea (Everett I 4)] Timor 
(Wallace i 2, 12)-, Moluccas — Buru (H. 0. Forbes 12), Halmahera (Bernstein 
f 1, i 7), Amboina (Hoedt f 1, i 7); Papuasia — Kei, New Guinea, Duke of York 
(fide Salvadori i 7), New Britain (Kubary i 19)\ Is. of Torres Straits (Macgillivray 
i 7); North Austraba and Queensland (Gould d I, g 1, Eamsay /’7); Polynesia — 
Pelew Is., Caroline Is., New Caledonia, Loyalty Is., New Hebrides, Fiji Is., Samoa Is. 
(f. Finsch & Hartlaiib h 2, Wiglesw. i 21). 
This little Water-crake ranges over a vast area — from Penang to Queens- 
land, and from the Philippines to Samoa, but no local races of it are known, 
unless it be that Bornean birds are a trifle smaller than Celebesian ones, as is 
inferred by W^. Blasius, and Philippine birds greyer on the breast, as is re- 
marked by Sharpe. Salvadori points out that its range may be compared 
to that of llypotaenidia philippensis, though that species does not occur quite so 
far west, nor, it may be added, A. cinefea so far south in Austi'alia and Poly- 
nesia; for instance, it is not known from New Zealand. Like H. philippensis 
it has undoubtedly extended its range by flight; it swims well, and has for a 
Rail well developed wings, though Kelham (f 5) describes it as having the 
habit of flying for fifty yards with a -weak flight, trailing its legs behind it, 
then dropping and skulking. To what country or island it may have originally 
belonged, it is unprofitable to hazard a guess. 
It is a very distinct species, easily distinguished from Porzana (Ortygometra) 
by its having the culmen and sides of the maxilla much thickened at the base, 
and by its very long toes, especially the hallux. It may be termed a small 
edition of Amaurornis phoenicura (Penn.' which occurs in many localities in 
common with it; A. phoenicura may be distinguished by its great size, its brownish 
slaty upper surface and sides, its white face, throat and breast. 
Mr. Layard and his son, Mr. E. L. C. Layard, describe it as inhabiting 
grassy swamps in New Caledonia, where it swims and dives with facility. 
Lieutenant Kelham found it plentiful in the deepest part of the inodorous, 
swampy grass-fields near Singapore; “nearly every bush held one”. In Australia 
Gould describes it as a somewhat familiar bird: “it will frequently run up a 
branch, turn round, gaze at the intruder, and utter its very singular loud and 
chattering cutche, cutche, wdth but little apparent alarm”. Gould found 
its food to be insects, worms, slugs, leaves of aquatic plants, obtained either in 
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