Birds of Celebes: Rallidae. 
709 
“Buluwao”, Gorontalo, Joest, Holontalo 1883, 106. 
“Bulo vaha” [Gorontalo Distr.], Rosenb. e 7. 
“Wares”, (Rail) Malay, Minahassa, Meyer e 8. 
“Terwowok”, Minahassa, Meyer e 8. 
“Sarem wokwok”, Minahassa, Guillem, e 15 or “Saring wokkok”, Nat. Coll. 
“Prodro”, Tjamba Distr., Platen 2. 
“Marohak”, Tagulandang Id., Nat. Coll. 
“Teingkelana”, Kabmang, Talaut, Nat. Coll. 
For further synonymy and references cf. Sharpe 7. 
Figpires and descriptions. Gould c IV', Forster a /; Reichenbach e J; David & Oustalet 
e 5; Legge e .9; Vorderman c 5; Salvmdori i 1\ Oatesy f; Stejneger 4; Sharpe 7. 
Adult male. Upper surface, with sides of neck and of body olivaceous slaty, browner 
on back and greater wing-coverts, becoming pure bistre on rump and tail, most slaty 
on sides of jugrdum and of body, with a broad blackish border on the former part; 
some of the feathers of the back with pale terminal margins; face, including 
lores and superciliary region, throat and under-parts white, less pure on 
abdomen, becoming deep cinnamon on flanks and under tail-coverts; under 
wing-coverts slaty, the inner and longer ones paler, with wliitish tips; “iris brown- 
red; feet yeUow; bill yellow - greenish , above and at the base red” (cf, Kema, 
21. VU. 93: P. & F, Sarasin). 
Wing 158 mm; tail 58 ca.; tarsus 52 ca.; mid. toe 67; bill from feathers of 
forehead 39. 
Female. Similar to the male in coloration. Wing 147 mm; tail 64; tarsus 53; mid. toe 63; 
bill 34 (5, Kema, 28. X. 93: P. & F. Sarasin). 
According to Sharpe the female is slightly smaller than the male. 
Old bird. Legge states that the white encroaches on to the forehead more and more 
with age; one example in the Dresden Museum — land of origin unknown — has 
a white frontlet 9 mm broad. 
Immature. Less slaty, and browner above than the adult, without the black border on the 
sides of the neck; lores and face dusky, mixed with white (Minahassa: Faber — 
C 3563). 
Young. “When first hatched the chick is covered with black down. After leaving the nest, 
and following the parent, the back becomes edged with pale broAvnish; a stripe on 
each side of the chin and the sides of the belly wliitish; wung-coverts and breast 
with faint light bars; sides of the rump and under tail-coverts rufescent” (Legge e 9). 
Eggs. “All the eggs in my collection display in general the Ralhne character, nevertheless 
they differ greatly among themselves. The ground-colour is grey-yeUow, Avith spots 
of violet, light grey, and dark brown, Avhich are completely washy in many examples. 
The measurements are: 41 x 31 mm” (Nehrkorn MS.). See, also, Hume e JS, 
from whose statements 6 — 8 would appear to be the full complement of eggs (Aitken 
c 5, Legge e 9, Swinhoe c 2). 
Nest. “Placed between bushes in pools of water” (Celebes — Meyer e 8}.^ Mi. Aitken 
(c 5) found the bird breeding in a nest in a date pahn-tree, which might have been 
a Crow’s; Mr. Oates says it usually builds in stunted trees in Burmah; it has also 
been found building floating nests of reeds fe 18). 
Distribution. Almost throughout India (Hume e 18]', Ceylon (Legge e 9), Burmah (Oatesy 1), 
Teiiasserim (Davison c 6, etc.); Great Coco Id. (Davison 7), South and Central 
China (Swinhoe e 3, 7, David e 5, StyancU); Formosa (Swinhoe c2, 7); Cochin 
China (Pierre 7); Siam (Schomburgk 42, 7, Layard 7); Malay Peninsula (Cantor 7, 
