Order RALLIF0RME8 
No. 51. 
Family RALLIDM. 
RALLUS PECTORALIS CLELANDI. 
WESTERN SLATE-BREASTED RAIL. 
Rallfs PECTORALIS CLELANDI, subsp. n., West Australia,* 
? Donacias hrachypus Heine und Reichenow, Nomencl. Mus. Hein., p. 321 (1888), 
Hypotcenidia hrachypus Ogilvie-Grant, Ibis, p. 187 (1910). 
Distribution. Western Australia. 
Adult Male. Larger than R. pectoralis pectoralis in every dimension. The upper coloration 
is generally darker, whilst the margins of the feathers on the head and hind-neck are 
deeper and duller, which colour also shows on the sides of neck ; the under coloration 
of a purer grey than in the Eastern form, while the primaries are black rather than 
dark brown. Culmen, 42 ; wing, 114 ; tarsus, 36 mm. 
Immature. Differs only from the Eastern form in its larger size. 
The life-history of this very interesting bird appears to be unknown. 
The discovery of this subspecies has been the means of placing the better- 
known Eastern form in its proper genus. For that subspecies the generic term 
Lewinia was introduced, as of “ Reichenbach,” by Bonaparte, but only as a nude 
name, until Gray had correctly denoted the genotype. In the Cat. Birds 
Brit. Mus., Vol. XXIII., Lewinia appears as a synonym of Hypotcenidia^ and 
since then the species has been usually placed in the genus Hypotcenidia. 
But the long bill of this subspecies has revealed the fact that the 
Eastern bird is purely a short-billed Rallus. As long ago as 1894 Stone (Proc. 
Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad., p. 134) noted Lewinia as a synonym of Rallus, and 
(p. 135) included it in the synonymy of this latter genus. This new subspecies 
agrees minutely in every structural detail with Rallus aquaticus, the type of the 
genus Rallus. This makes the fourth subspecies of Rallus pectoralis to be 
recognised, the species now being separable as follows : — 
Rallus pectoralis pectoralis Temminck 
„ „ clelandi Mathews 
,, ,, exsul HaTteit 
„ „ alherti Rothschild and Hartert 
East Australia. 
West Australia, 
South Flores. 
New Guinea. 
* Named after Dr. J. Burton Cleland, formerly of Perth, West Australia. 
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