THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
Nest. ‘‘ Composed of a few leaves and grass and hidden among debris at the root of a tree, 
in a dense part of the scrub ” (Ramsay). 
Eggs. Clutch, four to six. Colour creamy-white, with rust-brown spots and blotches, and 
underlying spot of lilac-grey over the entire surface, more thickly at the larger end. 
Axis, 41 mm. ; diameter, 29. 
Breeding season. September to December (Ramsay). 
The following note by Dr. Ramsay* is the best account of this bird’s life-history 
I can find. He says : “I found this fine species of Rail by no means rare in 
the dense scrubs which fringe the rivers and creeks of the coast range near 
Rockingham Bay: but although tolerably plentiful, they are always very 
difficult to obtain, on account of the nature of the localities they frequent and 
their retiring disposition. They are seldom to be seen without lying in wait 
for them ; and not always then can one obtain a shot, except, perhaps, at 
such close quarters as would entirely destroy them. 
“ They move about in the evenings and early morn, and at night may be 
heard calling to one another as they traverse the dense masses of rank 
vegetation which abound in those districts. I never met them out of 
these scrubs, although tliick swampy grass-beds close by were frequented by 
allied species. 
“ They seem very local in their habits, a pair frequenting the same spot 
for months or perhaps the whole year round, and breeding near the same 
place year after year ; the young soon begin to take care of themselves, and 
leave the parents before they are well able to fly. I found them some four or five 
months old in pairs. The note resembles a hoarse croak quickly repeated 
in a somewhat mournful tone, and a quick ‘ cluck, cluck ’ when come upon 
suddenly.” 
The bird figured is a male, clDllected in North Queensland. 
This bird has been usually referred to the genus Rallina. The type of Rallinay 
however, is Rallus fasciatus Raffles, which is a small “Porzanoid” Rail ; it has 
the tarsus almost twice as long as the culmen. “ Rallina ” tricolor and its 
subspecies are much larger birds, and the tarsus is little longer than the 
culmen. They differ more from R. fasciatus than they do from Eulabeornis^ 
with which they agree quite well in structural features, though they are 
admittedly not typical. I, however, prefer to include the Australian bird in 
the latter genus in preference to providing a new name. As showing 
the difficulty of classing these aberrant forms of RaUidaB, I would quote the 
case of the Guadalcanar bird described by Grant as Rallina woodfordi, and which 
Sharpe transferred to Eulabeornis (Cat. Birds B.M., XXIII., p. 50). This 
bird agrees closely in every structural character with “ Rallina ” tricolor ^ 
* P.Z.S., p. 603 (1875). 
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