GALiXiJJS D'LA JA R D IN II
(Ares-Plate21)
GALLINULA JARDINII.—S mith.
A ves.—P late XXI. (Male.) .
A. capite, colli partibus superioribus lateralibusque, rufis; mento albo; dorso, humeris, gutture, pectore,
abdominc, caudle tectricibus superioribus inferioribusque nigro-brunneis, striis albis variegatis;
remigibus primariis secundariisque griseo-brunneis; caud& versus basin subnigrd, versus apicem
castanea; mandibuld superiore rubro-brunnea, inferiore nitide flava; pedibus pallid^ rubro-viridibus.
Longitudo 5^ unc.
Crex J ardinii, Smith. Proceedings of the South African Institution, November, 1828.
CoLOUR§g-The head and the back, and the sides of the neck dark rufous ;
the chin white; the back, the shoulders, the secondary quill coverts, the tertiary
quill feathers, the throat, the breast, the belly, and the upper and under
tail coverts liver brown, varied with longitudinal white streaks, each feather
with two streaks towards the point, one on the outer and the other on the
inner vane; primary quill coverts and primary and secondary quill feathers
grayish brown; tail, close to the base, dusky black, elsewhere bright chesnut,
the tips of some of the feathers with a dusky or blackish tinge ; upper mandible
reddish brown; lower mandible greenish yellow; legs and toes light
reddish brown.*
F orm, &cS-BiIl slender and pointed; legs short; toes moderately long;
claws short, slender, and slightly curved; figure slender; wings short and
rounded, and, when folded, extend just beyond the base of the tail; fourth
and fifth quill feathers equal and longest; third, sixth, and seventh, scarcely
shorter; second about three lines shorter than the third; and the first about
as many lines shorter than the second. Tail vertically compressed, bushy,
and the feathers decomposed.
The colouring assigned to the bill and legs is described from a preserved specimen.