P late X V I.
PORZANA RUBRA,
" 'y
®ED CEAKE).
Corethrura rubra Scl. e t Salv. P.Z.S. 1860, p. 300.
Scl. e t Salv. Ibis, 1860, p. 277.
L « t é ru fa , su b tu s med ialite r d ilu tio r, g u la alb icau tio re : p üeo to to e t c ap itis la te rib u s s a tu ra te ciñereis ; remigibus
e t ree tricib u s cum u ropygio o b scure fu sco .a ig ria : ro s tro nigro ; p e dibus olivaceis ; long, to ta 6 0, alse 3 25, caud® 1 7 ,
ro s tri ab án gulo o ris 0 ’8, ta rs i 1'3.
S a b . in Gu atema la, prov. Ver® Pa c is, in te r r à c alida (S u lvin ).
This well-marked Crake, which is an inhabitant o f the lowlands o f Guatemala, may be
considered as tbe northern i-epresentative o f Porzana cayennensis o f Soutli America. It is,
however, readily distmguisbable from that species by the dark asb-colour o f tbe crown, which
in P. cayennensis is rufous like tbe back.
Mr. Salvin first encountered tHs species in its native state whilst collectmg at Coban, in the
Province o f Vera Paz, in November, 1859 ; though be bad become previously acquainted with it,
from specimens transmitted to this counfry by Mr. Skinner. It was, however, found to be much
more abundant m tbe vicinity o f Choctum dinmg bis subsequent visits to tbe lowlands o f Vera
Paz, in company with Mr. F. Godman, in February, 1862 ; and our figure is taken from one of
tbe individuals obtained on this occasion, which is now in Messrs. Salvin and Godman’s collection.
In its habits Porzana rubra is a true marsb-crakc, frequenting tbe grassy swamps and reedy
edges o f tbe lagoons, wbieb occur at intervals m tbe more open parts o f tbe forests. Its flight
is very weak and slow, so much so that the Indian collectors, after forcing it to take wing not
without some difficulty, on more than one occasion succeeded in sfrdking it down with tbe single
clay pellet discharged from tbeir sebaratanas, or blow-guns.
Tbe Crakes have been divided up into so many small (so-called) genera, without any
characters being assigned to these, and there is so much confusion as regards the priority of tbeir
names, that we have for tbe present, at least, felt ourselves compelled to revert to Vieillot’s term,
Porzana* as a generic name for the whole o f them. Tbe present species belongs to a. group
distinguishable by a nearly uniform coloration, generally more or less rufous, and the entire
absence o f spots and sfr-ipes, to which Bonaparte has applied tbe name Pufirallus.^
* Vie illo t’s Analyse, p. 61, (1 816).—Type E o lia s porzana, lAm i.= P o r za n a maruetta, (Leach),
t Compt. Rend, xliii. p. 59!), (1 856).—Type R a lla s cayermensis, Gm.
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