Adult male.--Head, neck, throat, and breast dark slate or blue-black; long neck-plumes, mantle, back, wing-coverts, and some of the inner secondaries bright metallic green, blue, or bronze-red changing with the light; primaries and outer secondaries black, more or less edged with blue; tail and its coverts pure white; abdomen, flanks, and thighs blue-black with more or less metallic green. Wing, 250; tail, 82; culmen from base, 24; tarsus, 40. "Female.--Similar to the male but smaller, narrow feathers of the neck shorter, and also frontal knob smaller. "Young.--Like the female, but the tail greenish black." (Salvadori.) "Rare in all the islands visited by us except Tawi Tawi, where it is very common. Invariably found on the ground in deep woods. It rises very heavily and with much noise, always alighting in low trees, and then flying from tree to tree if disturbed. Iris dark brown; legs dark purple; upper surface of feet dark purple; lower surface yellow; nails yellow; bill black. Seven specimens average as follows: Length, 346; culmen, 23; wing, 241; tail, 86; tarsus, 38; middle toe and claw, 48." (Bourns and Worcester MS.) Order RALLIFORMES. RAILS, GALLINULES, AND COOTS. Size medium to small; body compressed; thighs very muscular; legs rather long; toes long; wing short and rounded; tail short and soft, composed of ten or twelve feathers; bill strong but variable in form; long and slightly curved in typical rails, short and thick in the crakes, subconical and heavy in Porphyrio; nostrils pervious and variable in shape; wing usually bearing a short spine or a flattened knob. Most of the species inhabit marsh-land, rice-fields, or thick beds of reeds bordering ponds and streams; Rallina, Amaurornis, and Gallicrex are often found in dry fields or underbrush at considerable distances from water. The nest is placed on the ground and well concealed among reeds or bunches of grass; usually situated near water or marshy ground. The eggs vary in number from four to ten, and are usually much spotted and streaked. The downy young are coal-black. Family RALLIDÆ. Characters same as those given for the Order. Subfamilies. a1. Toes without webs or lobes. ... Rallinæ (p. 66) a2. Toes lobate. ... Fulicinæ (p. 81) Subfamily RALLINÆ. Genera. a1. No frontal shield. b1. Bill more slender; exposed culmen equal to middle toe without claw. ... Hypotænidia (p. 66) b2. Bill stouter; exposed culmen much less than middle toe without claw. c1. Culmen not swollen at base; wing less than 140 mm. d1. Tarsus longer than middle toe with claw. ... Rallina (p. 69) d2. Tarsus about equal to middle toe with claw or shorter. e1. Culmen decidedly longer than hind toe with claw; under tail-coverts banded with white.