Rallus fuscus Linnæus, Syst. Nat. ed. 12 (1766), 1, 262.
Limnobænus fuscus Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1894), 23, 146;
Hand-List (1899), 1, 105; Oates, Cat. Birds' Eggs (1901), 1, 120;
McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 17.
Cagayancillo (McGregor); Leyte (Everett); Luzon (Cuming, Heriot,
Steere Exp., Whitehead); Mindanao (Everett, Steere Exp.); Mindoro
(McGregor); Negros (Keay). Ceylon, Indian and Malay Peninsulas,
Burmese countries to China and Japan, Christmas Island, Java,
Borneo.
Adult male.--Above including wing-coverts dark olive; forehead,
sides of head, chin, throat, and breast vinous-chestnut, chin more or
less whitish; abdomen and flanks olive-brown with narrow white bars;
vent and under tail-coverts blackish with wider white bars; wings and
tail brown; axillars and under wing-coverts fringed with white. Iris
brick-red, a narrow inner circle brown; bill dark brown, lighter at
tips; legs red; nails brown. A male from Manila market, September 2,
1904, measures: Length, 190; wing, 93; tail, 42; exposed culmen, 20;
tarsus, 30; middle toe with claw, 35.
Adult female.--Similar to the male. A female from Cagayancillo,
February 23, 1903, measures: Length, 210; wing, 96; tail, 47; exposed
culmen, 18.5; tarsus, 32; middle toe with claw, 37. A breeding female
from Manila market, August 20, 1902, measures: Length, 210; wing,
98; tail, 47; exposed culmen, 20; tarsus, 32; middle toe with claw, 37.
Young.--Manila market, August 14, 1902. Above olive and blackish
brown, chin and throat white; remainder of under parts sooty brown
mixed with white. Iris light green; upper mandible black; lower dark
flesh; legs brown; nails black. Length, 200.
This little crake is either very shy or very scarce as few specimens
are seen. It is usually found in dry brush-land or on forest paths
and is extremely quick in making its escape.