Page:Rothschild Extinct Birds.djvu/169



EGS stout, made for running, and from a quarter to one-fifth shorter than in Ocydromus, the three anterior digits well developed and the hallux very small. Body less massive than in Ocydromus, with the wings slightly more developed, but not serviceable for flight. Head small; bill red, straight, pointed, and about 60 mm. = 2.4 inches. A red naked patch round the eye; plumage pale grey."


 * Gelinote Leguat, t. II p. 71 (1708).


 * Erythromachus leguati Milne-Edwards, Ann. Sci. Nat. (5) XIX, pp. 6, 7, pls. XI, XII (1874).


 * Aphanopteryx leguati Günther & E. Newton, Phil. Trans. Vol. 168, pp. 431-432, pl. XLIII (1879).

F the older writers only Leguat appears to have described the Rodriguez flightless rail. There are several references to "Hens," "Veld Hoenders," &c., but all appear to refer to the Mauritius bird Aphanapteryx bonasia. Leguat's description is as follows:—

"Our 'gelinotes' are fat all the year round and of a most delicate taste. Their colour is always of a bright grey, and there is very little difference in plumage between the two sexes. They hide their nests so well that we could not find them out, and consequently did not taste their eggs. They have a red naked area round their eyes, their beaks are straight and pointed, near two and two-fifths inches long, and red also. They cannot fly, their fat makes them too heavy for it. If you offer them anything red, they are so angry they will fly at you to catch it out of your hand, and in the heat of the combat we had an opportunity to take them with ease."

Quite extinct. Only known from descriptions and osseous remains. One tibia in the Tring Museum.

Habitat: Rodriguez Island.