Part 108

Balut (Mearns). Western New Guinea, Papuan and Molucca Islands, Sangi, Talaut, and Togian Islands.

"Adult.--Green, underneath yellowish green; sides yellow; feathers of the interscapular region green, edged with light blue; lower back and uropygium light blue; scapulars black, edged with blue; quills and greater upper wing-coverts blue, edged with green; smaller and median upper wing-coverts black, the last edged with bright yellow; under wing-coverts and axillars yellow; tail above green, with yellow tip, underneath golden yellow, duller towards the base. 'Iris yellowish, with an outer ring white; bill coral-red; feet lead-color.' (D'Albertis.) Length, 432; wing, 238 to 254; tail, 150 to 160; bill, 45 to 51; tarsus, 21.

"Female.--Has the bill smaller than the male.

"Young.--Has the scapulars and the upper wing-coverts not so black and more greenish, and the yellow edges of the same paler." (Salvadori.)

244. TANYGNATHUS EVERETTI Tweeddale.

BLUE-BACKED PARROT.

Tanygnathus everetti Tweeddale, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. (1877), 20, (4), 533; Salvadori, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1891), 20, 432, pl. 10; Sharpe, Hand-List (1900), 2, 30; Whitehead, Ibis (1899), 398; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 49.

Luzon (Whitehead); Mindanao (Everett, Steere Exp., Celestino); Negros (Whitehead); Panay (Steere Exp.).

Male.--General color green; entire head and neck grass-green, the neck with a yellow tinge; mantle grass-green, each feather edged with dark blue; back and rump dark blue; tail-coverts green, some of them edged with blue; wings green, some of the smaller coverts edged with yellowish green; under parts green, some feathers on abdomen and sides of breast slightly edged with blue; tail-feathers above green with yellowish tips, below golden yellow. Bill bright red, feet blackish in skin. Length, 330; wing, 196; tail, 136; culmen from cere, 31.

Female.--Like the male but the bill white. Wing, 195; tail, 138; culmen from cere, 31.

"Rare about Zamboanga. Only one specimen obtained. Mr. Moseley, of the Steere Expedition, killed one specimen in Panay, and Mr. Worcester saw another so near that there was no room for doubt as to its identity. Two specimens in the Jesuit Museum at Manila are marked 'Negros.' We searched for it in vain in Samar." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

"This parrot may prove to have a much wider distribution in the Philippines than is at present known, our discovery of the bird in north Luzon being a mere chance. * * * Male, iris orange; bill rosy red; feet dull olive-brown; female, iris orange; bill creamy white; feet dull olive-brown." (Whitehead.)

245. TANYGNATHUS BURBIDGEI Sharpe.

BURBIDGE'S PARROT.

Tanygnathus burbidgei Sharpe, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1879), 313; Hand-List (1900), 21, 30; Salvadori, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1891), 20, 432, pl. 11; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 49.

Bongao (Everett); Sulu (Burbidge, Guillemard, Bourns & Worcester); Tawi Tawi (Everett, Bourns & Worcester).

"Adult.--Dark green; head and neck bright yellowish green; lower back and uropygium deep turquoise-blue; upper wing-coverts with very narrow yellowish green edges; tail above dark green; underneath dull golden olive. Iris red; bill vermilion; tarsus dull olive-brown." (Guillemard.) Length, 406; wing, 223; tail, 157; bill, 38; tarsus, 19.

"Young.--A little smaller than the adult, the head somewhat darker and the bill whitish.

"This is a very distinct species, resembling T. everetti, but much larger and with the head lighter than the body, and no blue edgings to the feathers of the interscapular region." (Salvadori.)

"Common in Sulu but very shy, and seemed to be shot-proof. Unfortunately, too, it was molting at the time of our stay, and but two good specimens were secured. Readily distinguished from T. lucionensis by its cry alone. Found in deep forest, and in fruit trees in the open.

"Two males average, 375 in length; wing, 213; tail, 150; culmen, 33. Less common in Tawi Tawi, and observed only in the forest." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

Genus BOLBOPSITTACUS Salvadori, 1891.

Bill short and very broad; edge of upper mandible strongly sinuate but not toothed; the short, nearly equal, rectrices extend but little beyond the tail-coverts; colors green, yellow, and blue; length, 140 to 165 mm.

Species.

a1. Cheeks blue.

b1. Cheeks and collar pale blue. ... lunulatus, (p. 285) b2. Cheeks and collar bright blue. ... intermedius, (p. 285)

a2. Cheeks green.

b1. Collar deep blue. ... mindanensis, (p. 286) b2. Collar yellow, with crescent-like black bands. ... lunulatus, [female] (p. 285); mindanensis, [female] (p. 286) b3. Collar faint orange-yellow. ... intermedius, [female] (p. 285)