Part 117

c1. Bill more slender and more compressed; the species usually found near streams. ... Alcyone (p. 308) c2. Bill stouter and less compressed; the species usually found away from water in forest or in thickets. ... Ceyx (p. 311)

Genus PELARGOPSIS Gloger, 1842.

Large, length 300 mm. or more; bill bright red, very large and strong; culmen flattened and perfectly straight; a well-marked groove on each side of bill from nostril to near tip of bill, back and rump pale blue, lower parts buff, tail much longer than bill.

Species.

a1. Back and wings deep ultramarine blue; lower back rich cobalt. ... javana (p. 303) a2. Back and wings bluish green; lower back greenish cobalt.

b1. Head, neck, and under parts rich deep ocherous. ... gouldi (p. 304) b2. Head whitish; hind neck and under parts pale ocherous-buff. ... gigantea (p. 305)

266. PELARGOPSIS JAVANA (Boddaert).

BORNEAN STORK-BILLED KINGFISHER.

Alcedo javana Boddaert, Tabl. Pl. Enl. (1783), 47. Pelargopsis leucocephala Steere, List Bds. & Mams. Steere Exped. (1890), 9; Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1892), 17, 98; Hand-List (1900), 2, 48; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 51.

Mindoro (Steere Exp.); Palawan (Whitehead, Steere Exp.). Borneo.

"Adult male.--Head and back of neck deep ochraceous, the latter rather deeper in color; upper part of the back, scapulars, and lesser wing-coverts rich blue; the median and greater coverts and the outer aspect of the primaries rich ultramarine, inner secondaries entirely of this color; tail ultramarine above, black beneath; under surface of body deep rich ochraceous, a little lighter on throat and sides of face. 'Bill and feet coral-red; iris chocolate.' (Everett.) Length, 330; culmen, 76; wing, 147; tail, 84; tarsus, 11." (Sharpe.)

"Included in this list chiefly on the authority of Dr. Sharpe, who identifies a bird collected by Dr. Steere as P. leucocephala (=javana). Mr. Whitehead speaks of 'two specimens' secured by himself, and refers to the fact that the bird was discovered by Dr. Steere in the Island. It is our opinion that the Mindoro bird is P. gouldi, and we doubt the correctness of Dr. Steere's identification of the bird collected by the Steere Expedition in Palawan. It might well happen that an occasional specimen of P. javana should find its way into Palawan, but there is little doubt that P. gouldi is the common species there." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

267. PELARGOPSIS GOULDI Sharpe.

GOULD'S STORK-BILLED KINGFISHER.

Pelargopsis gouldi Sharpe, Ibis (1870), 63; Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1892), 17, 100; Hand-List (1900), 2, 49; Grant, Ibis (1896), 470; McGregor, Bur. Govt. Labs. (1905), 34, 12, pl. 9 (nest); McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 52.

Balabac (Everett); Calamianes (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Lubang (McGregor); Luzon (Cuming); Mindoro (Steere Exp., Schmacker, Bourns & Worcester, Whitehead, McGregor, Porter); Palawan (Lempriere, Whitehead, Platen, Steere Exp., White).

"Adult (type of species).--Entire head and neck, as well as the whole of the under surface of the body, rich ochraceous; upper part of back, scapulars, wing-coverts, upper tail-coverts, and tail bluish green; quills and tail-feathers rather more blue; entire back and rump silvery cobalt. Length, 330; culmen, 81; wing, 152; tail, 89; tarsus, 13." (Sharpe.)

Iris dark brown; bill and legs bright scarlet; nails dark brown; eyelids scarlet. A male from Mindoro is 343 in length; wing, 143; tail, 89; culmen, 85; tarsus, 15.

Individuals of this species are often found near the seashore where they feed on small crabs; at other times they are fairly common in mangrove swamps. A nest found in Mindoro on April 18, 1905, was excavated in a deserted termites' nest which was fastened to a tree at about 9 meters from the ground. The three incubated eggs were glossy white and measured 37.8 by 27.6; 39.8 by 28.9 and 39.6 by 28.9.

"In Volume XVII of the Catalogue of Birds, P. gouldi is recorded from Panay, the specimen having been collected by the Challenger expedition. This specimen seems to have been identified with some doubt as P. gigantea by Lord Walden, Proceedings of the Zoological Society (1877), 536. It would seem altogether probable that this identification was correct, as P. gigantea has since been repeatedly found in the central Philippines." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

268. PELARGOPSIS GIGANTEA Walden.

PHILIPPINE STORK-BILLED KINGFISHER.

Pelargopsis gigantea Walden, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. (1874), (4), 13, 123; Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1892), 17, 100; Hand-List (1900), 2, 49; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 52.

Ba-rí-ta, Ticao.

Basilan (Everett, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Bohol (McGregor); Bongao (Everett); Cebu (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Dinagat (Everett); Guimaras (Steere Exp.); Lapac (Guillemard); Leyte (Everett); Masbate (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Mindanao (Murray, Steere, Everett, Koch & Schadenberg, Steere Exp., Goodfellow, Celestino); Malanipa (Murray); Negros (Bourns & Worcester, Keay); Panay (Murray, Bourns & Worcester); Salok (Meyer); Samal (Goodfellow); Samar (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Whitehead); Sibutu (Everett); Sibuyan (Bourns & Worcester); Sulu (Burbidge, Bourns & Worcester); Tablas (Bourns & Worcester); Tawi Tawi (Bourns & Worcester); Ticao (McGregor).

Adult male.--Back, rump, wings, and tail as in P. gouldi, but head, neck, and entire under parts very much lighter in color, being pale ochraceous-buff. Wing, 155; tail, 92; culmen from base, 82; bill from nostril, 69.

Adult female.--Similar to the male. Bill bright scarlet, blackish at tip; iris brown; eyelids and legs scarlet; nails dark horn-brown. A specimen from Ticao measures: Length, 370; wing, 159; tail, 93; culmen, 88; tarsus, 18.

Immature.--Differs from the adult in having buff of lower parts darker and the breast-feathers narrowly edged with dark brown forming crescentic marks. The bill and legs are much duller than those of the adult.