Part 125

Actenoides hombroni Bonaparte, Consp. Gen. Avium (1850), 1, 157. Halcyon hombroni Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1892), 17, 284; Hand-List (1900), 2, 61; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 55.

Mindanao (Hombron & Jacquinot, Steere, Everett, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Goodfellow, Celestino).

"Adult male.--Head and nape bright blue, more brilliant on the sides of the head, above the eye, and on the nape; round the latter a narrow line of deep black; ear-coverts chestnut; along the lower line of the lores a streak of black, reaching below the eye, and widening behind the latter, being here washed with blue; cheeks bright blue, forming a broad band; sides of neck and hinder part of the latter deep tawny, varied with narrow black edgings to the feathers; mantle blackish, mottled with spots of tawny-buff, these being subterminal, with a narrow fringe of black; center of back, scapulars, and wing-coverts green, with a slight shade of verditer, each feather having a distinct subterminal spot of ochraceous-buff; quills blackish, externally washed with greenish, the primaries edged with ochraceous, the secondaries with the same subterminal spot of ochraceous as on the wing-coverts; lower back, rump, and upper tail-coverts bright silvery cobalt, the sides of the back and the lateral coverts blackish, washed with blue; tail-feathers deep blue, with black shafts; throat white, slightly washed with tawny; rest of the under surface deep tawny, whiter on the center of the abdomen; breast-feathers with narrow, nearly obsolete, blackish margins; thighs externally blackish, internally deep tawny; feathers at side of vent, adjoining the sides of the lower back, deep blue, the outer web more or less ochraceous; under wing-coverts and axillars deep tawny; quills blackish below, edged with pale tawny-buff along the inner web. Length, 287; culmen, 51; wing, 126; tail, 105; tarsus, 19." (Sharpe.)

Female.--Similar to the male but crown and cheek-band greenish; the greenish wash on wings very faint; tail faintly washed with green instead of blue.

"A strictly woods form, never met with in the open. Quite common in Mindanao, and so far as is at present known, confined to that island.

"Iris very dark brown; legs and feet dirty greenish olive; culmen black; bill along gape dirty red, darker at base. Food, beetles and small snails. Measurements from seven males: Length, 283; wing, 123; tail, 94; culmen, 46; tarsus, 16; middle toe with claw, 26. Six females, length, 278; wing, 120; tail, 94; culmen, 48; tarsus, 16; middle toe with claw, 28." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

287. HALCYON LINDSAYI (Vigors).

LINDSAY'S KINGFISHER.

Dacelo lindsayi Vigors, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1831), 97. Halcyon lindsayi Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1892), 17, 286; Hand-List (1900), 2, 61; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 55.

Luzon (Lindsay, Eydoux & Souleyet, Möllendorff, Cuming, Everett, Heriot, Steere Exp., Bridges).

"Adult male.--Above green, a little brighter on the center of lower back, rump, and upper tail-coverts; lateral upper tail-coverts and sides of lower back and rump dingy green, the scapulars, mantle, and wing-coverts each having a distinct spot of ocherous-buff; quills brown, externally edged with fulvous, secondaries greener, and terminally spotted with ocherous like the scapulars; tail-feathers dull greenish brown, fringed with sandy buff at the ends, the penultimate feather notched with buff on the inner web, the outermost one on both webs, producing a banded appearance; head green, the forehead with a few cinnamon feathers; lores black, surmounted by a streak of pale cinnamon-buff reaching above the eye and continued into a line of bright cobalt, which encircles the hinder crown and nape; feathers round the eye black, continued into a band which encircles the hind neck, and is followed by a band of cinnamon feathers, fringed with black; sides of face and ear-coverts cinnamon; throat pale cinnamon, separated from the band on the sides of the face by a broad band of bright cobalt, which occupies the cheeks and lateral margin of the throat; fore neck and breast mottled, the feathers being white, margined with green, the green edges diminishing in size on the lower breast, till they gradually disappear on the abdomen, which, with the under tail-feathers, is pure white; sides of body like the breast; thighs blackish, tipped with ocherous; under wing-coverts, axillars, and quill-lining fawn-buff. 'Bill black, the culmen and under mandible yellow; feet light green; iris brown.' (Everett.) Length, 241; culmen, 47; wing, 106; tail, 79; tarsus, 16.

"Adult female.--Resembles the male, but the band encircling the crown is green instead of blue; the broad band on the cheeks is also green, not blue; the throat is white; and the green edgings to the breast-feathers are less pronounced. 'Bill black, the culmen and mandible chrome-yellow; feet light green; claws horn-yellow; iris brown.' (Everett.) Length, 249; culmen, 47; wing, 109; tail, 89; tarsus, 16.

"Young male.--Like the adult male, but with smaller ocherous spots on the upper surface; the band round the crown and the cheek-stripe not so blue as in the adult, but not so green as in the female; under surface as in adult, but with a fulvescent tinge throughout.

"Young female.--Duller than the adult female, and with smaller ocherous spots; otherwise like the old female, and having a green band round the crown." (Sharpe.)

288. HALCYON MOSELEYI (Steere).

MOSELEY'S KINGFISHER.

Actenoides moseleyi Steere, List. Birds & Mams. Steere Exped. (1890), 11. Halcyon moseleyi Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1892), 17, 288; Hand-List (1900), 2, 61; Grant, Ibis (1896), 557; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 55.

Negros (Steere Exp., Whitehead).

"Immature female (type of species).--Similar to H. lindsayi, but distinguished by the edgings of the breast-feathers, which are black and not green. 'Bill black, culmen and lower mandible yellow; legs and feet greenish.' (Moseley.) Length, 264; culmen, 46; wing, 109; tail, 86; tarsus, 14." (Sharpe.)

"Moseley's kingfisher, a truly splendid species, is represented by three fully adult males. The only example previously known is the immature female originally described by Prof. Steere. From this female type the male birds before me appear to differ in the following points: The lower ear-coverts are chestnut instead of buff, the moustachial stripes cobalt-blue, like the band round the crown of the head, and there is a small triangular green patch in the middle of the black interscapular region. From the adult male of H. lindsayi they are easily distinguished by the generally black ground-color of the mantle and scapulars, as well as by the black margins to the feathers of the breast and flanks, only those in the middle of the breast being tinged with greenish. Length, 254; wing, 107; tail, 80; tarsus, 18." (Grant.)

"Discovered by Mr. E. L. Moseley after whom it was named by Dr. Steere. But one specimen was secured by him. We searched diligently for this fine Halcyon on our return to Negros, but failed to find it. It is undoubtedly extremely rare there. So far as we know at present this species is confined to Negros, and no closely related species is known from any island nearer than Luzon." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

Suborder BUCEROTES.

Family BUCEROTIDÆ.

Bill very large; culmen curved, its basal part expanded into a hollow casque, or else the sides of the bill deeply chiseled; eyelids with large lashes; wings short and rounded; tail-feathers long and broad; outer and middle toes united for basal two-thirds, inner and middle toes united for basal joint; plumage harsh and rough; large noisy birds of heavy flight. The Philippine species are all well-marked and easily identified.

Genera.

a1. Tail uniform, white, dirty buff, or yellowish brown, with no black bar.

b1. Bill bright red for its basal half at least; body plumage not all black. ... Hydrocorax (p. 327) b2. Bill not red; plumage, except tail, all black.

c1. Bill entirely black. ... Anthracoceros (p. 330) c2. Bill nearly all white. ... Gymnolæmus (p. 331)