Part 131

"Common in Mindanao. Seems not to occur in Basilan. Frequents the highest trees and feeds on fruit. Eyes red; legs black; tops of feet black, bottoms yellowish; bill dark scarlet. A male measures, 711 in length; wing, 319; tail, 232; tarsus, 50; middle toe with claw, 54." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

When new the tail-feathers are white but they soon turn light buff. The male is much larger than the female and has a larger casque. A male from northern Mindanao is 762 in length; wing, 360; tail, 235; bill from nostril, 126; length of casque at base, 76; tarsus, 50. A female is 620 in length; wing, 290;, tail, 220; bill from nostril, 89; length of casque at base, 57; tarsus, 49.

302. CRANIORRHINUS WALDENI Sharpe.

WALDEN'S HORNBILL.

Craniorrhinus waldeni Sharpe, Trans. Linn. Soc. (1877), 1, 322. Cranorrhinus waldeni Grant, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1892), 17, 380; Sharpe, Hand-List (1900), 2, 65; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 56.

Guimaras (Steere Exp.); Negros (Steere Exp., Keay, Whitehead); Panay (Steere, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester).

"Adult male.--Head, neck, and chest dark chestnut, the feathers next the naked parts of the face and throat inclining to buff; tail white (stained rufous), the basal third and the tips of the feathers black; rest of the plumage black, the upper parts glossed with dark green; naked skin round the eye and on the throat yellow; iris red; legs and feet black; bill and casque red, except toward the end; base of the lower mandible covered by a plate with dark-colored oblique grooves; casque transversely folded. Length, 724; wing, 345; tail, 254; tarsus, 51.

"Adult female.--Differs from the male in having all the plumage of the head and neck black, and the casque without transverse folds; naked skin appears to have been black mixed with yellow. Length, 673; wing, 310; tail, 218; tarsus, 48." (Grant.)

"Hornbills, almost certainly of this species, were seen by the Steere expedition in Negros, but no specimens were obtained." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

Suborder MEROPES.

Family MEROPIDÆ.

Bill long, slender, pointed, and gently curved downward for its entire length; a well-defined ridge on culmen; tarsi short and unfeathered; fourth and third toes united to last joint; second toe united to middle toe for basal joint only; eggs white, deposited in holes in sandy ground, the birds usually nesting in colonies.

Genus MEROPS Linnæus, 1758.

Tail moderate, composed of twelve feathers, middle pair slender and prolonged beyond the others; wing moderately long and pointed, first primary very short, second longest.

Species.

a1. Mantle and crown chestnut; throat pale green. ... americanus (p. 340) a2. Mantle and crown green; throat largely chestnut. ... philippinus (p. 341)

303. MEROPS AMERICANUS P. L. S. Müller.

CHESTNUT-HEADED BEEBIRD.

Merops americanus P. L. S. Müller, Natursyst. Suppl. (1776), 95; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 56. Merops bicolor Boddaert, Tabl. Pl. Enl. (1783), 15; Walden, Trans. Zool. Soc. (1875), 9, 150, pl. 26, fig. 1; Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1892), 17, 60; Hand-List (1900), 2, 73; Oates and Reid, Cat. Birds' Eggs (1903), 3, 49.

Pe-ric', Manila; pi-ley pi-ley, Lubang.

Bohol (McGregor); Cagayancillo (McGregor); Calamianes (Bourns & Worcester); Catanduanes (Whitehead); Cebu (Everett, Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Cresta de Gallo (McGregor); Fuga (McGregor); Guimaras (Steere Exp.); Leyte (Everett); Lubang (McGregor); Luzon (Meyer, Möllendorff, Everett, Steere Exp., Whitehead, McGregor); Marinduque (Steere Exp.); Masbate (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Mindanao (Steere, Murray, Everett, Koch & Schadenberg, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Celestino, Goodfellow); Mindoro (Steere Exp., Schmacker, McGregor, Porter); Negros (Meyer, Everett, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester); Panay (Steere, Bourns & Worcester); Samar (Bourns & Worcester, Whitehead); Semirara (Worcester); Sibuyan (McGregor); Tablas (Bourns & Worcester).

Adult (sexes alike).--Above, from bill to and including mantle and sides of neck, bright chestnut; lower back, rump, and upper tail-coverts clear sky-blue; a band from corner of mouth through eye to ear-coverts black, bordered below by sky-blue; below apple-green, lighter posteriorly and more or less mixed with blue; under tail-coverts light blue; wings and coverts dark green; primaries and secondaries with dusky tips and dark ocherous-buff inner webs; long tertials tipped with dark blue; tail above dark cerulean-blue, the lateral feathers darker than middle pair which are broadly tipped with black; shafts black, tail brown below. Iris bright red; bill and nails black; legs dark flesh. Length, including long tail-feathers, about 300. Three males from Mariveles, Luzon, measure: Wing, 117 to 118; tail, without long feathers, 87; bill from nostril, 34 to 36.

"Young.--Differs from the adult in being duller and greener, the red of the head being overshaded with green and the mantle and upper back green; the under surface is paler, the throat and abdomen pale blue and the breast light green." (Sharpe.)

"Nest.--Nests in level sandy strips of ground. The tunnel is some 50 mm. in diameter at its mouth and at first runs sharply downward. When a depth of 60 to 90 cm. has been reached it turns and slopes gradually upward for 120 to 150 cm. of its length, ending in an enlarged chamber in which the eggs are deposited on the bare sand. The eggs are pure white and highly polished. They are frequently nearly spherical. They vary from 21 to 24 in length by 18 to 20 in breadth.

"Sometimes feeds singly, but is more usually found in small flocks, and at times very large flocks gather, apparently attracted by swarms 36; tarsus, 11; middle toe with claw, 20. Eight females, length, 267; of bees. Six males average, 282 in length; wing, 114; tail, 100; culmen, wing, 112; tail, 91; culmen, 34; tarsus, 11; middle toe with claw, 19." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

304. MEROPS PHILIPPINUS Linnæus.

GREEN-HEADED BEEBIRD.

Merops philippinus Linnæus, Syst. Nat. ed. 12 (1766), 1, 183; in errata; Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1892), 17, 71; Hand-List (1900), 2, 74; Blanford, Fauna Brit. Ind. Bds. (1895), 3, 111, fig. 31 (head); Meyer and Wiglesworth, Bds. Celebes (1898), 1, 253, pl. 8, fig. 2 (tail); McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 57; Oates and Reid, Cat. Birds' Eggs (1903), 3, 51.