Part 143

Superficially this genus resembles Cuculus but differs by its comparatively shorter primaries and longer secondaries. In plumage and flight these cuckoos mimic the smaller Accipitrine hawks, and this probably protects them from the attacks of the larger hawks and owls.

Species.

a1. Breast with distinct blackish brown bars, tip of tail white; wing, 200 mm. or more. ... sparverioides (p. 368) a2. Breast without bars; tip of tail rufous; wing, 180 mm. or less. ... fugax (p. 369)

331. HIEROCOCCYX SPARVERIOIDES (Vigors).

ASIATIC HAWK CUCKOO.

Cuculus sparverioides Vigors, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1831), 173. Hierococcyx sparverioides Shelley, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1891), 19, 232. Hierococcyx sparveroides Sharpe, Hand-List (1900), 2, 157; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 61.

Calamianes (Bourns & Worcester); Luzon (McGregor); Negros (Whitehead); Palawan (Platen). Malay and Indian Peninsulas, Burmese provinces, eastern Siberia, Japan, China, Borneo.

"Adult.--Above brown with a bronzy gloss, changing gradually into gray on the back of the neck and crown; the outer tail-coverts barred with white, and the longest ones often with darker ends and narrow pale edges; tail with about five distinct dark bars and narrow pale tips to the feathers, seldom much shaded with rufous; sides of the head and chin gray, with a broad white band from the front of the eye to the white on the throat, separating the gray of the head from the chin; upper throat white, changing on the lower throat and front of the chest into rufous, and the whole mottled with pale gray; remainder of the under parts white, with the breast down to the thighs broadly barred with dusky brown, and partially washed with rufous; under wing-coverts white, shaded with rufous; quills dusky brown with numerous white or buff partial bars on their inner webs. 'Bill black, with the base of the lower mandible pale green; iris, eyelids, legs, and claws bright gamboge-yellow.' (Davison.) Length, 394; culmen, 28; wing, 206; tail, 190; tarsus, 25.

"Immature.--Differs from the adult in the gray of the upper parts being confined to the crown, the back of the neck being mottled with rufous, the feathers of the back and wings more or less edged or barred with rufous. Under surface white washed with buff; chin generally darker, often black; throat and front of the chest broadly striped, the breast with broad short bars to the feathers." (Shelley.)

"One adult female was obtained in the Island of Busuanga. Upper mandible black, lower greenish; eyelids yellow; eyes orange; legs, feet, and nails bright lemon-yellow. Length, 400; culmen, 32; wing, 223; tail, 211; tarsus, 33; middle toe with claw, 37." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

332. HIEROCOCCYX FUGAX (Horsfield).

HORSFIELD'S HAWK CUCKOO.

Cuculus fugax Horsfield, Trans. Linn. Soc. (1821), 13, pt. 1, 178. Hierococcyx fugax Shelley, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1891), 19, 236; Sharpe, Hand-List (1900), 2, 157; Oates and Reid, Cat. Birds' Eggs (1903), 3, 104; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 61.

Banton (Celestino); Basilan (Bourns & Worcester); Bohol (McGregor); Cagayancillo (McGregor); Cebu (Bourns & Worcester); Luzon (Heriot); Mindanao (Everett, Steere Exp.); Mindoro (McGregor, Porter); Sulu (Bourns & Worcester). Sumatra, Java, Borneo.

Adult.--Above uniform slate-gray; end of tail bright rufous otherwise very similar to that of H. sparverioides; below white, with a variable amount of rufous on the breast; in some specimens the whole chest rufous, in others only the edges of the feathers rufous; chin gray; throat white slightly tinged with gray, and occasionally streaked with brown or rufous; no bars on breast thus distinguishing it from H. sparverioides. Length of male from Cagayancillo, 280; wing, 170; tail, 151; exposed culmen, 20; tarsus, 18. Length of female from Mindoro, 285; wing, 170; tail, 157; exposed culmen, 20; tarsus, 19.

"Immature.--Top of head gray; upper parts including wings, dark gray barred with rufous, tail barred as in the adult with light brown, blackish brown, and rufous, the rufous bars narrowest; under parts white with broad, pointed, mesial stripes of blackish; edges of feathers washed with rusty-brown; under tail-coverts white.

"Nestling.--Similar in plumage to the immature bird, with the back brown and the markings on the breast rather larger. Length, 208 mm." (Shelley.)

"Rare and shy. Found skulking in thick bushes or under-brush, often near water. A male measures, 286 in length; wing, 167; tail, 153; culmen, 25; tarsus, 20; middle toe with claw, 27. A female, length, 305; wing, 173; tail, 139; culmen, 25; tarsus, 22; middle toe with claw, 28. Iris brown; legs, feet, and nails bright yellow. Bill with upper mandible olive-green at base, black at tip; lower mandible olive-green. Food beetles and other insects." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

Genus CUCULUS Linnæus, 1758.

Secondaries about half the length of primaries; wing long and flat; tail shorter than wing; in adults the upper parts are nearly uniform brown or gray, chin and throat gray; abdomen white barred with black.

Species.

a1. Tail with a subterminal black band; crown and throat grayish contrasting with mantle and back. ... micropterus (p. 370) a2. Tail without a subterminal black band; crown and throat gray like the back.

b1. Larger; wing, 200 to 230 mm.; bars on breast more dusky; edge of wing white and brown. ... canorus (p. 371) b2. Smaller; wing, less than 200 mm.; bars on breast jet-black, broader and more complete; edge of wing white. ... saturatus (p. 372)

333. CUCULUS MICROPTERUS Gould.

SHORT-WINGED CUCKOO.

Cuculus micropterus Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1837), 137; Shelley, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1891), 19, 241; Grant, Ibis (1896), 560; Sharpe, Hand-List (1900), 2, 158; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1900), 61.

Negros (Whitehead). Malay and Indian Peninsulas, Andaman Islands, Burmese Provinces, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Ternate, Ceylon, China, Japan.

"Adult.--Above dark brown, shading into slaty gray on the back of the neck and head; tail rather paler brown, with a broad subterminal black bar and a white tip, all the feathers having about five or six white spots on their quills, increasing in size toward the outer feathers, and most of them having white notches on their inner webs; throat gray, sometimes shaded with dusky on the sides of the crop; sides of the head and neck rather darker gray, more like the crown; remainder of the under parts buff or white, rather broadly barred with black, the under tail-coverts being less regularly marked and with fewer bars; under surface of the wings as in C. canorus. 'Iris brown; bill horny, below lighter and tinted with yellow toward the base; gape and eyelids bright yellow; feet and legs duller yellow; two front claws horny, two hind ones yellow.' (Bingham.) Length, 305; culmen, 25; wing, 20; tail, 160; tarsus, 20.