Part 148

Young.--A young male taken May 11 is blackish brown; head and neck glossed with green; chin, throat, and breast mottled with gray; wings faintly glossed with green; primaries and secondaries slightly tipped with dull rufous; alula and all upper wing-coverts barred with dull rufous; tail black strongly glossed with green. Wing, 160; tail, 180; culmen from base, 29.

Grant gives the following description of an immature male:

"The immature feathers in the upper parts are dull brownish black, devoid of any gloss; the immature tail- and flight-feathers are similarly colored, but slightly glossed, and the latter are indistinctly barred with pale rufous on both webs. The throat, breast, and belly are brownish black, indistinctly marked with buff; the rest of the plumage is similar to that of the adult."

"Frequents bushes in open fields like C. viridis. Very common in Mindoro. Four males average, 445 in length; wing, 167; tail, 268; culmen, 37; tarsus, 35; middle toe with claw, 40. A female measures, 476 in length; wing, 176; tail, 279; culmen, 32; tarsus, 42; middle toe with claw, 42. Iris red; bill, legs, and feet black. Food insects." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

The Mindoro coucal builds a bulky globular nest of grass, with an entrance on one side. A nest found in April was situated in a thick bed of giant grass. The two eggs are dull white and covered with a thin layer of a white, chalky substance; their measurements are 27.4 by 21.8 and 24.3 by 21.

344. CENTROPUS CARPENTERI Mearns.

BATAN ISLAND COUCAL.

Centropus carpenteri Mearns, Phil. Jour. Sci. (1907), 2, sec. A, 356; McGregor, ibid., 340.

Batan (Mearns, McGregor).

Adult.--Similar to Centropus mindorensis (Steere), but slightly larger. Mearns gives the following measurements:

"Centropus carpenteri: Adult male type: Length, 440; wing, 166; tail, 278; chord of culmen, 32; depth of bill, 16; tarsus, 42; middle toe with claw, 44.

"Centropus mindorensis: Average of three males: Length, 398; wing, 153; tail, 238; chord of culmen, 29.2; depth of bill, 13.7; tarsus, 40; middle toe with claw, 42."

Young.--A young bird taken June 4 is black; upper parts including wings and tail lightly glossed with green; chin and throat slightly mottled with gray; tips of primaries and secondaries slightly rufous; alula and all upper wing-coverts barred with rufous. Wing, 140; tail, 112; culmen from base, 26.

345. CENTROPUS STEERI Bourns and Worcester.

STEERE'S COUCAL.

Centropus steerii Bourns and Worcester, Minnesota Acad. Nat. Sci. Occ. Papers (1894), 1, 14; Sharpe, Hand-List (1900), 2, 166; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 63.

Mindoro (Platen, Bourns & Worcester, Whitehead, McGregor).

"Sexes alike.--Forehead, crown and nape, sides of face, chin, throat, and upper breast greenish black; the coarse shafts of the feathers shiny black, the webs with a faint greenish tinge; hind neck and back, sides of neck, wing-coverts, and breast smoky brown with faint greenish tinge; hind back and rump slaty black, tips of feathers with greenish tinge; upper tail-coverts and upper surface of tail uniform dull metallic green; shafts of feathers jet-black from base to tip; upper surface of wings earthy brown with metallic green gloss like the tail, except on the four outer primaries, which have little gloss; abdomen browner than breast and with less metallic wash; flanks, thighs, and under tail-coverts like rump; under surface of tail black with faint metallic blue gloss; under wing-coverts and axillars like breast; under surface of wing uniform blackish brown. Seven males measure as follows: Length, 424; wing, 150; tail, 216; culmen, 40; tarsus, 42. A female measures, 495 in length; wing, 158; tail, 233; culmen, 44; tarsus, 43." (Bourns and Worcester.)

Steere's coucal is somewhat like the Mindoro coucal but its breast and neck are smoky brown while the entire plumage of the Mindoro coucal is black glossed with green. The two species are fairly abundant in Mindoro and inhabit thick grass patches and jungle.

346. CENTROPUS SINENSIS (Stephens).

COMMON COUCAL.

Polophilus sinensis Stephens, Gen. Zool. (1815), 9, 51. Centropus sinensis Shelley, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1891), 19, 343; Blanford, Fauna Brit. Ind. Bds. (1895), 3, 239, fig. 69 (foot); Sharpe, Hand-List (1900), 2, 167; Oates and Reid, Cat. Birds' Eggs (1903), 3, 124; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 63.

Balabac (Everett); Cagayan Sulu (McGregor); Luzon (Cuming); Palawan (Everett, Lempriere, Whitehead, Platen, Bourns & Worcester, White); Sulu (Platen, Bourns & Worcester); Tawi Tawi (Everett). Malay Peninsula, Burmese countries, Ceylon, China, India, Java, Sumatra, Borneo.

"Adult male.--General plumage black, with the wings and upper back chestnut; head, neck, and chest glossed with purplish blue; remainder of the body, lower back, upper tail-coverts, and tail glossed with purplish green; primaries with brown ends; inner secondaries slightly tinted with brown; under wing-coverts glossy black. 'Bill and legs black; iris crimson.' (Davison.) Length, 559; culmen, 42; wing, 223; tail, 312; tarsus, 58.

"Adult female.--Similar in plumage to the male. Length, 521; culmen, 46; wing, 211; tail, 284; tarsus, 56.

"Immature.--Plumage duller than in the adult and generally of a greener shade; sides of head and front of neck with buffy white spots, increasing into bars on the body; mantle, some of the wing-coverts, and the innermost secondaries barred with black; upper tail-coverts narrowly barred with buff; tail glossy greenish black, with no blue shade." (Shelley.)

"Rare in Palawan; common in Sulu. Iris red; legs, feet, and nails black; bill black; food insects. Two males measure, 555 in length; wing, 198; tail, 312; culmen, 41; tarsus, 53; middle toe with claw, 50. Two females, length, 475; wing, 178; tail, 245; culmen, 37; tarsus, 44; middle toe with claw, 45." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

347. CENTROPUS VIRIDIS (Scopoli).