Part 149

RED-WINGED COUCAL.

Cuculus viridis Scopoli, Del. Flor. et Faun. Insubr. (1786), 2, 89. Centropus viridis Shelley, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1891), 19, 349; Sharpe, Hand-List (1900), 2, 167; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 63.

Suc-suc, Lubang; sa-guc'-soc, Ticao; si-ga-cok', Calayan; sa-ba-cot', Manila.

Bantayan (McGregor); Banton (Celestino); Basilan (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Bohol (Everett, McGregor); Cagayancillo (McGregor); Calayan (McGregor); Camiguin N. (McGregor); Catanduanes (Whitehead); Cebu (Meyer, Everett, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Dinagat (Mearns); Fuga (McGregor); Guimaras (Meyer, Steere Exp.); Leyte (Everett, Steere Exp.); Lubang (McGregor); Luzon (Meyer, Everett, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Whitehead, McGregor); Marinduque (Steere Exp.); Masbate (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Mindanao (Steere, Everett, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Goodfellow); Mindoro (Schmacker); Negros (Meyer, Everett, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Whitehead, Keay); Panay (Sonnerat, Murray, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester); Romblon (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Samar (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Whitehead); Siasi (Guillemard); Sibuyan (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Siquijor (Bourns & Worcester, Celestino); Sulu (Guillemard, Bourns & Worcester); Tablas (Bourns & Worcester); Ticao (McGregor).

Adult.--Sexes similar; wings bright chestnut, tips of primaries and secondaries blackish brown; wing-lining glossed with green; remainder of plumage black, glossed with dark green and traces of blue. Iris red; bill and nails black; legs dark steel-blue. Length of a male from Manila, 380; wing, 155; tail, 250; culmen from base, 26; tarsus, 42. Length of a female from Cagayancillo, 480; wing, 190; tail, 290; culmen from base, 33; tarsus, 40.

Immature birds differ from the adult in having the head and body brown, more or less mixed with light buff; wings chestnut, barred with blackish brown; feathers of head, neck, throat, and breast with pale buff shafts; the tail, even in very small young birds, is glossy green like that of the adult.

"Commonest of Philippine cuckoos. Found in the brush and high grass in open country; breeds in February and March. Eyes dark cherry-red; legs and feet slaty black; nails black; bill black.

"Five males from Cebu measure, 395 in length; wing, 152; tail, 239; culmen, 30; tarsus, 40; middle toe with claw, 38. A male from Masbate measures, 419 in length; wing, 17; tail, 202; culmen, 27; tarsus, 37; middle toe with claw, 41. Two females from Masbate measure, 457 in length; wing, 171; tail, 247; culmen, 31; tarsus, 41; middle toe with claw, 43. It will be noted that the variations in size are very considerable." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

348. CENTROPUS JAVANICUS (Dumont).

JAVAN COUCAL.

Cuculus javanicus Dumont, Dic. Sc. Nat. (1818), 11, 144. Centropus javanicus Shelley, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1891), 19, 354; Sharpe, Hand-List (1900), 2, 167; Oates and Reid, Cat. Birds' Eggs (1903), 3, 124; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 63.

Tu-la-cuc', Batan.

Bantayan (McGregor); Batan (McGregor); Bohol (Everett, McGregor); Bongao (Everett); Calamianes (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Cebu (Bourns & Worcester); Leyte (Everett); Luzon (Whitehead); Mindanao (Bourns & Worcester); Mindoro (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Whitehead, McGregor, Porter); Negros (Steere Exp., Keay); Palawan (Whitehead, Platen, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, White); Panay (Steere Exp.); Semirara (Worcester); Siquijor (Bourns & Worcester); Sulu (Platen, Bourns & Worcester); Tawi Tawi (Bourns & Worcester). China, Assam, Burma, Malay Peninsula, Moluccas, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Celebes.

Adult.--General color including tail black, glossed with dark oil-green; shafts of the feathers strong and glossy black; wings light chestnut or reddish buff; coverts and inner secondaries more or less mottled or streaked with blackish brown, the coverts with pale shaft-stripes; tail tipped with pale buff. Iris brown; bill blackish; legs and feet lead-blue; nails blackish. Length, 375 to 400; a male from Mindoro measures, wing, 162; tail, 225; culmen from base, 29; bill from nostril, 18; tarsus, 45; middle toe with claw, 44. A female from Bohol: Wing, 160; tail, 210; culmen from base, 26; bill from nostril, 14; tarsus, 34; middle toe with claw, 39.

Young.--Upper parts seal-brown, somewhat mixed with rusty buff; shafts of feathers on sides of head, neck, and mantle pale buff; back blackish brown, mottled with rusty buff; upper tail-coverts greatly lengthened, two of the feathers being fully two-thirds the length of the rectrices, in color black glossed with green and crossed by numerous bars of rusty buff.

The young plumage here described is usually considered to be put on each winter even by birds that have attained the black adult plumage. It is usually referred to as the "seasonal" or "non-breeding plumage." Blanford, however, under the closely related Centropus bengalensis says: "The second garb is called the winter or seasonal plumage by most authors, but I can find no evidence that it is ever assumed by birds that have once attained adult coloration, and there are several winter birds in the British Museum collection with the adult dress. The long upper tail-coverts appear peculiar to the immature plumage." Fauna British India, Birds (1895), 3, 243.

"We record this species from Leyte and Bohol on the strength of British Museum specimens stated in the Catalogue of Birds to have been collected in these islands, though no mention seems to have been made of them in the Marquis of Tweeddale's report on Mr. Everett's collections.

"Quite common in Sulu and Tawi Tawi; not rare in the other islands indicated. Lives in the grass in open fields. Iris very dark brown; legs and feet blue-black; bill black. Food insects. Three males average, 345 in length; wing, 139; tail, 180; culmen, 24; tarsus, 36; middle toe with claw, 37. Five females, length, 368; wing, 159; tail, 199; culmen, 31; tarsus, 39; middle, toe with claw, 39." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

349. CENTROPUS MELANOPS Lesson.

BLACK-EYED COUCAL.

Centropus melanops Lesson, Traité (1831), 137; Cassin, Ornith. Wilkes Exped. (1858), 249, atlas pl. 22, fig. 1; Shelley, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1891), 19, 365; Sharpe, Hand-List (1900), 2, 168; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 64.

Basilan (Steere, Everett, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Bohol (McGregor); Leyte (Whitehead); Mindanao (Peale, Everett, Koch & Schadenberg, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Celestino, Goodfellow); Nipa (Everett); Samar (Steere Exp., Whitehead).

Adult (sexes similar).--Head, neck, mantle, and lower parts to middle of breast buff, lighter on crown and chin; forehead, lores, cheeks, and eyebrow black forming a mask; wings and scapulars bright chestnut; tips of primaries dark brown; remainder of back, tail, and under parts black, glossed with bluish green; under wing-coverts blackish. Iris red; bill, legs, and claws black. Length of a male from Basilan, 406; wing, 165; tail, 230; culmen from base, 38; tarsus, 40. A male from Bohol measures: Wing, 170; tail, 235; culmen from base, 40; tarsus, 43.

"Frequents thick tangles of vines in deep woods. Very common in Mindanao. Much rarer in Samar.

"Four males measure, 412 in length; wing, 149; tail, 209; culmen, 35; tarsus, 38; middle toe with claw, 41. Four females, length, 441; wing, 155: tail, 236; culmen, 36; tarsus, 41; middle toe with claw, 42.

"The above specimens are from Mindanao. Birds from Samar average slightly larger. Eyes dull red; legs and feet blue-black to black; bill and nails black." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

350. CENTROPUS UNIRUFUS (Cabanis and Heine).

RUFOUS COUCAL.