Part 158

Of large size; bill very powerful; proximal half of culmen curved, distal half straight; nostrils large, oval, and covered by feathers; nasal ridge prominent; feathers of head short; no crest.

371. MULLERIPICUS PULVERULENTUS (Temminck).

GREAT SLATY WOODPECKER.

Picus pulverulentus Temminck, Pl. Col. (1826), 389. Hemilophus pulverulentus Hargitt, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1890), 18, 494. Alophonerpes pulverulentus Sharpe, Hand-List (1900), 2, 230. Mulleripicus pulverulentus McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 66.

Balabac (Everett); Palawan (Whitehead, Platen, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Celestino, White). Sumatra, Cochin China, Malay Peninsula, Burmese provinces, northwestern India, Java, Borneo, Himalayas.

Adult male.--Blackish slate, abdomen and crissum lighter; feathers of crown, occiput, neck, sides of neck, and breast with small gray tips producing a spotted appearance, most pronounced on occiput and neck; on malar region below each eye a large patch of light crimson; chin and throat saffron-yellow, washed with pink or light red on the posterior part. Length of a male from Palawan, 465; wing, 235; tail, 165; culmen from base, 65; tarsus, 38.

Adult female.--Differs from the male in having no red on cheeks and but a slight wash of pink on the throat. Wing, 235; tail, 180; culmen from base, 64; tarsus, 35.

"Young male.--Differs from the adult male in having the entire malar region, forehead, and greater part of the crown washed with pale crimson, this color being very faint upon the crown; the head darker slaty gray and the tips of the feathers less white; upper parts rather browner; the under surface of the body unspotted; abdomen, sides of the body, and under tail-coverts more of a dusky brown, but assuming the dark slaty-gray plumage; chin, throat, and fore neck light buff, the latter washed with pale red. It has also a pale crimson stripe, rather than a spot, and the hinder part of the malar region, as in the adult." (Hargitt.)

"Quite abundant in some parts of Palawan. Shot on dead trees in clearings, and in low scrub. We failed to find it in the Calamianes. Two males average, 467 in length; wing, 227; tail, 147; culmen, 59; tarsus, 34; middle toe with claw, 41. A female, length, 457; wing, 220; tail, 140; culmen, 59; tarsus, 31; middle toe with claw, 44. Iris very dark brown; legs and feet dull leaden, nails nearly black; upper mandible black except along gape and at base where it is gray; lower mandible light gray." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

Genus THRIPONAX Cabanis and Heine, 1863.

Culmen nearly straight; nasal ridges well developed; nostrils scantily covered; plumage mostly black, abdomen white; both sexes with a full scarlet crest; length, from 380 to 410 mm.

Species.

a1. Breast black, without light edges to the feathers.

b1. Rump black. ... javensis (p. 406) b2. Rump with a white band.

c1. White spot at base of primaries smaller; bill stouter, width at anterior border of nostrils, 14 to 16 mm.; lower mandible dirty ivory-yellow. ... hargitti (p. 409) c2. White spot at base of primaries larger; bill more slender, width at anterior border of nostrils, 12 to 14 mm.; lower mandible blackish. ... mindorensis (p. 408)

a2. Breast, throat, and chin black mixed with white and buff.

b1. Light buff or whitish edges of breast-feathers very wide, giving the breast a mottled appearance. ... pectoralis (p. 407) b2. Light buff edges of breast-feathers narrow, forming numerous crescentic markings. ... multilunatus (p. 408)

372. THRIPONAX JAVENSIS (Horsfield).

MALAY BLACK WOODPECKER.

Picus javensis Horsfield, Trans. Linn. Soc. (1821), 13, pt. 1, 175. Thriponax javensis Hargitt, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1890), 18, 498 (part); Grant, Ibis (1894), 409; Sharpe, Hand-List (1900), 2, 231 (part); McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 66 (part). Thriponax javensis var. suluensis Blasius, Jour. für Ornith. (1890), 140.

Tul-tu-lan, Benguet.

Bongao (Everett); Cebu (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Luzon (Meyer, Everett, Heriot, Whitehead, McGregor); Mindanao (Koch & Schadenberg, Steere, Everett, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Goodfellow); Sulu (Platen, Bourns & Worcester); Tawi Tawi (Bourns & Worcester, Everett). Malay Peninsula, southern Tenasserim, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Banka.

Adult male.--Nasal tufts black; forehead, crown, occipital crest, and malar stripe bright scarlet; feathers of forehead and crown with white bases; feathers of crest with white bases; remainder of head, chin, throat, breast, and entire upper parts black; feathers of lower back with concealed white or gray bases; a few narrow white stripes on throat and behind ear-coverts; abdomen and flanks pale yellow or buffy white; thighs black, some of the feathers with pale buff edges; under tail-coverts black; wings and tail black; three or four primaries white at base of inner web; secondaries with considerable white on inner webs. Length, about 435; wing, 210; tail, 170; culmen from base, 53; bill from nostril, 41; width of bill at gape, 19; tarsus, 32.

Adult female.--Similar to the male but the forehead, crown, and malar region black, occipital crest alone being red. These sexual differences are found in all the Philippine species of the genus. Wing, 200; tail, 160; culmen from base, 47; bill from nostril, 38; width of bill at gape, 18; tarsus, 31.

Here described from Luzon specimens. An adult male from Trong, lower Siam, differs only in having a slightly larger bill and longer wing.

Young birds have the abdomen white, and the malar stripe entirely black or with a few red spots.

"If the Luzon record of this species is correct, and we can see no reason for doubting it, the distribution of T. javensis within the Philippines is very peculiar. Why should it disappear in Samar and Leyte, to reappear in Cebu and Luzon? There is not the slightest doubt as to the identity of the Cebu birds, of which we have a fine series.

"Three males from Sulu average, 400 in length; wing, 185; tail, 146; culmen, 45; tarsus, 28; middle toe with claw, 39. Two females from same place, length, 384; wing, 192; tail, 141; culmen, 42; tarsus, 28; middle toe with claw, 36.