Part 169

Genus HEMICHELIDON Hodgson 1845.

Bill very broad at base, slightly compressed toward the tip which is pointed; bill from nostril a little more than half the length of tarsus; wings long and pointed, when folded reaching at least half way to tip of tail; first primary short and small, not longer than tarsus; second primary slightly shorter than fourth, the latter nearly as long as third. Sexes similar; plumage mostly brown, gray, or ferruginous.

Species.

a1. Tail uniform blackish brown; upper surface of body dusky or ashy brown; upper tail-coverts like back.

b1. Breast and sides of body smoky brown somewhat streaked with gray. ... sibirica (p. 432) b2. Breast and sides of body white, feathers with wide shaft-streaks of smoky brown or gray ... griseosticta (p. 433)

a2. Tail ferruginous, its feathers with dark brown outer webs; back and rump ferruginous ... ferruginea (p. 434)

394. HEMICHELIDON SIBIRICA (Gmelin).

SIBERIAN FLYCATCHER.

Muscicapa sibirica Gmelin, Syst. Nat. (1788), 1, pt. 2, 936. Hemichelidon sibirica Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1879), 4, 120; Hand-List (1901), 3, 204; Blasius, Ornis (1888), 10 of reprint; Oates, Fauna Brit. Ind. Bds. (1890), 2, 5, fig. 3 (head); Oates and Reid, Cat. Birds' Eggs (1903), 3, 250; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 70.

Palawan (Platen). Eastern Siberia, Altai Mountains, Japan; China in winter.

"Adult male.--General color above brown; least wing-coverts uniform with the back, the greater series dark brown with lighter brown tips to the median series, the greater coverts tipped with whitish; primary-coverts and primaries dark brown, the secondaries edged with pale brown, whitish at the tips; tail dark brown; lores buffy white; in front of the eye a dusky spot; round the eye a ring of buffy white feathers; feathers below the eye and ear-coverts brown like the crown; cheeks white, mottled with brown bases to the feathers; throat white, widening out on the lower part and separated from the cheeks by a broad moustachial line of brown; breast and sides of body ashy brown the former slightly mottled with grizzly white edgings to the feathers; abdomen and under tail-coverts pure white; thighs brown; under wing-coverts light tawny, with dusky bases to the feathers, the quills ashy brown with an edging of light tawny to the inner webs. 'Upper mandible dusky black; lower mandible yellowish brown, tipped with dusky; legs and feet brownish black; iris dark brown.' (Armstrong.) Length, 124; culmen, 10; wing, 80; tail, 56; tarsus, 127.

"Observation.--The description is from a specimen collected by Dr. Radde in Eastern Siberia on the 18th of May, 1856, and therefore in full breeding plumage. Examples from other parts of China and the Himalayas are similar, but great variation takes place in this species as regards the tone and intensity of the brown color both on the upper and under surface, and also in the uniform or mottled color on the breast. The coloration of the throat is very different in individuals, being in some almost uniform brown, succeeded by a jugular spot of white.

"Young (Peking, Sept. 1868, R. Swinhoe).--Ashy brown, mottled with whitish streaks and terminal spots to the feathers, the greater coverts edged and tipped with buffy white, the rest of the coverts spotted with whitish at the tips like the back; primary-coverts and quills dark brown, the inner secondaries edged and tipped with pale rufous; under surface very thickly mottled with brown, the feathers being white with dusky brown edges." (Sharpe.)

The Siberian flycatcher must be considered a rare winter visitant to the Philippine Islands.

395. HEMICHELIDON GRISEOSTICTA Swinhoe.

GRAY-SPOTTED FLYCATCHER.

Hemichelidon griseosticta Swinhoe, Ibis (1861), 330. Muscicapa griseisticta Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1879), 4, 153; Whitehead, Ibis (1899), 104 (winter). Hemichelidon griseisticta Sharpe, Hand-List (1901), 3, 204; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 71.

Au-á, Cagayancillo.

Bohol (McGregor); Basilan (McGregor); Cagayancillo (McGregor); Cagayan Sulu (McGregor); Calamianes (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Calayan (McGregor); Caluya (Porter); Catanduanes (Whitehead); Cuyo (McGregor); Lubang (McGregor); Luzon (Everett, Schmacker, Whitehead, McGregor); Masbate (Bourns & Worcester); Mindoro (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Negros (Everett, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester); Palawan (Whitehead, Platen, Bourns & Worcester, White); Panay (Steere); Siquijor (Bourns & Worcester, Celestino); Tawi Tawi (Bourns & Worcester). Japan, China, Ussuri Land, New Guinea, Celebes, Moluccas.

Adult (sexes similar).--Above dusky brown; centers of feathers and head darker; wings and tail blackish brown; secondaries and wing-coverts fringed with white; below white; breast and sides of throat and of abdomen marked with wide, dusky brown shaft-streaks; middle of abdomen and under tail-coverts white; feathers of thighs brown, tipped with white. A male from Benguet measures: Length, 133; wing, 86; tail, 51; culmen from base, 12; bill from nostril, 8. A female from Culion measures: Length, 127; wing, 80; tail, 45; culmen from base, 11; bill from nostril, 7. The folded wing reaches nearly or quite to the end of the tail.

In the gray-spotted flycatcher there is some variation in the brown streaks of the under parts, but this species is not easily mistaken for any other bird except Piprisoma æruginosum which has a very differently shaped bill. The gray-spotted flycatcher is one of the commonest winter visitants and is found in small numbers throughout the islands.

"Fairly common; often seen perched on some isolated tree in the open, from which it flies now and then in pursuit of insects. Six males average: Length, 132; wing, 83.5; tail, 50; culmen, 13; tarsus, 14; middle toe with claw, 15. Four females, length, 128; wing, 81; tail, 49; culmen, 13; tarsus, 14; middle toe with claw, 15. Iris, legs, feet, and nails almost black; bill black, except base of lower mandible, which is yellowish or gray." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

396. HEMICHELIDON FERRUGINEA Hodgson.

FERRUGINOUS FLYCATCHER.

Hemichelidon ferruginea Hodgson, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1845), 32; Hume, Oates ed., Nests & Eggs Ind. Bds. (1890), 2, 2; Sharpe, Hand-List (1901), 3, 204; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 71. Hemichelidon ferrugineus Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1879), 4, 122.

Mindoro (Mearns); Palawan (Everett). Khasi Hills, southern China, northern Borneo, Burmese provinces, Eastern Himalayas, Assam, Sumatra.

"Adult.--General color above rufous-brown, shading into chestnut on the rump and upper tail-coverts; head and nape sooty brown; least wing-coverts like the back, the remainder of the coverts and the secondaries blackish brown, edged and tipped with chestnut-rufous, paler on the margins of the inner secondaries; primary-coverts and primaries nearly uniform blackish brown, the first primary broadly edged with rufous; two center tail-feathers dusky brown, the remainder rufous, dusky brown along the outer web, the inner web more or less dusky near the tip; round the eye a distinct ring of buffy white feathers; lores rufous; feathers in front of and below the eye and the ear-coverts dusky brown, mottled with whitish shaft-lines or spots; under surface of body orange-rufous, the throat and sides of the breast shaded with dusky brown; center of abdomen white; throat pale rufous-buff, with dusky margins to most of the feathers; the bases of the plumes of the lower throat white, forming a concealed white patch; under wing-coverts deep orange-rufous; quills dark brown below, edged with light rufous along the inner web. 'Bill black, with base of the lower mandible whitish; feet dull gray, with the soles yellow and the nails gray; iris brown.' (David.) Length, 114; culmen, 11; wing, 71; tail, 51; tarsus, 13.

"Observation.--In some specimens the throat is pure white, with a malar streak on each side of dusky black; the outer tail-feathers appear gradually to lose all the dusky markings on the outer web." (Sharpe.)