Part 209

Luzon (Whitehead, Worcester, McGregor).

Adult (sexes alike).--Forehead, chin, entire side of head, and superciliary stripe cinnamon-rufous; a ring of white around eye; top of head dark gray; remainder of upper parts dull olive-green; under parts greenish yellow; middle of abdomen lemon-yellow; wing- and tail-feathers brown, edged with olive-green; inner webs of quills ocherous fawn; wing-lining pale yellow. Iris brown; bill black; legs dull greenish; nails light flesh-color. Length, about 155. A male measures: Wing, 66; tail, 59; culmen from base, 17; bill from nostril, 10; tarsus, 23. A female, wing, 64; tail, 65; culmen from base, 17; bill from nostril, 10; tarsus, 22.

Young.--Similar to the adult, but the colors duller and the gray of crown passing gradually into the olive of back; flanks and crissum washed with cinnamon.

Whitehead's tree babbler is very abundant in the vicinity of Baguio, Benguet Province, Luzon.

507. ZOSTERORNIS DENNISTOUNI Grant.

YELLOW TREE BABBLER.

Zosterornis dennistouni Grant, Bull. Brit. Orn. Club (1895), 5, 2; Ibis (1896), 118, pl. 3, fig. 2; (1897), 234 (key to species); Whitehead, Ibis (1899), 223, (habits); Sharpe, Hand-List (1903), 4, 51; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 82.

Luzon (Whitehead).

"Adult male and female.--Forehead and crown shining golden yellow, shading into yellowish gray on the back and sides of the head and neck, and greenish gray on the back and rest of the upper parts, all the feathers with narrow whitish shaft-stripes; wings dark brown, the quills margined with yellowish brown; chin and throat golden yellow, but paler than the crown, and shading into whitish yellow on the breast and rest of under parts; sides and flanks washed with greenish gray; tail-feathers brownish black, margined on the outer webs with yellowish brown, the five outer pairs tipped with white, the tips increasing in width towards the outer pair, which has also the greater part of the outer web white.

"Immature birds resemble the adult, but the golden yellow forehead is represented by yellowish brown feathers with pale middles, the quills are edged with rufous, and the under parts are white slightly tinged with yellow." (Grant.)

Grant's measurements of the types, converted to millimeters, are: Male, length, 140; wing, 68; tail, 61; culmen, 18; tarsus, 19; female, length, 135; wing, 66; tail, 56; culmen, 18; tarsus, 19.

The yellow tree babbler is resident in the vicinity of Cape Engaño, northern Luzon.

508. ZOSTERORNIS PYGMÆUS Grant.

PYGMY TREE BABBLER.

Mixornis plateni Bourns and Worcester, Minnesota Acad. Nat. Sci. Occ. Papers (1894), 1, 58, (not of Blasius). Zosterornis pygmæus Grant, Bull. Brit. Orn. Club (1896), 6, 18; Ibis (1897), 233, pl. 6, fig. 1; Whitehead, Ibis, (1899), 223 (habits). Zosterornis pygmæa Sharpe, Hand-List (1903), 4, 51; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 82.

Leyte (Whitehead); Samar (Bourns & Worcester, Whitehead).

"Adult male and female.--General color above brownish olive, brownest on the crown, each feather of which has a narrow whitish shaft-stripe; lores whitish; feathers above and below the eye blackish with white shafts; chin whitish; throat, fore neck, and chest gray with white middles to the feathers, most marked on the throat; breast and belly white, shading into grayish on the sides, flanks, and under tail-coverts. 'Iris bicolored, outer ring red, inner pale yellow; bill slate-blue, black at tip; feet slate-gray.' (Whitehead.) Length, 102; culmen, 13; wing, 53; tail, 39; tarsus, 16.5." (Grant.)

509. ZOSTERORNIS PLATENI (Blasius).

PLATEN'S TREE BABBLER.

Mixornis plateni Blasius, Journ. für Orn. (1890), 147. Zosterornis plateni Grant, Ibis (1897), 233, (key to species); Sharpe, Hand-List (1903), 4, 51; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 82.

Mindanao (Platen).

Diagnosis.--Similar to Zosterornis capitalis, but noticeably smaller.

Description of female.--Above olive-brown; rump and tail-coverts more rust-colored; upper back with white shaft-stripes; entire head above and on sides, neck, and breast red-brown, with fine white shaft-stripes; chin and throat more blackish with broad white shaft-stripes; tail-feathers uniformly brown, washed with olive-brown on the outer webs; tail-feathers above and upper wing-coverts similar; under wing-coverts and axillars whitish. Length, 120; wing, 55; tail, 47; culmen, 10; tarsus, 15.

510. ZOSTERORNIS CAPITALIS (Tweeddale).

RUFOUS-CROWNED TREE BABBLER.

Mixornis capitalis Tweeddale, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist. (1877), 20, 535; Proc. Zool. Soc. (1878), 110, pl. 7, fig. 2; Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1883), 7, 582. Zosterornis capitalis Grant, Ibis, (1897), 233, (key to species); Sharpe, Hand-List (1903), 4, 51; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 82.

Basilan (Everett, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Dinagat (Everett); Leyte (Everett); Mindanao (Platen, Goodfellow, Celestino); Panaon (Everett).

Adult (male and female).--Forehead and crown rufous-chestnut or reddish auburn, some of the feathers with yellowish shaft-stripes; occiput, back, and lesser and median wing-coverts dark brown with pale yellow shaft-stripes; rump and tail-coverts slightly olivaceous and without shaft-stripes; lores, ear-coverts, and cheeks ashy with whitish shaft-stripes; chin and throat chestnut, washed with light yellow; remainder of under parts very pale yellow; sides and flanks gray; wings brown, the outer webs edged with lighter brown, inner webs edged with white; rectrices brown, all but the middle pair tipped with white which increases on each pair toward the outermost, the outer webs of which are entirely white. A male from Mindanao measures: Length, 147; wing, 69; tail, 60; culmen from base, 16; bill from nostril, 10; tarsus, 18. A female, wing, 67; tail, 60; culmen from base, 15; bill from nostril, 9.5; tarsus, 18.5.