Part 227

Bantayan (McGregor); Guimaras (Meyer, Steere Exp.); Masbate (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Negros (Everett, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Whitehead); Panay (Murray, Steere, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester); Ticao (McGregor).

Adult.--Top of head from bill to neck, lores, a broad line under eye, and upper part of ear-coverts chestnut; back, rump, and tail-coverts slate-gray; the rump and tail-coverts green in some specimens; wing-feathers and rectrices edged with bright olive-green; tail with a dusky band near its tip; under parts white; throat and breast streaked with slate-gray; sides and flanks more or less washed with ashy gray; thighs chestnut, flanks and crissum washed with green in some specimens. Length, about 150. A male from Bantayan measures: Wing, 57; tail, 55; culmen from base, 20; bill from nostril, 12; tarsus, 23. A female, wing, 50; tail, 46; culmen from base, 18; tarsus, 22.

"Steere has attempted to separate the Panay tailorbird from that of Guimaras and Negros, but after a most careful examination of a large series of specimens from Panay, Negros, and Masbate we are compelled to say that there is not the slightest difference between the birds from the three islands. Their size is the same. The wash of olive-green on the back, on which Doctor Steere relied to separate the Panay birds, is a variable character present in some birds, absent in others shot at the same season. It occurs in birds from Negros and Masbate as well as those from Panay. The presumptive evidence against finding one species of Orthotomus in Panay and another in Guimaras is of course very strong. Guimaras is to all intents and purposes a part of Panay and there are no other known differences between the birds of the two islands. Masbate is a new locality for the species." (Bourns and Worcester.)

"The chestnut-headed tailorbird frequents low bushes in open country, also the mangrove swamps; less common in the woods. A noisy bird, its note being very similar to that of O. frontalis." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

557. ORTHOTOMUS DERBIANUS Moore.

DERBY'S TAILORBIRD.

Orthotomus derbianus Moore, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1854), 309, pl. 76; Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1883), 7, 224; Hand-List (1903), 4, 192; Whitehead, Ibis (1899), 220 (habits); McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 88.

Catanduanes (Whitehead); Luzon (Cuming, Everett, Möllendorff, Bourns & Worcester, Whitehead, McGregor).

Adult.--Top of head from bill to nape, lores, narrow line under eye, and upper parts of ear-coverts chestnut; back, rump, and tail-coverts cinereous; wing-feathers brown, edged with olive-green; tail dull chestnut, edged with gray at base; under parts light gray, streaked with white on throat and breast; thighs chestnut; iris and legs tan-brown; nails flesh-color. Length, about 140. Male, wing, 50; tail, 50; culmen from base, 19; bill from nostril, 12; tarsus, 20.

"Habits similar to those of O. frontalis. A male measures as follows: Wing, 47; tail, 47; culmen, 18; tarsus, 19.5; middle toe with claw, 18. A female, wing, 46; tail, 41; culmen, 19; tarsus, 19.5; middle toe with claw, 17.5." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

558. ORTHOTOMUS CHLORONOTUS Grant.

GREEN-BACKED TAILORBIRD.

Orthotomus chloronotus Grant, Bull. Brit. Orn. Club (1895), 3, 2; Ibis (1896), 117, pl. 3, fig. 1; Grant and Whitehead, Ibis (1898), 240 (eggs); Whitehead, Ibis (1899), 220; Sharpe, Hand-List (1903), 4, 192; Oates and Reid, Cat. Birds' Eggs (1905), 4, 191, pl. 9, fig. 12; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 88.

Pi-pit ma-na-ná-hi, Manila.

Luzon (Whitehead, McGregor).

Adult.--Differs from Orthotomus derbianus in having the entire back, rump, upper tail-coverts, and crissum olive-green and the rectrices edged basally with olive-green. A male measures: Wing, 49; tail, 47; culmen from base, 18; bill from nostril, 12; tarsus, 21. A female, wing, 50; culmen from base, 18; bill from nostril, 12; tarsus, 19.

Three eggs of the green-backed tailorbird from Isabela Province, Luzon, collected by Whitehead on May 29, 1894, are described as follows: "Shape ovate. Ground-color pure white, thinly spotted and dotted all over with brown-lake over-markings and a few pale reddish lilac under-markings. Measurements 16 mm. by 13 mm.

"The nest of the green-backed tailorbird is of the ordinary type, being a pocket formed by two leaves sewn together. It was placed among the herbage by the side of a path about 8 inches [20 cm.] from the ground. On the 19th of May a second nest was found on a small islet in a stream where a few slender large-leaved plants were growing just above the water. This nest contained two young birds." (Grant and Whitehead.)

559. ORTHOTOMUS RUFICEPS (Lesson).

RUFOUS-HEADED TAILORBIRD.

Edela ruficeps Lesson, Traité d'Orn. (1830), 309. Orthotomus ruficeps Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1883), 7, 224; Hand-List (1903), 4, 193; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 88.

Balabac (Everett); Calamianes (Bourns & Worcester); Palawan (Steere, Everett, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, McGregor, White, Celestino); Sibutu (Everett); Sitanki (Bartsch). Malay Peninsula, southern Tenasserim, Sumatra, Borneo.

Adult.--Top of head, lores, and upper ear-coverts chestnut; back, rump, and tail-coverts ashy gray; wing-feathers blackish, edged with ashy gray; rectrices chestnut, basal one-third or more ashy gray or brown; under parts including cheeks, and lower part of ear-coverts, silky white; breast, sides, flanks, and crissum washed more or less with pale buff. Length, about 125. Male, wing, 48; tail, 42; culmen from base, 17; bill from nostril, 12; tarsus, 20. Female, wing, 45; tail, 40; culmen from base, 16; bill from nostril, 11; tarsus, 19.

In certain individuals (young?), each rectrix, except the two outer pairs, has a large black spot near its tip.

"This tailorbird is often found in the deepest forest; its habits are like those of the species already described. Birds from the Calamianes Islands average larger than those from Palawan. Four females from Palawan average: Length, 114; wing, 44; tail, 37; culmen, 17.5; tarsus, 19; middle toe with claw, 15. Seven males from the Calamianes Islands, length, 130; wing, 50.5; tail, 46; culmen, 19; tarsus, 22; middle toe with claw, 17. Iris light brown; legs, feet, and nails very light brown; upper mandible light brown, lower nearly white." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

560. ORTHOTOMUS CINERACEUS Blyth.

ASHY TAILORBIRD.

Orthotomus cineraceus Blyth, Jour. As. Soc. Bengal (1845), 14, 489; Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1883), 7, 225; Hand-List (1903), 4, 193; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 88.