Part 242

a2. Head and nape uniform dull brown or else dark gray. ... inornatus (p. 613)

603. RHABDORNIS MYSTACALIS (Temminck).

PHILIPPINE CREEPER.

Meliphaga mystacalis Temminck, Pl. Col. (1825), pl. 335, fig. 2. Climacteris mystacalis Gadow, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1883), 8, 339. Rhabdornis mystacalis Sharpe, Hand-List (1903), 4, 356; Whitehead, Ibis (1899), 226 (habits, anatomy); McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 95.

Luzon (Meyer, Möllendorff, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Whitehead, McGregor); Masbate (Bourns & Worcester); Negros (Bourns & Worcester, Whitehead, Celestino); Panay (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester).

Male.--Top of head and hind neck with broad white shaft-streaks; back and rump drab-gray, the shafts of the feathers white; wings like the back; primaries, secondaries, and rectrices blackish brown; inner webs of wing-quills edged with light buff; stripe under eye, on ear-coverts, and on side of neck black; under parts white; feathers of sides, flanks, and crissum bordered with black, producing a streaked appearance; under wing-coverts and axillars pale buff. Length, about 155. A male from Bataan Province, Luzon, measures: Wing, 82; tail, 49; culmen from base, 24; bill from nostril, 17; tarsus, 18.

Female.--Top of head, nape, and ear-coverts brown.

"This creeper feeds in deep woods, but is more common in second growth; it is nowhere very abundant. Very variable in size and in length of bill. Three males average as follows: Culmen, 26; wing, 80; tail, 28; tarsus, 20; middle toe with claw, 20.5. A female, length, 149; wing, 80; tail, 49; culmen, 23; tarsus, 18; middle toe with claw, 19.5. Bill, legs, and feet black." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

604. RHABDORNIS MINOR Grant.

LESSER CREEPER.

Rhabdornis minor Grant, Bull. Brit. Orn. Club (1896), 6, 17; Ibis (1897), 234; Whitehead, Ibis (1899), 227 (habits); Sharpe, Hand-List (1903), 4, 356; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 95.

Basilan (Celestino); Bohol (McGregor); Dinagat (Everett); Leyte (Steere Exp., Whitehead); Mindanao (Everett, Celestino); Samar (Whitehead, Bourns & Worcester).

Male.--Differs from Rhabdornis mystacalis in having the back brown (near prout's brown of Ridgway) instead of gray, and in having the bill decidedly shorter. Length, about 142. A male from Bohol measures: Wing, 78; tail, 45; culmen from base, 19; bill from nostril, 13; tarsus, 19.

Female.--Differs from the male in having general color of crown, ear-coverts, and sides of neck brown instead of black. A female from Basilan measures: Wing, 77; tail, 43; culmen from base, 18; bill from nostril, 12; tarsus, 18.

605. RHABDORNIS INORNATUS Grant.

PLAIN CREEPER.

Rhabdornis inornatus Grant, Bull. Brit. Orn. Club (1896), 6, 18; Ibis (1897), 235, pl. 6, fig. 2; Whitehead, Ibis (1899), 227. Rhabdornis inornata Sharpe, Hand-List (1903), 4, 356; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 95.

Mindanao (Clemens); Samar (Whitehead).

"Adult male.--Easily distinguished from R. mystacalis and R. minor by having the bill altogether stouter and stronger, the top of the head and nape uniform dull grayish brown; mantle brown with whitish shafts only to the feathers; the lesser and median wing-coverts with well-marked white shaft-stripes; chin, throat, and fore neck grayish white; the margins of the sides and flank-feathers narrower and browner. 'Iris dark brown; bill and feet black.' (Whitehead.) Length, 157; culmen, 19; wing, 81; tail, 51; tarsus, 20." (Grant.)

Female.--Similar to the male, but top of head browner. Wing, 89; tail, 57; exposed culmen, 16; tarsus, 20; middle toe with claw, 23.

Family ZOSTEROPIDÆ.

Bill curved and pointed, very similar to the bill of Dicoeum, but without serrations in the cutting edges; nostril opening beneath an opercle or scale; rictal bristles inconspicuous; eye usually surrounded by a ring of short white feathers of a silky texture; wing with nine primaries; tail square, moderate in length and extending beyond the toes.

Genera.

a1. Upper parts nearly uniform olive-green or greenish yellow; length rarely more than 125 mm. ... Zosterops (p. 613) a2. Upper parts uniform cinnamon-rufous; length more than 150 mm. ... Hypocryptadius (p. 621)

Genus ZOSTEROPS Vigors and Horsfield, 1826.

Culmen decidedly ridged; eye, except in Z. goodfellowi, surrounded by a ring of white feathers; general color yellow and yellowish green, the abdomen in some species white, gray, or drab.

Species.

a1. Eye surrounded by a circle of white feathers; chin and throat, at least, bright lemon-yellow; much smaller in size; wing less than 60 mm.