Part 258

653. ÆTHOPYGA MAGNIFICA Sharpe.

MAGNIFICENT SUNBIRD.

Æthopyga magnifica Sharpe, Nature (1876), 14, 297; Trans. Linn. Soc. 2d. ser. Zool. (1877), 1, 342; Shelley, Monogr. Nectarin. pt. 3 (1877), 51, pl. 17; Gadow, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1884), 9, 24; Grant and Whitehead, Ibis (1898), 241, pl. 5, figs. 5 & 6 (eggs); Whitehead, Ibis (1899), 229 (nest); McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 98.

Cebu (Everett, Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Negros (Steere, Everett, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Whitehead, Celestino); Panay (Bourns & Worcester); Sibuyan (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Tablas (Bourns & Worcester, Celestino).

Male.--Forehead and malar stripe metallic, dark royal purple; remainder of head, entire neck, and mantle bright poppy-red; chin, throat, and breast scarlet-vermilion, the basal and central parts of the feathers pale yellow; back and rump black with a median more or less concealed patch of gamboge-yellow; tail and coverts metallic royal purple; wings, lower breast, abdomen, and under tail-coverts dead black; axillars and wing-lining black; lesser and median wing-coverts red, and some of the greater coverts narrowly edged with red. A male from Cebu measures: Wing, 59; tail, 49; culmen from base, 24; bill from nostril, 19; tarsus, 16. Upper mandible brown, lower mandible reddish flesh; legs and nails dark brown.

Female.--Dull green with a slight reddish wash across the back; wing-feathers and rectrices blackish brown, the latter edged with dark crimson; wing-feathers and rump more faintly washed with crimson. A female from Cebu, wing, 56; tail, 43; culmen from base, 22; bill from nostril, 18; tarsus, 15.

Young birds resemble the adult female, but the young males early show indications of the red throat and breast and of the black abdomen.

"Eight males from Negros average: Length, 133; wing, 57.6; tail, 47.4; culmen, 25; tarsus, 15; middle toe with claw, 15. Three females from Cebu measure: Length, 125; wing, 55; tail, 41; culmen, 25; tarsus, 16; middle toe with claw, 16. Nine males from Sibuyan average: Length, 137; wing, 61; tail, 51; culmen, 25; tarsus, 16; middle toe with claw, 16.

"It will be seen that the Sibuyan birds belong to a larger race, but we do not think they can be specifically separated. Breeding in the month of June in Cebu. Native name in Negros 'a-na-nag-bac.' Shot in Sibuyan 1,100 meters above sea-level." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

Two eggs of the magnificent sunbird collected by Steere in Negros, February, 1888, and three eggs collected at the base of Canlaon Volcano by Whitehead, March 23, 1896, are described as follows:

"Shape ovate. Ground-color pale terra-cotta red, very thickly mottled all over with a darker tint of the same color, the mottlings heaviest at the larger end, a few fine hair-like scribblings crossing the shell transversely. Measurements 17 mm. by 12 mm."

Another set of two eggs, collected by Whitehead in Negros, April 15, 1896, are described as having the "Ground-color as in the above, but the shell heavily clouded with rich dark terra-cotta and darker scribblings and specks of the same color. Measurements 16 mm. by 12 mm."

"This sunbird nests in old forest. The nest is generally found suspended among forest débris in the vicinity of some huge tree-trunks only a few feet from the ground. It is well hidden by the undergrowth.

"The nest is a well-woven bag-shaped structure, with a roofed entrance at the side. It is principally constructed of fine grass, rootlets, palm fiber, and fragments of dead leaves woven together with spiders' webs and lined with fine dead grass tops and seeds. The nest found by Professor Steere was suspended from a root under the overhanging bank of a river, and looked like a tuft of rubbish left by high water." (Grant and Whitehead.)

654. ÆTHOPYGA BOLTONI Mearns.

BOLTON'S SUNBIRD.

Æthopyga boltoni Mearns, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. (1905), 18, 4; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 98; Grant, Ibis (1906), 472.

Kah-poi-yah-poi-yuh, or kah-pue-yoo-ahn, Bagobo of Mount Apo.

Mindanao (Mearns, Goodfellow).

"Adult male.--Entire head and neck all round, except middle of chin and throat, slate-gray, faintly washed with french-green, the feathers of the forehead narrowly edged with metallic french-green; upper back gray, strongly washed with oil-green; lower back olive-green; rump citron-yellow; wings brownish black with wing-coverts and outer webs of secondaries olive-green; under wing-coverts and edges of inner webs of primaries and secondaries white; tail with longest feather 12 mm. longer than the next, 25 mm. longer than the outer rectrix; middle pair of tail-feathers entirely metallic french-green, the remaining rectrices being green-black, broadly tipped with gray on the outer and white on the inner webs; under parts with a median stripe of citron-yellow extending from bill to chest, broadening posteriorly and minutely mixed with orpiment-orange at upper margin of chest; flanks, abdomen, and under tail-coverts yellow; chest orange; pectoral tufts chinese-orange. Iris red; bill black faintly tipped with horn-color; feet and claws black, except the under side of toes which are yellowish. Length, 130; alar expanse, 180; wing, 57; tail, 55; culmen (chord), 21; tarsus, 18; middle toe with claw, 14.

"Adult female.--Head, neck all round, and chest slate-gray; upper parts, including upper wing-coverts and exposed outer webs of wing-quills, olive-yellow; tail similar to that of male, but shorter and duller, with feathers rounded at tip; under parts, including under tail-coverts, yellow, whitish on middle of abdomen. Size considerably smaller than male. Culmen, 18; wing, 48.

"Young male in first plumage.--Head, sides of throat, and upper parts smoke-gray, washed on lower back, rump, and upper tail-coverts with green; upper wing-coverts and exposed portion of outer webs of quills olive-green; under parts, including stripe on middle of chin and throat, smoke-gray washed with greenish yellow; lining of wings white; tail-feathers pointed, similar to the adult but shorter and duller. Iris brown; bill black, orange at base, yellow and orange inside; metatarsus black; toes orange, dusky above. Older males soon grow to resemble adults, the orange first showing in the middle of the breast, the flanks and belly becoming yellow at the same time, the pectoral tufts and richest coloring probably not appearing before the second year." (Mearns.)

655. ÆTHOPYGA SHELLEYI Sharpe.

SHELLEY'S SUNBIRD.

Æthopyga shelleyi Sharpe, Nature (1876), 14, 297; Trans. Linn. Soc. 2d. ser. Zool. (1877), 1, 342; Shelley, Monogr. Nectarin. (1877), pt. 3, 75; (1880), pts. 11 & 12, pls. 24 & 25, fig. 1; Gadow, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1884), 9, 29; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 98.

Balabac (Steere, Everett); Calamianes (Bourns & Worcester); Palawan (Steere, Whitehead, Everett, Platen, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, McGregor, Celestino, White).

Male.--Forehead, crown, long moustachial stripe, upper tail-coverts, middle rectrices, and outer webs of remaining rectrices dark metallic green when held away from the light, changing to dark blue when held toward the light; occiput, mantle, and sides of head and neck maroon-red; chin and a narrow line bordering the throat maroon-red; throat and breast sulphur-yellow, the latter streaked with vermilion; abdomen pale gray or white, washed in the middle with pale yellow; under tail-coverts pale yellow; back olive-green; rump sulphur-yellow; wing-feathers blackish brown edged with olive-green. Length, about 110; wing, 47; tail, 44; culmen from base, 16; bill from nostril, 11; tarsus, 14.

Female.--Above olive-green; wing-feathers and rectrices dark brown edged with olive-green; bases of the rectrices with a wash of reddish brown; below white, washed with light olive on the breast and with pale yellow on the abdomen and under tail-coverts. Length, 89; wing, 42; tail, 25; culmen from base, 14; bill from nostril, 11; tarsus, 13.