Part 266

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

Male.--Above olive-green, the bases of the crown-feathers dark brown; chin, throat, and breast light gray, washed with pale olive-green; abdomen, flanks, and crissum bright lemon-yellow; thighs gray, washed with yellow; a small tuft of feathers on each side of breast cadmium-yellow; wing-feathers blackish brown edged with olive-green; rectrices blackish, edged with olive-green and, except the middle pair, tipped with white and gray; axillars and wing-lining slightly washed with pale yellow. A male from Basilan measures: Length, 152; wing, 64; tail, 43; culmen from base, 35; bill from nostril, 28; tarsus, 15.

Female.--Slightly smaller than the male and without the yellow pectoral tufts. A female from Basilan measures: Wing, 59; tail, 38; culmen from base, 32; bill from nostril, 26; tarsus, 15.

"Four males average: Length, 141; wing, 62; tail, 45; culmen, 34; tarsus, 15; middle toe with claw, 16. A female, length, 148; wing, 62; tail, 41; culmen, 41; tarsus, 16; middle toe with claw, 16. Iris reddish brown; legs and feet slate-blue; upper mandible black, lower black at tip, gray at base." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

678. ARACHNOTHERA DILUTIOR Sharpe.

PALE SPIDER HUNTER.

Arachnothera dilutior Sharpe, Nature (1876), 14, 298; Shelley, Monogr. Nectarin. pt. 3 (1877), 363, pl. 116; Gadow, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1884), 9, 105; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 100.

Palawan (Steere, Everett, Whitehead, Platen, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Celestino, White).

Male.--Crown olive-brown; ear-coverts leaden gray; remainder of upper parts olive-green; chin, throat, and chest light gray; lower breast, sides, and abdomen pale green; crissum very pale gray; pectoral tufts chrome-yellow; wings and tail blackish brown, the feathers edged with olive-green. A male measures: Wing, 70; tail, 48; culmen from base, 37; bill from nostril, 31; tarsus, 17.

Female.--Similar to the male. Wing, 63; tail, 44; culmen from base, 33; bill from nostril, 28; tarsus, 17.

In this species the yellow pectoral tufts are present in both sexes and are of a lighter yellow than in the male of A. flammifera.

"Ten males average: Length, 165; wing, 69; tail, 48; culmen 40; tarsus, 17; middle toe with claw, 23. Ten females, length, 144; wing, 61; tail, 42; culmen, 35; tarsus, 16; middle toe with claw, 16. Iris brown, legs, feet, and nails slaty blue; bill black except base of lower mandible, which is gray. Food spiders and insects." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

679. ARACHNOTHERA PHILIPPINENSIS (Steere).

NAKED-FACED SPIDER HUNTER.

Philemon philippinensis Steere, List Birds & Mams. Steere Exped. (1890), 21. Arachnothera claræ Platen, Jour. für Orn. (1890), 148. Arachnothera philippinensis Grant, Ibis (1897), 237; Whitehead, Ibis (1899), 231; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 100.

Leyte (Whitehead); Mindanao (Platen); Samar (Steere Exp., Whitehead).

"Adult female.--Above olive-green; wings brown, edged with olive-yellow; under surface ashy olive, washed with olive-green; forehead, space about gape, in front of eye, and ear-coverts bare. Length, 168; wing, 81; tail, 46; culmen, 39." (Steere.) "Iris and bill black; feet pinkish brown; gape brilliant white; bare skin on face pinkish yellow." (Whitehead.)

Grant states that the plumage is identical in the two sexes of this species.

Family MOTACILLIDÆ.

Bill slender and nearly straight, a small notch near the subacute tip; nostrils oval and exposed; rictal bristles inconspicuous with but two or three of moderate length; true first (outermost) primary wanting; first, second, and third primaries nearly equal and longest; inner secondaries (tertials) very long, not much shorter than primaries. Tail variable in length, but nearly square at the tip.

Genera.

a1. Plumage not streaked; under parts white with, or without, black on throat and chest; tail longer and extending far beyond the toes.

b1. Claw of hind toe not longer than the toe itself.

c1. Tail longer than wing; upper parts ashy gray ... Motacilla (p. 664) c2. Tail a little shorter than wing; upper parts with an olivaceous wash. ... Dendronanthus (p. 668)

b2. Claw of hind toe much longer than the toe itself; tail nearly as long as wing; under parts mostly yellow ... Budytes (p. 666)

a2. Plumage streaked with blackish brown both above and below; tail much shorter than the longest secondaries ... Anthus (p. 669)

Genus MOTACILLA Linnæus, 1758.

Tail decidedly longer than wing; rectrices slender, two outermost pairs nearly all white; claw of hind toe not longer than the toe itself. Plumage of upper parts largely gray; under parts black and white, or black and yellow, never streaked.