Part 267

Species.

a1. Under parts nearly all white; chest and throat more or less black. ... ocularis (p. 664) a2. Under parts nearly all yellow; chin and throat black in summer. ... melanope (p. 665)

680. MOTACILLA OCULARIS Swinhoe.

STREAK-EYED WAGTAIL.

Motacilla ocularis Swinhoe, Ibis (1860), 55; Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1885), 10, 471, pl. 4, figs. 5 & 6; Oates, Fauna Brit. India Birds (1890), 2, 289; Whitehead, Ibis (1899), 237 (migration in northern Luzon); McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 100.

Balabac (Everett); Calayan (McGregor); Lubang (McGregor); Luzon (Everett, Whitehead, Bartsch); Palawan (Everett, Bourns & Worcester, White). Aleutian Islands?, northeastern Siberia, Kamchatka, China; Burma in winter; accidental in Lower California.

Adult summer plumage.--"In normal full summer plumage the forehead, anterior part of crown, a broad supercilium, cheeks, ear-coverts, and sides of the neck white; remainder of crown and nape, a streak from the lores through the eye and over the ear-coverts, chin, throat, and upper breast black; remainder of lower plumage white, shaded with gray on the flanks; upper plumage gray, turning to black on the upper tail-coverts; lesser wing-coverts gray; median coverts dark brown, broadly tipped with white; greater coverts with the outer webs and a considerable portion of the inner white; quills dark brown, edged with white, the later secondaries very broadly so; the two outer pairs of tail-feathers nearly entirely white, the others black." (Oates.)

Winter plumage.--A female, taken in Calayan Island in October, 1903, resembles the adult in summer as described above, but the chin and middle of throat are white, the black patch of the chest being crescentic in shape with its horns extending up the sides of the throat. Iris brown; bill, legs, and nails black. Length, 200; wing, 90; tail, 92; culmen from base, 15; tarsus, 22.

Young.-- A female from Lubang Island, taken in November, 1902, differs from the preceding specimen in having the entire top of head and back drab-gray instead of black and ashy gray; the dark line through eye drab-gray like the crown; the white forehead and supercilium but faintly indicated by the white bases of the feathers.

The streak-eyed wagtail is of somewhat rare occurrence in the Philippine Islands; it is easily distinguished by its black and white under parts.

"A small flock of M. ocularis was observed in Palawan in December, 1891, and two specimens were obtained. They are both young birds in first winter plumage. A male measures: Length, 178; wing, 90; tail, 97; culmen, 16.5; tarsus, 24; middle toe with claw, 20. A female, length, 159; wing, 77; tail, 72; tarsus, 24; middle toe with claw, 20." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

681. MOTACILLA MELANOPE Pallas.

GRAY WAGTAIL.

Motacilla melanope Pallas, Reise Russ. Reichs (1776), 3, 696; Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1885), 10, 497; Hume, Oates ed. Nests & Eggs Ind. Bds. (1890), 2, 207; Whitehead, Ibis (1899), 237; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 101.

Tam-ba-yuc-yuc, Ticao, used for Anthus rufulus also; a-na-noc-yod, Siquijor; ba-ti-cu-lo, Manila.

Balabac (Everett); Basilan (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester); Bohol (McGregor); Cagayan Sulu (Mearns); Calamianes (McGregor); Calayan (McGregor); Catanduanes (Whitehead); Cebu (Meyer, Everett, McGregor), Guimaras (Steere Exp.); Leyte (Everett); Lubang (McGregor); Luzon (Meyer, Bourns & Worcester, Whitehead, McGregor, Bartsch); Maestre de Campo (McGregor & Worcester); Marinduque (Steere Exp.); Masbate (Bourns & Worcester); Mindanao (Murray, Steere Exp., Mearns); Mindoro (Schmacker, Bourns & Worcester, Whitehead, McGregor); Negros (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Keay); Palawan (Everett, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, White); Panay (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester); Polillo (McGregor); Romblon (Bourns & Worcester); Samar (Steere Exp.); Sibay (McGregor & Worcester); Sibuyan (Bourns & Worcester); Siquijor (Celestino); Sulu (Bourns & Worcester); Tablas (Bourns & Worcester); Tawi Tawi (Bourns & Worcester); Ticao (McGregor); Verde (McGregor). Europe and Siberia; in winter to India, Burmese countries, Malay Peninsula and Indo-Malay islands.

Male (Mindoro, May, 1905).--Above ashy gray, with a slight olivaceous wash on back; rump and tail-coverts bright greenish yellow; lores black; line from nostril over lores, eye, and ear-coverts to nape white; side of head ashy gray; a line from base of lower mandible along side of throat white; chin and throat black, the feathers fringed with white; remainder of under parts canary-yellow, paler on sides and flanks; wing-feathers blackish brown; secondaries with a white spot on outer web, partly concealed by the greater coverts; tertials blacker than primaries and with inner webs largely white and outer webs margined with white or pale yellow; outermost pair of rectrices entirely pure white, next two pairs white with part of the outer web black, remaining rectrices black with a fringe of greenish yellow on outer webs. Length, 190; wing, 80; tail, 87; culmen from base, 13; tarsus, 20.

In winter plumage the chin and throat are white, more or less spotted with black; or else, the entire under parts are white mixed with yellow, except the tail-coverts which seem to remain entirely white. The latter plumage appears to be that of the young. The sexes are similar in colors, but the breeding plumage of the female is said to be paler than that of the male with less black on the throat.

"The gray wagtail is common and a source of constant irritation when one is hunting the little forest kingfishers along small fresh-water streams. M. melanope feeds among the pebbles and is always flying up when least wanted, alarming the more valuable birds. Three males average: Length, 185; wing, 80; tail, 92; culmen, 17; tarsus, 20; middle toe with claw, 15. Two females, length, 189; wing, 81; tail, 96; culmen, 17.5; tarsus, 20; middle toe with claw, 17.5. Iris dark brown; legs, feet, and nails dark brown to black; bill black, except base of lower mandible which is gray." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

Genus BUDYTES Cuvier, 1817.

This genus differs from Motacilla in having the tail shorter than the wing and the claw of hind toe much longer than the toe itself. The under parts are yellow in summer plumage, white in winter, and rarely without traces of yellow.

682. BUDYTES LEUCOSTRIATUS Homeyer.

SIBERIAN YELLOW WAGTAIL.

Budytes leucostriatus Homeyer, Jour. für Orn. (1878), 128; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 101. Motacilia flava Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1885), 10, 516, pl. 6, figs. 3 to 6 (part); Whitehead, Ibis (1899), 237 (migration).

Du-uad, Batan.

Balabac (Everett); Basilan (McGregor); Batan (McGregor); Bohol (Everett); Cagayan Sulu (Mearns); Calayan (McGregor); Camiguin N. (McGregor); Catanduanes (Whitehead); Cebu (McGregor); Lubang (McGregor); Luzon (Everett, Bourns & Worcester, Whitehead, McGregor); Masbate (McGregor); Mindanao (Mearns); Negros (Bourns & Worcester); Palawan (Platen, Whitehead, Everett, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Celestino, White); Polillo (McGregor); Sulu (Guillemard, Bourns & Worcester); Ticao (McGregor). Eastern Siberia and Kamchatka; eastern China and the Moluccas in winter.

Male in spring plumage (Manila, April, 1904).--Above olive-yellow; tail-coverts brown edged with olive-yellow; top of head and nape cinereous, the ear-coverts a little darker; lores and space under eye blackish; a wide line from nostril over eye to nape white; sides of neck and of chest olive-yellow; chin white; remainder of under parts canary-yellow, or light lemon-yellow, with some obscure dusky spots on chest, crissum palest; thighs ashy gray; wings dark seal-brown, many of the feathers edged with yellowish or buffy white; tips of greater and median coverts forming bars; two outermost pairs of rectrices nearly all white, the others seal-brown with narrow olivaceous edges. Length, 165; wing, 81; tail, 72; culmen from base, 15; tarsus, 25.

The female is duller in color; the upper parts browner and the under parts paler yellow. A female from Calayan Island measures: Wing, 74; tail, 70; culmen from base, 13; tarsus, 25.