Part 268

Winter plumage.--Most of the specimens taken in the Philippines have the crown, sides of head, and upper parts dull brown, sepia to hair-brown, at times with traces of olive-yellow on the back; the long white supercilium is always present; the under parts are mostly white, chest more or less dusky and with spots or irregular patches of yellow.

"Much less common than M. melanope. Three males average: Length, 169; wing, 80; tail, 76; culmen, 17; tarsus, 25; middle toe with claw, 20.5. A female measures, length, 165; wing, 77; tail, 73; tarsus, 24; middle toe with claw, 21.5. Legs, feet, and nails dark brown to black; bill black, except base of lower mandible which is gray." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

At times I have found large flocks of this yellow wagtail in the vicinity of Manila, but it is usually less abundant than the gray wagtail.

Genus DENDRONANTHUS Blyth, 1844.

The only member of this genus is not greatly different from the Motacillæ, but the tail is slightly shorter than the wing, being intermediate in length between the tertials and primaries; the claw of hind-toe is short as in Motacilla; under parts white with a black band across the chest; upper parts with an olivaceous wash; wing-feathers blackish brown; median and greater coverts tipped with white, forming two conspicuous wing-bars; primaries and secondaries with white spots on outer webs, forming two more bars. Of this genus Oates says: "The structure of the tail in this genus is peculiar, inasmuch as the middle pair of feathers is very markedly shorter than the others and of a different color."

683. DENDRONANTHUS INDICUS (Gmelin).

FOREST WAGTAIL.

Motacilla indica Gmelin, Syst. Nat. (1788), 1, 962. Limonidromus indicus Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1885), 10, 532; Oates, Fauna Brit. Ind. Bds. (1890), 2, 300, fig. 82 (head). Limondromus indicus McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 101 (error).

Balabac (Everett); Calayan (McGregor). Eastern Siberia, northern China, Indian Peninsula; in winter to Ceylon, Andaman Islands, Burmese countries, Cochin China, Malay Peninsula, and Java.

Adult (sexes similar).--Above olive-brown; tail-coverts blackish brown; line from base of bill over eyes to nape whitish; line through eye brown; cheeks and ear-coverts whitish; under parts white, breast tinged with yellow; a broad crescentic band across chest black; behind this indications of another band which is broken in the middle; sides, flanks, and thighs washed with drab-gray; wing-feathers mostly blackish brown, their tips olive-gray; lesser and median coverts with wide yellowish white tips, forming two bars; outer webs of primaries and secondaries with yellowish white spots, forming two shorter bars; two outer pairs of rectrices extensively white; next pair tipped with white; central pair olive-gray; the others blackish brown.

The measurements of the male, as given by Sharpe and changed to millimeters, follow: Length, 168; wing, 79; tail, 72; culmen, 14; tarsus, 22. A female from Calayan Island measures: Wing, 78; tail, 71; culmen from base, 15; tarsus, 22.

The forest wagtail is the rarest representative of its family in the Philippines, only two specimens having been taken here. It may be recognized at once by the two white wing-bars.

Genus ANTHUS Bechstein, 1807.

Tail shorter than the tertials; hind-toe usually shorter than its claw. Plumage various shades of brown, streaked and spotted with black and dark brown, never extensively yellow, black, nor pure white.

Species.

a1. Hind toe and its claw about equal in length; upper plumage washed with olivaceous, the dark shaft-streaks poorly defined; breast and sides heavily spotted and streaked with blackish brown. ... hodgsoni (p. 669) a2. Hind toe decidedly shorter than its claw; upper parts with heavy streaks of blackish brown, the margins of the feathers various shades of buff, ocherous, and rusty brown, but not washed with olivaceous.

b1. Dark streaks of under parts few and narrow; sides of body uniform in color or with obsolete dusky streaks.

c1. Tail much longer, about 85 mm.; wing, 90 or more; tarsus, 30 to 33. ... richardi (p. 670) c2. Tail much shorter, about 65 mm.; wing, about 75; tarsus, 28. ... rufulus (p. 671)

b2. Dark streaks of under parts numerous and heavy on breast, and extending over sides of abdomen and breast.

c1. Dark streaks on breast broader and more numerous; some of the interscapulars with whitish margins forming a conspicuous light streak on each side of back. ... gustavi (p. 672) c2. Dark streaks on breast, in the adult at least, narrower and less numerous; upper parts less boldly streaked, and the light edges of interscapulars less conspicuous; chin and throat buff in the young, vinaceous-cinnamon or dark ochraceous in the adult ... cervinus (p. 673)

684. ANTHUS HODGSONI Richmond.

SPOTTED TREE PIPIT.

Anthus maculatus (not Motacilla maculata Gmelin) Hodgson, in Gray's Zool. Miscl. (1844), 83; Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1885), 10, 547; Hume, Nests & Eggs Ind. Bds. (1890), 2, 209; Whitehead, Ibis (1899), 237 (habits); McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 101. Anthus hodgsoni Richmond, Publ. Carnegie Inst. Wash. (1907), no. 54, 493.

Apo (Celestino); Calayan (McGregor); Luzon (Everett, Whitehead, McGregor, Bartsch); Mindanao (Goodfellow); Palawan (Everett). Eastern Siberia, China, Japan, Indo-Burmese countries, Liu Kiu Islands, and the Indian Peninsula.

Adult in fresh plumage.--Above dark olive-green; top of head streaked with blackish brown; feathers of back with blackish shaft-lines, much less conspicuous than in A. gustavi or A. rufulus; lower back, rump, and tail-coverts uniform olive-green; side of forehead and supercilium buff, forming a line which becomes white over ear-coverts; lores blackish; subocular region and ear-coverts buff, mottled with dark brown; chin, throat, and chest pale buff, separated from the buff jaw by a blackish malar line; lower breast, abdomen, and crissum white; flanks and thighs dark buff; breast, sides, and flanks marked with large black spots, which are triangular on chest, and elongate on sides and flanks; wing-feathers blackish, edged with olive; tips of median and greater coverts buffy, forming two bars; rectrices blackish, two or three outer pairs tipped with white. In summer the plumage has become much worn and the dark markings are more conspicuous. A male taken in Luzon in November measures: Length, 152; wing, 84; tail, 60; culmen from base, 14; tarsus, 21; hind toe with claw, 15. A female in worn plumage from Benguet Province, Luzon, measures: Wing, 80; tail, 57; culmen from base, 14; tarsus, 21; hind toe with claw, 17. The diagnostic characters of this species are the olivaceous upper parts, the large triangular spots on the breast, and the short claw of the hind toe.

685. ANTHUS RICHARDI Vieillot.

RICHARD'S PIPIT.

Anthus richardi Vieillot, Nouv. Dict. d'Hist. Nat. (1818), 26, 491; Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1885), 10, 564 (figure of foot); Oates, Fauna Brit. Ind. Bds. (1890), 2, 307, fig. 85 (foot); McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 102.