Part 279

Adult (sexes alike).--Upper parts, ear-coverts, sides of neck, secondary-coverts, tertials, and middle pair of rectrices rich olive-yellow; lores, jaw, chin, throat, and chest cinereous; lower breast, abdomen, flanks, and thighs white, boldly streaked with black; crissum bright gamboge-yellow; primaries blackish edged with gray or olive on the outer webs; secondaries blackish, edged with olive-yellow on outer webs; inner webs of quills broadly edged with bright lemon-yellow; axillars, wing-lining, and bend of wing lemon-yellow; rectrices largely olive-yellow, blackish subterminally, each of the inner webs with a large yellow spot at the tip; shafts black above, yellow below. Bill dull red. A male from northern Mindanao measures: Wing, 113; tail, 79; culmen from base, 25; bill from nostril, 17; tarsus, 21. An unsexed specimen from Samar, wing, 101; tail, 68; culmen from base, 20; bill from nostril, 15; tarsus, 20.

"A well-marked species sharply distinct from O. steeri, as well as from O. assimilis, though Dr. Steere has not made the points of difference very plain. Five males average: Length, 195; wing, 105; tail, 72; culmen, 24; tarsus, 20.5; middle toe with claw, 22.3. A female measures: Length, 203; wing, 104; tail, 71; culmen, 23; tarsus, 20.5; middle toe with claw, 22. Iris dull brown to light brownish red; legs and feet dark slate-color, nails blackish; bill light to dark reddish brown." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

711. ORIOLUS STEERI Sharpe.

STEERE'S ORIOLE.

Oriolus steerii Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. October or earlier (1877), 3, 213, pl. 10 (description of adult from Negros); Grant, Ibis (1896), 532 (Negros; key to Philippine species of Oriolus); Clarke, Ibis (1898), 119; Whitehead, Ibis (1899), 101 (habits). Oriolus nigrostriatus Bourns and Worcester, Minnesota Acad. Nat. Sci. Occ. Papers (1894), 1, 16 (Negros and Masbate); Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. (1898), 20, 558, no. 305; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 107.

Masbate (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester); Negros (Steere, Keay, Whitehead, Celestino).

Male.--Above olive-yellow; slightly darker on head, and brighter, more golden, on rump and tail-coverts; chin, throat, and chest dark ashy gray; lower breast and abdomen whitish, each feather with a broad median black streak; thighs black, mottled with white; under tail-coverts bright lemon-yellow with dusky shaft-lines; primaries, outer secondaries, primary-coverts, and alula-feathers blackish, edged with ashy gray; inner webs of primaries edged with white; secondary-coverts and inner secondaries edged with dark olive-yellow; rectrices blackish, the outermost pair each with a large yellow spot (about 18 mm. in length) at tip of inner web, the spot gradually decreasing in size on each succeeding feather. A male from northern Negros measures: Wing, 122; tail, 86; culmen from base, 24; tarsus, 21.

Female.--The female resembles the male in colors, but is slightly smaller and has a smaller yellow spot on the outermost rectrix. A female from northern Negros measures: Wing, 111; tail, 78; culmen from base, 23.5; tarsus, 21.

Steere's oriole differs from the Basilan oriole in having the inner webs of the primaries white and the yellow spots on the rectrices much larger.

712. ORIOLUS BASILANICUS Grant.

BASILAN ORIOLE.

Oriolus steerii (not of Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus.) Sharpe, Trans. Linn. Soc. 2d. ser. Zool. November (1877), 1, 329 (description of adult male from Basilan); Tweeddale, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1879), 71 (Basilan); Worcester and Bourns, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. (1898), 20, 558, no. 302 (Basilan and Mindanao); McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 106 (Basilan and Mindanao). Oriolus basilanicus Grant, Ibis (1896), 532; Ibis (1906), 471. Oriolus steerei McGregor, Phil. Jour. Sci. (1907), 2, sec. A, 290 (Basilan).

Basilan (Steere, Everett, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Mindanao (Platen, Bourns & Worcester).

Adult.--Similar to Oriolus steeri of Negros from which it differs in having the lores, chin, throat, and chest lighter gray and the black stripes of lower breast and abdomen narrower; inner webs of quills edged with pale yellow instead of with white; the yellow spots on inner webs of rectrices much smaller. Iris red; bill reddish brown; feet dark plumbeous. A male measures: Length, 200; wing, 111; tail, 69; culmen from base, 22.5; bill from nostril, 16; tarsus, 21. A female measures: Length, 195; wing, 106; tail, 68; culmen from base, 22; bill from nostril, 16; tarsus, 20.

Young.--Like the adult but chin, throat, and chest white, streaked with gray or black. Iris gray with very little mixture of red; bill dark brown.

"Had we known the habits of the orioles of this type as well at the beginning of our trip as we did at its close, we should doubtless have done more than we did to extend their known distribution within the Philippines. The peculiar note which they utter at frequent intervals when feeding is absolutely unmistakable, and can be heard for a considerable distance. They feed for the most part in the tops of high trees, seldom coming down into the second growth. They can, however, be readily called by imitating their note.

"Eleven males average: Length, 192; wing, 111; tail, 71; culmen, 23.8; tarsus, 21; middle toe with claw, 23. Five females, length, 182; wing, 105; tail, 71; culmen, 23.6; tarsus, 20; middle toe with claw, 22. Iris varies from gray to brown and red; legs and feet dark drab, nails black; bill light reddish brown." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

713. ORIOLUS CINEREOGENYS Bourns and Worcester.

GRAY-CHEEKED ORIOLE.

Oriolus cinereogenys Bourns and Worcester, Minnesota Acad. Nat. Sci. Occ. Papers (1894), 1, 16; Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. (1898), 20, 558, no. 304 (Tawi Tawi and Bongao).

Bongao (Everett); Tawi Tawi (Bourns & Worcester, Everett).

"In uniting the Tawi Tawi birds with O. steerii [basilanicus] from Basilan and Mindanao, Dr. Sharpe has evidently overlooked the fact that the Tawi Tawi birds invariably have the cheeks and ear-coverts clear ashy gray, while in birds from Basilan and Mindanao they are just as invariably olive-green. As we find no exception to this rule among our fourteen specimens from Basilan and twenty from Tawi Tawi we have no hesitation in separating the birds from the latter locality. It may be added that the rump of the Tawi Tawi birds is rather brighter, and the throat decidedly lighter than in Basilan birds. Not one of our Tawi Tawi birds shows the uniform gray throat of O. steerii [basilanicus]. Both species show great variability in the color of under tail-coverts. In some specimens they are pure yellow and in others heavily streaked with black. Fifteen males from Tawi Tawi measure as follows: Length, 203; culmen, 24.3; wing, 116.5; tail, 81; tarsus, 21." (Bourns and Worcester.)

"Four females average: Length, 200; wing, 111; tail, 76; culmen, 23.3; tarsus, 21; middle toe with claw, 21.8. Eyes usually reddish brown, but in two cases gray; legs and feet dark drab; bill reddish brown usually, in two cases black. Very common near Tataan, in Tawi Tawi." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

714. ORIOLUS ASSIMILIS Tweeddale.

CEBU ORIOLE.

Oriolus assimilis Tweeddale, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1877), 760, pl. 76; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 107; McGregor, Phil. Jour. Sci. (1907), 2, sec. A, 308.

Cebu (Everett, Bourns & Worcester, McGregor).

Adult (sexes similar).--Above olive-yellow; lores, jaw, cheeks, chin, throat, and chest cinereous; lower breast, abdomen, flanks, and thighs white heavily streaked with black; feathers of crissum dark olive-green, edged with olive-yellow; rectrices black slightly washed with olive basally, narrowly tipped with dark gray on both webs and with light yellow on inner webs; inner webs of wing-quills edged with pale gray; axillars and wing-lining cinereous; bend of wing gray, washed with yellow. Iris bright red; bill dull red-brown; feet lead-blue; nails black. In the immature bird the iris is white and the bill dull brown. An adult male measures: Length, 234; wing, 122; tail, 94; culmen from base, 24; bill from nostril, 16.5; tarsus, 22. Adult female, wing, 116; tail, 86; culmen from base, 24; bill from nostril, 16.5; tarsus, 22.