Part 57

NORTHERN PHALAROPE.

Tringa lobata Linnæus, Syst. Nat. ed. 10 (1758); ed. 12 (1766), 1, 149. Phalaropus lobatus Ridgway, Man. North Am. Bds. (1887), 144. Phalaropus hyperboreus Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1896), 24, 698; Hand-List (1899), 1, 167; Oates, Cat. Birds' Eggs (1902), 2, 70.

Basilan Straits (Mearns). Arctic regions; in winter to southern oceans.

"Adult female in summer.--Above dark plumbeous, the back striped with ochraceous or buff; wings dusky, the greater coverts broadly tipped with white; lower parts white; chest and sides of neck rufous.

"Adult male in summer.--Similar to the female, but colors duller, the rufous almost confined to sides of neck, and less distinct, the chest chiefly mixed with white and grayish.

"Winter plumage.--Forehead, superciliary stripe, sides of head and neck, with lower parts generally, pure white; top of head grayish, the feathers with dusky shaft-streaks and whitish borders; a blackish spot in front of eye, and side of head, from beneath eye, across ear-coverts mixed dusky and grayish white; upper parts chiefly grayish; sides of chest washed or clouded with grayish.

"Young.--Top of head dusky, with or without streaks; back and scapulars blackish, distinctly bordered with buff or ochraceous; middle wing-coverts bordered with buff or whitish; forehead, supra-auricular stripe, lores, and lower parts white, the chest and sides of breast sometimes suffused with dull brownish; ear-coverts dusky.

"Downy young.--Above bright tawny, the rump with three parallel stripes of black, inclosing two of paler fulvous than the ground-color; a triangular patch of brown on crown, bounded irregularly with blackish; a black line over ears; throat and rest of head pale tawny; rest of lower parts white, becoming grayish posteriorly.

"Length, 178 to 203; wing, 102 to 113; culmen, 20 to 23; tarsus, 19 to 20; middle toe, 16 to 19." (Ridgway.)

Suborder PARRÆ.

Family PARRIDÆ.

In general aspect and habits like the rails but distinguishable at once by the enormously lengthened toes and claws; claw of hind toe exceeding the very long toe.

Genera.

a1. No frontal shield nor lappet; primaries attenuated at their tips; center tail-feathers not elongated. ... Hydralector (p. 150) a2. With a leaf-like frontal lappet; primaries not produced; center tail-feathers greatly elongated. ... Hydrophasianus (p. 151)

Genus HYDROPHASIANUS Wagler, 1832.

End of first primary produced as a filamentous appendage about 30 mm. in length; second and third also produced but the slender tip often broken; tip of fourth primary less slender; a sharp horny spur at bend of wing.

126. HYDROPHASIANUS CHIRURGUS (Scopoli).

PHEASANT-TAILED JACANA.

Tringa chirurgus Scopoli, Del. Flor. et Faun. Insubr. (1786), 2, 92. Hydrophasis chirurgus Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1896), 24, 69; Hand-List (1899), 1, 168; Oates, Cat. Birds' Eggs (1902), 2, 71; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 30.

Calayan (McGregor); Luzon (McGregor); Mindanao (Mearns); Mindoro (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester). Indian Peninsula, Indo-Chinese countries to Malay Peninsula and greater Sunda Islands.

Adult in breeding plumage.--Sexes similar; head, chin, and throat white; occiput and a line on each side of neck black, behind this a large saddle of golden yellow; mantle and scapulars dark brown glossed with violet; back, rump, and tail black; lower parts, except chin and throat, dead black; first primary black, the other primaries mostly white, but with some black at their tips; remainder of wing white; axillars and wing-lining white. Iris brown, bill blue, paler at tip; legs blue; nails blackish. Length of male about 330; wing, 190; tail, 131; exposed culmen, 28; tarsus, 54; middle toe with claw, 75; hind toe without claw, 20; claw, 29. Length of female, 380; wing, 250; tail, 162; exposed culmen, 28; tarsus, 60; middle toe with claw, 85; hind toe with claw, 57.

Adult in non-breeding plumage.--Differs from the breeding plumage chiefly as follows: Upper parts earthy brown with little gloss; under parts, including tail and its coverts, white except a black plastron on fore breast which extends forward on each side of neck; golden collar replaced by a golden yellow band on each side; secondaries and coverts mostly earthy brown speckled with white.

Birds in intermediate plumage present endless combinations of the breeding and non-breeding plumage.

"Young.--Generally resembles the winter plumage of the adults, but is always distinguished by its rufous head, and in the first stage of plumage by the sandy rufous margins to the feathers of the upper surface; the dusky band of the sides of the neck is feebly indicated and the horseshoe collar on the fore neck is marked by a few spots of dusky blackish; the white on the primaries is more restricted, but the elongated tips are present." (Sharpe.)

"Quite abundant about the Laguna de Naujan, in Mindoro. It runs about over the leaves of water plants, and when approached sinks its body in the water until only its head and tail can be seen. When wounded it dives, and sometimes hangs onto water plants below the surface until it dies." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

This jacana is abundant in Luzon in fresh-water swamps and on the borders of lakes.

Genus HYDRALECTOR Wagler, 1832.

This genus differs from Hydrophasianus chiefly in having a fleshy lappet near the base of bill and the tips of the primaries not attenuated.