Part 58

127. HYDRALECTOR GALLINACEUS (Temminck).

COMB-CRESTED JACANA.

Parra gallinacea Temminck, Pl. Col. (1831), 5, pl. 464. Hydralector gallinaceus Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1896), 24, 79; Hand-List (1899), 1, 168; Oates, Cat. Birds' Eggs (1902), 2, 73; Mearns, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. (1905), 13, 89; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 30.

Mindanao (Mearns). Australia, Celebes, southern Borneo.

"Adult male.--Above bronzy brown, more dingy on the lower back and rump; upper tail-coverts and tail black, all but the center tail-feathers white at base; wing-coverts like the back; marginal coverts, alula, primary-coverts, and quills black, with a slight bluish gloss; inner secondaries bronzy brown like the back; forehead behind the lappet to center of crown, sides of face, and sides of neck golden straw-color; throat white, inclining to golden straw-color on fore neck; an infra-loral streak of black from fore part of cheeks to fore part of eye; hinder crown black, extending in a broad line down hind neck and overspreading upper mantle; chest, breast, and sides of body, as well as under wing-coverts and axillars, sooty black; entire abdomen, lower flanks, thighs, and under tail-coverts white; quills glossy black below. 'Bill greenish gray at the extreme tip, then black to near nostrils; basal portion of upper mandible and the helmet aurora-red; base of lower mandible light primrose-yellow; fore part of tibia red, with a mixture in patches of yellow and greenish gray; iris light sulphur-yellow; eyelash light ash-gray.' (Gould.) Length, 229; culmen with frontal lappet, 46; wing, 142; tail, 41; tarsus, 61; middle toe with claw, 91.

"Adult female.--Resembles the male in color but is decidedly larger; a male from Port Essington measures 178 in length and has the wing 119, while a female from the same place measures 215 in length and has the wing 142.

"Young.--Differs considerably from the adult. General color olive-brown above, the feathers with sandy-rufous margins; crown bright rufous; under surface entirely white." (Sharpe.)

Suborder CURSORII.

Family GLAREOLIDÆ.

Bill short; culmen curved; gape deeply cleft, its width greater than length of culmen; wings long and pointed reaching beyond the forked tail; tarsus twice the length of culmen from base and more than middle toe with claw; claw of middle toe half the length of its toe and pectinate on its inner edge.

Genus GLAREOLA Brisson, 1760.

Characters same as those given for the Family.

128. GLAREOLA ORIENTALIS Leach.

EASTERN SWALLOW PLOVER.

Glareola orientalis Leach, Trans. Linn. Soc. (1820), 132, pl. 13; Oates, Birds Brit. Burmah (1883), 2, 361; Cat. Birds' Eggs (1902), 2, 78; Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1896), 24, 58; Hand-List (1899), 1, 171; Blanford, Fauna Brit. Ind. Bds. (1898), 4, 214 fig. 48 (head); McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 30.

Calayan (McGregor); Luzon (Steere Exp., McGregor); Negros (Layard); Palawan (Whitehead, White). China, eastern Siberia, Indian Peninsula, Indo-Chinese countries; in winter Malay Peninsula and Archipelago to Australia.

Adult male and female.--Above nearly uniform earthy brown; tail-coverts white; a narrow line below eye white; lores black, this color continued in a line below eyes to ear-coverts and across breast and bordered in front with white; sides of neck earthy brown, usually extending across fore breast; chin, throat, and breast light rufous or ocherous-brown; abdomen, flanks, and under tail-coverts white; primaries, secondaries, and alula blackish; axillars and under wing-coverts bright chestnut; white at base of tail gradually increasing in extent from the central pair of rectrices outward; tips brown. Bill black, scarlet posteriorly of nostrils; inside of mouth dull salmon-pink; iris brown; legs and nails dark seal-brown. Length of male, 230; wing, 182; tail, 78; exposed culmen, 14; tarsus, 34; middle toe with claw, 29. Female, wing, 185; tail, 72; exposed culmen, 15; tarsus, 34.

A young female from Calayan, November 11, 1903, resembles the adult but the black and white lines across breast are wanting, being replaced by numerous blackish brown dashes a few of which are scattered forward onto throat.

"Young.--Differs from the adult in having the entire upper surface blackish, mottled with broad edgings of sandy buff to all the feathers, especially the quills and tail-feathers; head mottled like the back; cheeks and under surface of body isabelline-buff; fore neck and chest mottled with black, the feathers with a broad subterminal bar or heart-shaped spot of black.

"The sandy-buff margins to the feathers become bleached to white, and in many respects abraded, so that the subterminal black markings of the young plumage remain as margins to the dorsal feathers. The adult plumage is apparently gained by a molt, and the new feathers have a slight indication of a sandy-buff fringe on the upper parts, while the chest is mottled with ashy, the feathers having sandy-colored margins; the throat is at first irregularly spotted or streaked with blackish, and has scarcely any signs of a black crescent.

"There is considerable variation with regard to the rufous color of the throat and breast, this being sometimes very rich in tint. I imagine that this is a sign of nesting plumage to a great extent; but it may also indicate the age of the bird, the plumage becoming more richly colored as the bird gets older." (Sharpe.)

"Numerous flocks seen by me on the plains of Isabela in April, 1906." (Worcester.)

During the winter months this anomalous plover visits the Philippines in small numbers. Its deeply cleft bill and forked tail distinguish it from all other plovers; and even while on the wing it may be recognized by its circling, swallow-like flight.

Suborder OEDICNEMI.

Family OEDICNEMIDÆ.

Bill large and strong, nostrils pervious, their opening a long slit; wings when folded falling short of the tip of tail; secondaries longer than primaries; tarsus covered with hexagonal scales; tarsus longer than culmen or than middle toe with claw.

Genus ORTHORHAMPHUS Salvadori, 1874.

Characters same as those given for the Family.