Part 67

Luzon (Heriot); Mindanao (Steere Exp.). Japan and Formosa.

"Adult.--Differs from G. melanolophus in its deep vinous-chestnut head, which has a little shade of blackish on the forehead only; the mantle is browner, and the upper surface generally never seems to be free from dusky vermiculations; axillars black and rufous instead of black and white, and no white tips to the outer primaries. Length, 457; culmen, 39; wing, 259; tail, 94; tarsus, 63.

"Young.--Differs from the adult in being browner and more uniform on upper mantle and back, but with the wings much freckled with rufous-buff; crown dusky blackish, inclining to dark vinous on the neck. The young bird differs from the young of G. melanolophus by the rufous tips to the primaries.

"The description of the young bird is taken from a bird procured by Mr. Ringer at Nagasaki, which still retains some of the nestling down on the head. Full-grown birds, exactly similar in plumage, are in the collection from Luzon and Ayala in Mindanao. 'Bill green, culmen black; legs and feet green; iris yellow.' (Moseley.)" (Sharpe.)

Genus BUTORIDES Blyth, 1849.

Size small, plumage dark; bill long and slender, much longer than tarsus, the latter about equal to middle toe with claw; wing pointed, primaries exceeding secondaries by about two-thirds of tarsus.

Species.

a1. Throat and cheek-stripes white and distinct; abdomen white.

b1. Smaller; wing about 178 mm. ... javanica (p. 174) b2. Larger; wing about 200 mm. ... amurensis (p. 176)

a2. Throat and cheek-stripe ashy or brown not distinctly indicated; abdomen rusty. ... spodiogaster (p. 176)

145. BUTORIDES JAVANICA (Horsfield).

JAVAN GREEN HERON.

Ardea javanica Horsfield, Trans. Linn. Soc. (1821), 13, pt. 1, 190. Butorides javanica Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1898), 26, 177; Hand-List (1899), 1, 199; Blanford, Fauna Brit. Ind. Bds. (1898), 4, 395, fig. 95 (head); McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 34.

Ba-caú i-tim', Manila.

Bongao (Everett); Cagayancillo (McGregor); Calamianes (Bourns & Worcester); Cebu (Everett, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester); Cuyo (McGregor); Dinagat (Everett); Guimaras (Steere Exp.); Leyte (Everett); Lubang (McGregor); Luzon (Jagor, Everett, Bourns & Worcester, Whitehead, McGregor); Marinduque (Steere Exp.); Masbate (Bourns & Worcester); Mindanao (Everett, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Goodfellow, Celestino); Mindoro (Bourns & Worcester, Everett, McGregor); Negros (Layard, Steere, Bourns & Worcester, Keay); Nipa (Everett); Palawan (Platen, Whitehead, Bourns & Worcester); Panay (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester); Romblon (McGregor); Samar (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester); Semirara (Worcester); Sibuyan (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Siquijor (Bourns & Worcester); Sulu (Guillemard); Tablas (Bourns & Worcester); Tawi Tawi (Bourns & Worcester); Ticao (McGregor). Southern China, Malay and Indian Peninsulas, Celebes, Ceylon, Mascarene and Greater Sunda Islands.

"Adult male.--Above light slaty gray, feathers of back with hoary, white shaft-lines; long scapular-feathers green, or green with gray tips; wing-coverts and quills dark green with ocherous-buff margins, inclining to white on the edges of the greater-coverts and secondaries, most of the quills being fringed with white at the ends; lower back, rump, and upper tail-coverts dull green, more or less powdered with gray; tail dull green; crown dark glossy green, with the nape feathers produced into a point; hind neck and sides of neck gray, extending over the sides of face and ear-coverts; below the eye a streak of greenish black extending along the ear-coverts, along the upper part of which runs a whitish streak from behind the eye to the level of the nape; another streak of white from the base of the lower mandible along the cheeks; throat, fore neck, and abdomen white; sides of body and flanks, including the overhanging feathers on the sides of the upper breast, slaty gray like the sides of the neck, leaving the center of throat and fore neck white, slightly varied with dingy brown markings, these markings being on the edges of the throat-feathers; axillars and under wing-coverts gray, like the quill-lining. 'Upper mandible black, with a longitudinal yellow streak along the margin below the nostrils; grape greenish brown; lower mandible greenish yellow, more or less black along the edges; facial skin green; legs and toes green, front of tarsus and toes dusky, soles orange, and claws horn-color; iris yellow.' (Oates.) Length, 483; culmen, 70; wing, 178; tail, 63; tarsus, 51; middle toe with claw, 53.

"Adult female.--Exactly like the male, but a trifle more dingy, especially in the throat markings, where the brown is a little more distinct on the margins of the feathers. Length, 457; culmen, 61; wing, 173; tail, 70; tarsus, 46; middle toe with claw, 51.

"Winter plumage.--Duller than in summer and much greener above, without any gray shading; the head green.

"Young.--Brown above; the wing-coverts with triangular whitish or sandy-buff spots at their ends; head black, streaked with ocherous-buff shaft-lines; sides of face and under surface of body whitish, strongly streaked with dusky-blackish margins to the feathers.

"The young bird is browner than the adults, with white mesial streaks on the wing-coverts; crown of head dusky black; under surface of body less gray and washed with brown." (Sharpe.)

"Extremely common. Found both along the seashore and about fresh-water streams and lakes." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

146. BUTORIDES AMURENSIS (Schrenck).

AMUR GREEN HERON.

Ardea virescens var. amurensis Schrenck, Reis. Amurl. (1860), 1, 437. Butorides amurensis Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1898), 26, 181; Hand-List (1899), 1, 200; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 34.

Calayan (McGregor); Cebu (Everett, McGregor); Luzon (Whitehead); Palawan (Everett); Samar (Steere). Greater Sunda Islands, China, Japan, Celebes, Amurland.

Although in color this species seems to be exactly like B. javanica it is much larger; the length of wing is particularly noticeable and the bill is longer, and deeper. A male collected by Major Mearns measures: Wing, 210; tail, 73; culmen from frontal feathers, 66; depth of bill at posterior border of nostril, 15; tarsus, 54; middle toe with claw, 62.

A female from Calayan measures: Wing, 197; tail, 69; culmen from frontal feathers, 64; depth of bill at posterior border of nostril, 13; tarsus, 52; middle toe with claw, 54.

Some of the records for B. javanica probably refer to the present species but it is impossible to disentangle them.