Part 88

PANAY SERPENT EAGLE.

Spilornis panayensis Steere, List Birds & Mams. Steere Exped. (1890), 7; Grant, Ibis (1896), 527; Whitehead, Ibis (1899), 93; Sharpe, Hand-List (1899), 1, 266; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 42. Spilornis holospilus Bourns and Worcester, Minnesota Acad. Nat. Sci. Occ. Papers (1894), 1, 44 (part).

Si-cub', Bohol.

Bohol (McGregor); Guimaras (Steere Exp.); Masbate (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Negros (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Keay); Panay (Steere Exp.); Romblon (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Sibuyan (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Tablas (Bourns & Worcester, Celestino).

"Adult male.--Head black, feathers of crest sulphur-white at base, then black, narrowly edged with whitish; rest of upper surface with wings light ashy brown, all the feathers edged with whitish. Tail broadly tipped with white and with two broad whitish bars and part of a third basal one; throat bluish ash, unmarked; rest of under surface pale cinnamon, shaded with ash and spotted and banded as in S. holospilus. Length, 502; wing, 317; tail, 229; tarsus, 71. Distinguished from S. holospilus by its small size and pale coloring." (Steere.)

The validity of this species is somewhat doubtful. Bourns and Worcester consider that it "was founded on differences due to change of season and to individual variation." Grant thinks "that S. panayensis may fairly be recognized as a distinct form."

Genus BUTASTUR Hodgson, 1843.

Bill small, its edge slightly sinuate; wings moderate, primaries cut on inner web; first primary short; secondaries much shorter than primaries; tarsus feathered in front for a short distance, a row of large hexagonal scales in front, rest of tarsus with small hexagonal scales.

189. BUTASTUR INDICUS (Gmelin).

TIC-WEE BUZZARD.

Falco indicus Gmelin, Syst. Nat. (1788), 1, pt. 1, 264. Butastur indicus Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1874), 1, 297; Hand-List (1899), 1, 266; Oates, Cat. Birds' Eggs (1902), 2, 278; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 43.

Lim-bas', Manila and Lubang; tic-weé, in general; cu-yab', Calayan.

Balabac (Everett); Basilan (Steere Exp., McGregor); Batan N. (Edmonds ); Bohol (Everett, Steere Exp.); Cagayancillo (McGregor); Cagayan Sulu (Mearns); Calamianes (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Calayan (McGregor); Cebu (Everett, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Cuyo (Meyer); Fuga (Whitehead); Guimaras (Meyer); Lubang (McGregor); Luzon (Meyer, Everett, Steere Exp., Whitehead, McGregor); Masbate (Bourns & Worcester); Mindanao (Steere, Koch & Schadenberg, Steere Exp., Goodfellow); Mindoro (Everett, McGregor, Porter); Negros (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Keay); Palawan (Everett, Whitehead, Platen, Bourns & Worcester, White); Panay (Steere, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester); Samar (Bourns & Worcester); Sibay (McGregor & Worcester); Siquijor (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester); Sulu (Bourns & Worcester); Tawi Tawi (Bourns & Worcester); Verde (McGregor). Ussuri-land; Japan; China to Malay Peninsula; Celebes.

"Adult.--Above brown, inclining to ashy on head and upper back, and to rufous on lower back, rump, and upper tail-coverts, the latter of which are plainly barred and broadly tipped with pure white; forehead white; sides of face clear ashy gray; sides of neck ashy brown, uniform with the interscapulary region; wing-coverts rufous-brown, mottled with clearer rufous; primary-coverts rufous, externally mottled and broadly tipped with black; quills rufous, narrowly tipped with buffy white, primaries brown externally and toward their tips, also barred with dark brown on their inner webs; the secondaries ashy brown, inclining gradually to whity brown at their tips, washed with rufous and barred with dark brown; the lower surface of the wing creamy white on the inner webs of the quills, somewhat washed with rufous; tail ashy brown, whity brown at tip and crossed with three or four broad bars of blackish brown, the lower surface ashy white, the bars showing more plainly, except on the outermost feather, where they are obsolete; throat white, with a mesial line of ashy brown, as well as two not very distinct moustachial streaks; upper breast ashy brown, washed with rufous, the lower breast and abdomen barred with white and rufous-brown, the latter bars decreasing toward the vent and thighs, and totally absent on the under tail-coverts; under wing-coverts with slight cross-markings of pale rufous. Bill leaden black, yellow at base; cere and feet yellow; iris yellow. Length, 470; culmen, 33; wing, 333; tail, 201; tarsus, 61.

"Adult female.--Larger. Length, 470; wing, 345; tail, 213; tarsus, 62.

"Young.--Considerably different from the adult. Above dark brown, the wing-coverts washed with rufous and tipped with dull white, the greater ones with rufous or rufous-white spots on both webs, giving a mottled appearance to these parts; forehead and eyebrow creamy white; crown and hind neck brown, the feathers margined with creamy white, giving a striped appearance, the latter also slightly washed with rufous; sides of face ashy brown, streaked with darker brown, the fore part of the cheeks white; under surface of body creamy buff, the throat with a central blackish streak on the lower part; center of chest streaked with dark brown, the breast with pale chestnut, becoming spade-shaped spots on the flanks, but narrowing to small streaks on the thighs, and disappearing altogether on the under tail-coverts, which are creamy buff; under wing-coverts creamy buff, with a few rufous-brown marks on the lower series, and bars of the same on the axillars; upper tail-coverts brown, white at the base and at tip, and having the outer margin also white; tail ashy brown, tipped with pale rufous-brown and crossed with five bars of darker brown, the subterminal one broader; quills dark brown, the secondaries paler, the base of the inner web white, with remains of ashy bars on the inner secondaries. Cere and feet yellow; bill black; iris yellow." (Sharpe.)

"Exceedingly common throughout the group. Most abundant about scattering trees in open fields. Breeds." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

The tic-wee buzzard is the commonest hawk in the Philippines and on Calayan and Batan Islands it occurs in immense flocks during migration.

Genus HALIÆETUS Savigny, 1809.

Bill stout, culmen straight at base, then greatly curved, with a long overhanging hook, edge sinuate; tail rounded, its feathers wide and pointed; tarsus heavy, feathered for a short distance in front; a row of large transverse plates in front, a row of large hexagonal scales behind, sides covered with small hexagonal scales.

190. HALIÆETUS LEUCOGASTER (Gmelin).

WHITE-BREASTED SEA EAGLE.

Falco leucogaster Gmelin, Syst. Nat. (1788), 1, pt. 1, 257. Haliaetus leucogaster Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1874), 1, 307. Haliaëtus leucogaster Sharpe, Hand-List (1899), 1, 267; Oates, Cat. Birds' Eggs (1902), 2, 279; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 43.

Ma-na-ol', Ticao, Manila.

Bantayan (McGregor); Batan (McGregor); Basilan (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Bohol (McGregor); Bongao (Everett); Calamianes (Bourns & Worcester); Calayan (McGregor); Camiguin N. (McGregor); Cebu (McGregor); East Bolod (Mearns); Fuga (Whitehead); Luzon (Bourns & Worcester); Masbate (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Mindanao (Steere Exp.); Mindoro (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor, Porter); Palawan (Whitehead, Platen, Bourns & Worcester, White); Romblon (Bourns & Worcester); Samar (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Whitehead); Semirara (McGregor & Worcester); Sibuyan (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Siquijor (Bourns & Worcester); Sulu (Bourns & Worcester); Tablas (Bourns & Worcester, Celestino); Tawi Tawi (Bourns & Worcester); Ticao (McGregor); Verde (McGregor); Y'Ami (McGregor). Indian Peninsula; Indo-Chinese Provinces; Malay Peninsula to Australia and Oceania.

Adult.--Entire head, neck, and lower parts white, many of the feathers with blackish shafts; tail blackish, its terminal third white; primaries blackish with white bases; axillars and wing-lining white; remainder of wings and upper parts bluish slate-gray, with a slight mixture of brown. Male from Ticao: Iris dark; bill at base and cere horn-blue; bill at tip and nails black; legs and toes white. Length, 685; wing, 550; tail, 230; culmen from base, 52; tarsus, 91. The female is said to be slightly larger.

Young.--Head, chin, and throat buffy or pale yellowish white, more or less streaked with light brown; general color brown, darker above, many of the feathers with lighter brown or whitish shaft-lines which widen at the tips; primaries black with whitish bases; end of tail brown, basal two-thirds white mottled with brown.

The white-breasted sea eagle is widely distributed but nowhere in the Philippines is it abundant. In adult plumage it is easily identified by its white under parts. Its nest consists of a mass of sticks and is usually supported by the branches of some large tree. Islets on which there are but a few trees are in particular favor with this species. The eggs are usually spheroidal and white with a few faint markings of reddish brown.