Part 89

"Common along the seashore. Frequently seen perching on the fish pens of the natives, where it secures abundant food." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

Genus HALIASTUR Selby, 1840.

Bill moderate, compressed, with a long overhanging tip; culmen well curved, cutting edge slightly sinuate; wings long, extending beyond tip of tail; inner webs of primaries abruptly cut; tail nearly square; tarsus feathered in front for about half its length, the lower half with large transverse plates, its sides and back with variously shaped scales; claws strong and well curved.

191. HALIASTUR INTERMEDIUS Gurney.

MALAYAN BRAHMINY KITE.

Haliastur intermedius Gurney, Ibis (1865), 28; Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1874), 1, 314; Hand-List (1899), 1, 268; Oates, Cat. Birds' Eggs (1902), 2, 282; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 43.

La-uin', Lubang, Manila; ba-nog', Bohol, Ticao.

Bantayan (McGregor); Basilan (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Bohol (Steere Exp., McGregor); Bongao (Everett); Buluan off Mindanao (Mearns); Calamianes (Bourns & Worcester); Catanduanes (Whitehead); Cebu (Murray, Everett, Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Cuyo (McGregor); Guimaras (Meyer, Steere Exp.); Leyte (Everett); Lubang (McGregor); Luzon (Meyer, Everett, Bourns & Worcester, Whitehead, McGregor, Seale); Maestre de Campo (McGregor & Worcester); Malanipa (Murray); Marinduque (Steere Exp.); Masbate (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Mindanao (Everett, Murray, Goodfellow); Mindoro (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor, Porter); Negros (Everett, Bourns & Worcester, Keay); Panay (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester); Romblon (Bourns & Worcester); Samar (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester); Sibuyan (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Siquijor (Steere Exp., Celestino); Sulu (Guillemard, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester); Tablas (Bourns & Worcester); Tawi Tawi (Bourns & Worcester); Ticao (McGregor). Celebes; Malay Peninsula; Greater Sunda Islands; Indo-Chinese Provinces.

Adult.--Entire head and neck, chin, throat, and breast white, with narrow black shaft-lines; rest of the plumage rich chestnut, the shafts blackish, the chestnut most intense on mantle and back; primaries black with light rufous bases; axillars and wing-lining chestnut; tail chestnut, tipped with gray. Length of male, 470; wing, 410; tail, 210; culmen from base, 35; tarsus, 53.

"Young.--Above deep brown, the interscapulary feathers inclining to dull maroon toward their tips, the rest of the feathers of the upper surface tipped with rufous, and most of them externally shaded with ashy gray; head and neck pale rufous, with buffy white centers and tips to the feathers, giving a streaked appearance, as in a young Milvus; forehead, lores, and sides of face white, with narrow black shaft-lines to the feathers; ear-coverts slightly washed with brown; chin whitish; rest of under surface pale rufous-brown, the shaft-stripes distinct, all the feathers with central streaks of buffy white, the chest-feathers darker, and washed with brown on both margins, thighs and under tail-coverts inclining to maroon; under wing-coverts and axillars clear brown, tipped with rufous or maroon, and centered with black shaft-streaks." (Sharpe.)

"Extremely common. Frequently abundant about shipping in the harbors, where it feeds on refuse thrown overboard from the ships. Often seen feeding over surface of fresh-water streams as well. Not infrequently met with hawking over open fields at some distance inland." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

"An egg of the Malayan brahminy kite taken in Borneo is of an elongated elliptical form and plain white. Another, taken in the Philippine Islands, is white, minutely speckled all over with dark brown. Neither specimen shows any trace of gloss. They measure respectively: 49.5 by 35.5; 49.5 by 40.6." (Oates.)

The second egg mentioned above was taken in Siquijor by the Steere Expedition.

Genus ELANUS Savigny, 1809.

Bill moderate, edge gently sinuate; culmen strongly curved; wings long, extending beyond tip of tail; primaries not cut on inner webs; tail slightly forked; tarsus feathered in front for half its length, remainder of its surface covered with minute roundish scales.

192. ELANUS HYPOLEUCUS Gould.

PHILIPPINE BLACK-WINGED KITE.

Elanus hypoleucus Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1859), 127; Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1874), 1, 338; Hand-List (1899), 1, 269; Oates, Cat. Birds' Eggs (1902), 2, 291, pl. 13, figs. 3; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 44.

Bantayan (McGregor); Basilan (Everett); Bohol (McGregor); Bongao (Everett); Calamianes (Bourns & Worcester); Cebu (Everett, Bourns & Worcester); Guimaras (Steere Exp.); Luzon (Jagor, Steere Exp., Whitehead, McGregor); Mindanao (Everett, Goodfellow); Mindoro (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Everett, Whitehead, Porter); Negros (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Keay); Samar (Whitehead); Sibuyan (McGregor); Sulu (Burbidge, Bourns & Worcester); Tawi Tawi (Bourns & Worcester). Celebes; Greater Sunda Islands.

Adult.--Above pearl-gray, paler on head and fading to pure white above eyes, on forehead, and sides of neck; lores and a narrow line above eye black; entire lower parts including under surface of wings and tail white; median and lesser coverts black but a few of the inner lesser coverts white; a few small black feathers near edge of wing; primaries and secondaries tipped with white and largely white on inner webs, primary-shafts black; tail-feathers white, except central pair which are gray above.

Male from Bantayan.--Length, 330; wing, 300; tail, 143; culmen from base, 25; tarsus, 36.

Female from Manila.--Bill and nails black; iris carmine; cere, gape, and legs chrome-yellow. Length, 355; wing, 300; tail, 138; culmen from base, 25; tarsus, 34.

An immature female from Bohol is like the adult but the wing-feathers, including the black coverts, are widely tipped with white, and the feathers of crown and nape are edged with white and a little buff giving the head a streaked appearance. Iris light yellow; bill and nails black; cere waxy yellow; feet bright chrome-yellow.

"Female, not quite adult (type).--Above ashy gray, scapulars and quills plainly tipped with white, and washed with rusty brown, especially on the interscapular region; crown white, the hinder part inclining to ashy gray, plainly streaked with rusty brown; wing ashy gray, primaries darker, all the quills, as well as the coverts tipped with white, the lesser and median coverts black, forming a conspicuous shoulder patch; tail white, shaded with ashy toward the tip, the two center feathers entirely ashy gray; under surface of body entirely white, including the under wing-coverts; under surface of quills deep ashy gray toward the tip, whitish at base. Cere yellow; bill black; feet yellow; iris red. Length, 368; culmen, 28; wing, 305; tail, 157; tarsus, 38." (Sharpe.)

"Quite abundant about the open fields, but difficult to shoot. Iris bright red; legs and feet yellow; nails black; bill black, except cere and gape which are bright yellow." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

"The sole egg of the Philippine black-winged kite in the collection is a blunt oval, smooth, and devoid of gloss. It is white, thickly smeared especially at the large end, with two shades of brown. It measures: 41.9 by 31.7 mm." (Oates.)

The egg described above was collected by Everett in Mindoro, December 14.

Genus PERNIS Cuvier, 1817.