Chapter VIII: Preface (7)

"Adult female in summer plumage.--Similar to the male, but somewhat less distinctly spotted on the breast. Length, 152; culmen, 18; wing, 98; tail, 37; tarsus, 20.

"Young.--Blackish above, with rufous edgings to the feathers, and thus somewhat resembling the summer plumage of the adults, but they may always be distinguished by the more numerous white edgings to the dorsal and scapular feathers, by the ashy color of the hind neck, by the absence of spots on the fore neck and chest, both of which are tinged with isabelline-buff.

"Nestling.--Mottled with rufous and black down, the tips of which are silvery white or sandy buff; the hind neck sandy buff, forming a collar; the crown black, slightly mottled with rufous and dotted with silvery white, the black extending in a line on the forehead, which is buff, continued into a somewhat broad eyebrow; a black loral line and a black spot on each side of the hinder crown as well as on the ear-coverts; under surface of body whitish, with a tinge of sandy buff on the lower throat." (Sharpe.)

114. PISOBIA RUFICOLLIS (Pallas).

ASIATIC LITTLE STINT.

Trynga ruficollis Pallas, Reise Russ. Reichs (1776), 3, 700.
Limonites ruficollis Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1896), 24,
545; Hand-List (1899), 1, 163; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List
(1906), 27.

Ti-út ti-út, Bantayan.

Bantayan (McGregor); Bohol (Everett, McGregor); Calayan (McGregor);
Cebu (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Cuyo (McGregor); Luzon
(Meyer, Whitehead); Mindanao (Mearns, Celestino); Negros (Bourns &
Worcester); Palawan (Platen, Whitehead, Steere Exp.). Eastern
Siberia, Japan, and Korea; in winter Burmese countries to
Australia.

"Adult in winter plumage.--Resembles the winter plumage of L. minuta, but distinguished by the whiter fore neck and chest, and by the slightly shorter tarsus. Length, 145; culmen, 18; wing, 96; tail, 42; tarsus, 19; middle toe with claw, 18.

"Adult male in summer plumage.--Much more mottled on the upper surface than in winter, the centers of the feathers being blackish, and upper parts overspread with a brighter chestnut color, with which the feathers are broadly margined; crown blackish, washed with rufous and mottled with gray margins; forehead and eyebrow shaded with bright rufous, this color occupying entire sides of face, sides of neck, throat, and chest; chin whitish. 'Bill and feet black; iris nearly black.' (Dybowski.) Length, 135; culmen, 18; wing, 98; tail, 43; tarsus, 19; middle toe with claw, 19.

"Adult female in summer plumage.--Does not differ materially from the male, but is perhaps scarcely so rufous, and retains a little more of the hoary gray of the winter plumage. 'Iris brown.' (Everett.) Length, 127; culmen, 18; wing, 99; tail, 43; tarsus, 19; middle toe with claw, 18.

"Young.--Scarcely distinguishable from the young of L. minuta." (Sharpe.)

"Frequently seen in large flocks during the winter months." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

Of the stints that visit the Philippine Islands in winter the Asiatic little stint undoubtedly occurs in greater numbers than all the others taken together; it is the only abundant species and is usually found in large or small flocks on tide-flats.

115. PISOBIA DAMACENSIS (Horsfield).

LONG-TOED STINT.

Totanus damacensis Horsfield, Trans. Linn. Soc. (1821), 13, 192.
Limonites damacensis Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1896), 24,
553; Hand-List (1899), 1, 163; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List
(1906), 28.
Pisobia damacensis A. O. U. Committee, Auk (1908), 35, 367.

Basilan (McGregor); Luzon (Heriot); Mindanao (Mearns); Palawan
(Platen, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester). Japan, eastern Siberia,
islands of Bering Sea, China to northeastern Bengal; in winter
Burma to Australia.

"Adult male in winter plumage.--Similar to the winter plumage of L. minuta and L. ruficollis, but darker than either of them, with the head and neck much more thickly spotted with black, and the lower throat and fore neck very distinctly streaked or mottled with brown. The species can of course be distinguished from both of the above species by its long toes.

"Adult male in summer plumage.--Almost exactly similar to L. minuta, but easily distinguished by the length of the middle toe and the color of the legs. Length, 132; culmen, 178; wing, 86; tail, 36; tarsus, 20; middle toe with claw, 23.

"Adult female.--Similar to the male in plumage. 'Bill blackish, olive-brown at base of lower jaw; feet grayish yellow, with joints darker olive; iris dark brown.' (Stejneger.)" (Sharpe.)

116. PISOBIA TEMMINCKI (Leisler).

TEMMINCK'S STINT.

Tringa temminckii Leisler, in Bechst. Naturg. Deutschl. (1812),
2, 78.
Limonites temmincki Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1896), 24,
555; Hand-List (1899), 1, 163; Oates, Cat. Birds' Eggs (1902),
2, 53; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 28.

Negros (Steere Exp.). Northern Europe and Asia, northern and
northeastern Africa; in winter Indian Peninsula and China.

"Adult in winter plumage.--Above ashy gray, slightly varied with dusky shaft-streaks; scapulars bronzy brown like inner secondaries; lower back and rump brown, with a subterminal shade of darker brown; upper tail-coverts also dark brown, with longitudinal shaft-streaks of darker brown; wing-coverts brown, with a slight bronzy gloss, shaft-lines darker, and slight indications of paler edges; greater coverts tipped with white, forming a cross-band on the wing; alula, primary-coverts, and quills blackish brown; shafts of the primaries pale whity brown, that of the first outer primary white; alula white with a brown center; all the primaries white at the extreme base; secondaries brown, white at base of inner web, and fringed with white at the ends; long inner secondaries bronzy brown with dusky centers; middle tail-feathers dusky brown, the remainder ashy brown, with white in the center, increasing in extent toward outer feathers, two external ones entirely white; crown ashy brown like back; lores dull brown surmounted by a streak of white, hardly joined to a second streak above the ear-coverts, which forms an indistinct eyebrow; eyelid white; sides of face and ear-coverts ashy brown, streaked with dusky brown; cheeks and throat white, with a few dusky streaks on cheeks and lower throat; fore neck and upper breast light ashy brown; lower breast, abdomen, sides of body, and flanks pure white; thighs brown, white internally; under tail-coverts white; under wing-coverts and axillars white; coverts round the bend of wing dusky brown with whitish edges; lower primary-coverts brown, forming a patch; quills below ashy brown, somewhat lighter along the inner edge. Length, 140; culmen, 15; wing, 96; tail, 46; tarsus, 18; middle toe with claw, 18.

"Adult male in breeding plumage.--Only differs from the winter plumage in being more mottled above, the feathers having black centers, and being tinged with rufous, especially on the edges of the feathers; lower throat and chest have some distinct shaft-lines. 'Bill olive-black, lighter olive brownish at base, especially on lower mandible; feet olive-yellow, joints more dusky; iris dark brown.' (Stejneger.) Length, 135; culmen, 19; wing, 94; tail, 46; tarsus, 16; middle toe with claw, 18.

"Adult female in breeding plumage.--Similar to the male, and apparently quite as much mottled. Length, 132; culmen, 20; wing, 99; tail, 47; tarsus, 16; middle toe with claw, 18.

"Young birds.--These can always be distinguished from the adults in summer or winter plumage by the narrow sandy buff margins to the feathers of the upper surface, and by the ashy fulvous tinge on the fore neck, which is devoid of the dusky streaks seen in the adults.

"Nestling.--Covered with golden buff down, spotted with black, and spangled with silvery tips to the down; the black forms a line down the center of back; under surface dull white, tinged with buff on the fore neck." (Sharpe.)

Genus HETEROPYGIA Coues, 1861.

Bill straight, very slightly expanded at tip; culmen less than tarsus and equal to middle toe without claw.

117. HETEROPYGIA AURITA (Latham).

SHARP-TAILED SANDPIPER.

Tringa aurita Latham, Ind. Orn. Suppl. (1801), 66.
Totanus acuminatus Horsfield, Trans. Linn. Soc. (1821), 13, 192.
Heteropygia acuminata Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1896), 24,
566; Hand-List (1899), 1, 163; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List
(1906), 28.
Pisobia aurita A. O. U. Committee, Auk (1908), 25, 366.

Batan N. (McGregor); Luzon (Celestino); Mindanao (Everett). Alaska,
eastern Siberia, and China, south in winter to Australia and
New Zealand.

"Adult male in breeding plumage.--General color above sandy rufous, streaked with black down the center of the feathers, these black centers being very much more distinct on the scapulars and inner secondaries, where the rufous margins are very bright; lower back, rump, and upper tail-coverts dusky black, the lateral tail-coverts sandy rufous barred with black; lesser wing-coverts dull brown; median coverts brown; with blackish centers and ashy fulvous margins; greater coverts uniform dusky brown with white tips; alula uniform brown; primary-coverts blackish, the inner ones tipped with white; quills brown, dusky blackish at tips and along outer webs, the shafts for the most part white, brown toward the bases; secondaries brown, with a little white at base of inner webs, and narrowly fringed with white near tips, inner ones a little more broadly; tail ashy brown fringed with white round the end, the center feathers blackish and extended a little beyond the ends of the others; crown bright sandy rufous minutely streaked with black; lores and a distinct eyebrow white, with narrow streaks of blackish; sides of face white, with dusky streaks; ear-coverts tinged with rufous; under surface white; chin unspotted; throat, fore neck, and chest tinged with sandy rufous, and minutely spotted with dusky black, which sometimes takes the form of longitudinal streaks or arrowhead bars, the latter form of markings being especially distinct on the sides of body; breast and abdomen white, the latter with a few linear streaks of black; under wing-coverts and axillars white, bend of wing mottled with blackish bases; lower primary-coverts dusky with whitish tips; quills dusky below. 'Bill blackish brown, browner or reddish brown at angle of mouth, clear gray at base of lower mandible; feet yellowish ocher-color, tinged with olive, darker on the joints; iris dark brown.' (Dybowski.) Length, 178; culmen, 28; wing, 137; tail, 53; tarsus, 30.

"Adult female.--Similar to the male.

"Adult in winter plumage.--Much browner than the summer plumage and without any rufous except, perhaps, a slight tinge on the head; under surface white; lower throat and chest ashy fulvous with a few narrow streaks and lines of blackish; flanks slightly washed with brown; on under tail-coverts a few narrow mesial shaft-streaks of blackish.

"Young birds.--Much more rufous on upper surface even than the breeding plumage; back much blacker than in any other age of the bird, intermixed with a great deal of rufous, and distinguished by the conspicuous whitish edgings to the dorsal feathers, scapulars, and inner secondaries; wing-coverts with broad margins of sandy rufous, and longitudinal black centers; chin white; breast and abdomen white, sometimes with a slight tinge of buff; the lower throat, fore neck, and sides of breast sandy rufous; fore neck and chest more ashy and uniform, so that the black shaft-streaks are confined to the lower throat; those on the sides of neck and sides of breast being a little broader." (Sharpe.)

A rare winter visitant to the Philippine Islands.

Genus EROLIA Vieillot, 1816.

Bill long and slender, very slightly decurved and slightly expanded at tip; culmen greater than tarsus, the latter longer than middle toe with claw.

118. EROLIA FERRUGINEA (Brünnich).

CURLEW SANDPIPER.

Tringa ferruginea Brünnich, Orn. Bor. (1764), 53.
Scolopax subarquata Güldenstädt, Nov. Comm. Petrop. (1774),
19, 471.
Ancylochilus subarquatus Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1896), 24,
586; Hand-List (1899), 1, 164; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List
(1906), 28.
Tringa subarquata Blanford, Fauna Brit. Ind. Bds. (1898), 4, 278,
fig. 64 (head).
Erolia ferruginea A. O. U. Committee, Auk (1903), 20, 337.

Cebu (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Luzon (Whitehead, Celestino);
Negros (Bourns & Worcester). Northern Siberia, south in winter
to Africa, Indian Peninsula, and Australia.

"Adult male in breeding plumage.--Above deep bay or dark cinnamon-rufous; varied with whitish edges to feathers, which are mottled with black centers, taking the form of stripes on head and back, and of cross-bars on scapulars; lower back dull ashy brown, with whitish edges; sides of lower back, rump, and upper tail-coverts white, the latter tinged with rufous, and showing a few black bars; wing-coverts brown, with whitish edgings, greater series tipped with white, forming a wing-bar; some of the coverts rufous like the back, and some of the inner secondaries also rufous on their edges; primary-coverts and quills darker brown, the latter with white tips, primaries dark brown with white shafts; secondaries fringed with white, more broadly on the shorter ones, which are white at base of inner webs; tail-feathers ashy brown, with white fringes and white shafts; head like the back, but showing less distinct blackish centers to the feathers; hind neck distinctly hoary, owing to the gray edgings of feathers; sides of face and under surface rich vinous-chestnut; with more or less distinct remains of hoary margins; vent and under tail-coverts white, the latter tinged with rufous, and having a few black bars; sides of body and flanks pure white, the latter with a few black bars; under wing-coverts and axillars pure white; lower primary-coverts and upper surface of quills light ashy. Bill and feet black; iris hazel. Length, 188; culmen, 34; wing, 135; tail, 48; tarsus, 29; middle toe with claw, 25.

"Adult female in summer plumage.--Like the male but not so richly colored, tint of the under surface duller chestnut, and not so vinous. Length, 178; culmen, 35; wing, 124; tail, 46; tarsus, 29; middle toe with claw, 25.

"Adult in winter plumage.--Ashy brown above, slightly mottled with darker centers to the feathers; wing-coverts like the back; quills as in the summer plumage; rump and upper tail-coverts pure white; tail-feathers ashy brown, fringed with white, with white shafts, and a subterminal bar of dusky blackish, the inner webs having a good deal of white at the base; lores dusky, with a supra-loral streak of white; under surface of body pure white, with tiny lines of dusky brown on the sides of face, sides of neck, lower throat, and fore neck.

"Young in first autumn plumage.--Similar in general color to the winter plumage of the adult, and distinguished by the absence of rufous color in the plumage of the upper surface; on the under surface the streaks on the fore neck are almost obsolete, and a fulvescent shade overspreads fore neck and chest, in some specimens even extending to the breast itself. On the upper surface it is very similar to the winter plumage of the adult, but has always more distinct pale edgings to the feathers, these being gradually fulvescent, while the mantle is decidedly darker, being blackish, with pale margins to the feathers." (Sharpe.)

So far as known this species is a rare winter visitant to the Philippine Islands.

Genus TRINGA Linnæus, 1758.

Bill straight, culmen longer than tarsus, the latter exceeding middle toe with claw; wing long and pointed, when folded reaching the tip of tail, the latter nearly square. Pisobia is somewhat similar to this genus but has a much shorter bill and the species are much smaller.

119. TRINGA CRASSIROSTRIS Temminck and Schlegel.

ASIATIC KNOT.

Tringa crassirostris Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica (1847),
107, pl. 64; Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1896), 24, 600;
Hand-List (1899), 1, 164; Blanford, Fauna Brit. Ind. Bds. (1898),
4, 277; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 28.

Mindanao? (Mearns); Negros (Steere, Bourns & Worcester). Eastern
Siberia and Japan; in winter China to Australia and western
Indian Peninsula.

"Adult in winter plumage.--Similar to the winter plumage of T. canutus, being ashy gray above and white below, but easily distinguished by the longer bill and pure white upper tail-coverts; the dusky spots on chest and sides of body smaller and much more distinct.

"Young.--Similar to the adult winter plumage but blacker, with conspicuous white margins to the feathers of the upper surface; rump and upper tail-coverts spotted with black, but not barred with dusky as in T. canutus; head like the back, black with white edges to the feathers, but scarcely any trace of a white eyebrow, the lores and sides of face being thickly spotted with black; throat white, unspotted; lower throat and fore neck light brown, mottled with black spots; upper breast and sides of body also plentifully spotted with black, the spots on the sides of the body being large and often arrow-shaped; axillars white, with marblings of pale ashy gray.

"Adult male in breeding plumage.--Does not differ from the winter plumage to the same extent as in T. canutus; upper surface only slightly suffused with rufous; scapulars and inner secondaries more or less bright chestnut with black subterminal bars; under surface white; throat thickly streaked and fore neck so closely barred as to become almost black, these black bars extending on to breast and along the sides of body; the under tail-coverts spotted with black. 'Bill brown; feet gray; iris dark brown.' (Taczanowski.) Length, 267; culmen, 41; wing, 175; tail, 63; tarsus, 33.

"Adult female in breeding plumage.--Similar to the male, but with less rufous. Length, 267; culmen, 43; wing, 190; tail, 67; tarsus, 33." (Sharpe.)

"Coloration in winter.--Upper parts light brownish gray, with black shaft-stripes which are broadest on the crown; sides of head and neck whitish, with dark streaks, supercilia and cheeks paler; wing-coverts with pale edges, greater coverts with white tips; alula, primary-coverts, and primaries blackish brown; secondaries brownish gray like back, but with white borders outside and at the end; lower back and rump dark brown, with white edges to the feathers; upper tail-coverts the same, but the white borders are much wider, the white sometimes occupying the greater part or the whole of the feathers; tail ashy brown; lower plumage white, fore neck and upper breast streaked or spotted with dark brown.

"In summer the plumage is blackish above, with whitish edges to the feathers, the scapulars with large chestnut spots; upper and lower tail-coverts white, with dark brown spots and bars; chin, throat, breast, and flanks so thickly spotted as to be almost covered in the middle of the breast with blackish brown; there is no rufous on the lower plumage." (Blanford.)

"Seen in small flocks along seashore in winter." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

I have identified as of this species, a sandpiper collected by Major Edgar A. Mearns. The field tag gives no locality but I believe the specimen came from Mindanao. This and many other species of migratory shore-birds will doubtless be found in considerable numbers when more attention is paid to collecting them.

Genus LIMICOLA Koch, 1816.

Bill rather long and, except at base, flattened; upper mandible slightly decurved at tip and decidedly longer than lower mandible; exposed culmen greater than tarsus, the latter slightly longer than middle toe with claw.

120. LIMICOLA PLATYRHYNCHA (Temminck).

BROAD-BILLED SANDPIPER.

Tringa platyrhyncha Temminck, Man. d'Orn. (1815), 398.
Limicola platyrhyncha Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1896), 24,
612; Hand-List (1899), 1, 165; Oates, Cat. Birds' Eggs (1902),
2, 59; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 29.

Bohol (Everett); Cebu (McGregor); Cuyo (McGregor); Negros (Steere
Exp.); Palawan (Platen). Northern Europe and Siberia, Mediterranean
and Red Seas; in winter China to Indian Peninsula and Moluccas.

"Adult male in winter plumage.--Above light ashy gray, somewhat paler on the edges of the feathers, which have dusky brown centers; lower back, rump, and upper tail-coverts blackish, with slight remains of sandy-buff fringes; sides of rump and lateral upper tail-coverts white; wing-coverts rather darker than the back, marginal ones dark brown; median series blackish in the center with hoary white margins; greater series dusky blackish edged with hoary gray, inclined to white at the ends, and forming a narrow band across wing; alula and primary-coverts black tipped with white, the latter broadly; quills black, paler brown on inner webs of primaries, excepting at tips, which are black; secondaries merely fringed with white near the ends, and with a little white towards base of inner web; inner secondaries ashy like back; shafts of all the quills white or whity-brown; middle tail-feathers blackish like upper tail-coverts, the others ashy brown with white shafts and white fringes; crown like the back; lores dusky, surmounted by a broad white streak, which is continued into a narrow eyebrow; sides of face white, with only a few tiny streaks of dusky brown; ear-coverts uniform dusky brown; under surface white, with a few streaks of dusky brown on lower throat and sides of breast; under wing-coverts and axillars white, the marginal coverts mottled with dusky bases, lower primary-coverts ashy. Bill dusky black; legs and feet slaty black; iris dark brown. Length, 165; culmen, 33; wing, 104; tail, 41; tarsus, 20.

"Adult male in breeding plumage.--Above black, slightly varied with rufous edgings to the feathers, some of those of mantle, scapulars, inner greater coverts, and inner secondaries having sandy-buff margins, the black forming large subterminal spots; crown black, with a sandy-buff lateral stripe; lores black; sides of face rufescent, thickly spotted with dusky black like sides of neck; ear-coverts rufous, and surmounted by a pale buff eyebrow, which becomes lighter above the lores; chin and under surface of body white; throat, fore neck, and chest thickly spotted with dusky blackish, the spots on the fore neck and chest somewhat arrow-shaped, as they are also along the sides of body, all these parts slightly tinged with rufous; lateral upper tail-coverts barred with black; tail-feathers as in the winter plumage, but with a more extensive area on the inner webs. Length, 165; culmen, 30; wing, 105; tail, 38; tarsus, 20.

"Adult female in breeding plumage.--Similar to the male, but not quite so plentifully spotted underneath.

"Young birds.--Very similar to the summer plumage of the adults, being rufous above, mottled with black centers to the feathers, and having very broad whitish margins; center of crown black; outer tail-feathers with a great deal of white on inner webs, confining the ashy gray to a broad marginal line; fore neck slightly tinged with buff, as also the sides of the upper breast, these parts being very scantily streaked with brown. During the first winter the pale edges become worn off, so that the general aspect of the upper surface is black.

"The summer plumage is gained by a darkening of the center of the feathers of the upper surface, which become gradually blacker; the head becomes blackish, and the streaks on the breast much more emphasized." (Sharpe.)

Genus GALLINAGO Koch, 1816.

Bill slender and straight; tip of upper mandible slightly thickened, pitted and with a median groove; ears almost directly underneath eyes; tarsus about two-thirds of culmen.

Species.

a1. Tail-feathers twenty or more, the outer ones stiffened and very narrow; dark bars on axillars wider than the white bars.

b1. Tail shorter, about 48 mm.; outer feathers narrower. ... stenura
(p. 144)
b2. Tail longer, about 53 mm.; outer feathers wider. ... megala
(p. 145)

a2. Tail-feathers usually fourteen in number, neither excessively stiff nor narrow; dark bars on axillars narrow or obsolete. ... gallinago (p. 146)

121. GALLINAGO STENURA (Bonaparte).

PINTAIL SNIPE.

Scolopax stenura Bonaparte, ex Kuhl MS. Ann. Stor. Nat. Bologna
(1830), 4, 335.
Gallinago stenura Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1896), 24,
619; Hand-List (1899), 1, 165; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List
(1906), 29.

Calayan (McGregor); Mindanao (Murray); Palawan (White). Eastern
Siberia to the Yenesei; in winter China to Malay Peninsula.

"Adult male in breeding plumage.--Above blackish, striped and mottled with sandy isabelline; streaks on the sides of back and scapulars very broad; upper surface interspersed with rufous spots, but general color of the light markings sandy buff, especially on hind neck; wing-coverts dark brown, marginal series almost uniform, the rest barred with rufous or sandy buff, with paler tips, the rufous and black bars very distinct on the greater coverts, where they are regularly indicated; alula and primary-coverts blackish, with narrow white tip; quills blackish, the first primary browner on outer web, which is narrowly fringed with white; secondaries (outermost of which do not exceed primary-coverts in length) narrowly fringed with white at tip, inner ones barred with rufous and blackish, mostly on outer web; innermost long secondaries barred across, especially near the ends; tail-feathers blackish brown, ten central ones with a broad band of pale chestnut, followed by a subterminal bar of blackish brown, before a pale rufescent tip; a second rufous band, considerably broken up, a little beyond the middle of the feather; eight outer feathers on each side becoming narrower and narrower, till the outermost has scarcely any web at all; these wire-like feathers with white tips, with an indication of a blackish subterminal bar; crown black, mottled with rufous spots and having a mesial streak of sandy isabelline; a loral line of black, surmounted by a supra-loral patch of sandy isabelline continued into a narrow eyebrow; sides of face and ear-coverts isabelline, rufous just behind eye, entire sides of face having more or less distinct small streaks of blackish, and traversed by a broad blackish line across ear-coverts; fore part of cheeks and chin sandy isabelline; throat and chest sandy buff, slightly mottled with streaks and narrow horseshoe-shaped bars of blackish; breast and abdomen white; sides of body slightly tinged with sandy buff, and distinctly barred with black; under tail-coverts pale sandy buff, with blackish centers, longer ones narrowly barred with black near their ends; under wing-coverts and axillars distinctly barred with black and white, white bars on the latter slightly wider than the black bars; lower primary-coverts ashy; quills ashy below, secondaries fringed with white at the ends. 'Basal half of upper bill horny, distal half blackish brown; basal half of lower bill greenish, remainder blackish brown; feet greenish; iris brown.' (Cripps.) Length, 223; culmen, 58; wing, 124; tail, 48; tarsus, 30.

"Adult female.--Does not perceptibly differ from the male in color and markings. Length, 240; culmen, 62; wing, 129; tail, 44; tarsus, 30.

"It is very difficult to distinguish young birds from old ones, and I believe that the only characters of any value are the uniform black stripes along the sides of the crown. In old birds, not only are these black stripes mottled with rufous, but there are also numerous small spots of rufous-buff interspersed among the black feathers of the back; the black subterminal marks on the scapulars are also smaller in the young birds than in the old. A further sign of immaturity is, I believe, to be seen in the nearly uniform fulvous-brown on the throat and fore neck, these portions being more mottled with lines and arrow-head spots of black in the old birds.

"From G. gallinago the present species is distinguished by the wire-like feathers in the tail and by the entire surface of the under wing-coverts being regularly barred with black and white, and the outer web of the first primary being whity-brown instead of pure white. Occasionally young birds of G. stenura have the whole of the breast and abdomen regularly barred with dusky." (Sharpe.)

122. GALLINAGO MEGALA Swinhoe.

SWINHOE'S SNIPE.

Gallinago megala Swinhoe, Ibis (1861), 343; Sharpe, Cat. Birds
Brit. Mus. (1896), 24, 624; Hand-List (1899), 1, 165; McGregor
and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 29.

Can-du-ro', Manila.

Bantayan (McGregor); Basilan (Steere Exp., McGregor); Calamianes
(Bourns & Worcester); Cebu (Everett); Leyte (Everett); Lubang
(McGregor); Luzon (Jagor, Bourns & Worcester, Whitehead, McGregor);
Masbate (Bourns & Worcester); Mindanao (Everett, Steere Exp.,
Bourns & Worcester, Celestino); Mindoro (McGregor); Negros (Bourns
& Worcester); Palawan (Whitehead, Bourns & Worcester); Panay
(Bourns & Worcester); Sibuyan (Bourns & Worcester); Siquijor
(Bourns & Worcester); Tawi Tawi (Bourns & Worcester). Eastern
Siberia and Japan; in winter China south to the Moluccas.

"Adult male.--Similar to G. stenura, and with wire-like outer tail-feathers, but these not so narrow and showing at least two distinct bars towards the ends; the tail-feathers twenty in number, of which the seven outer ones are attenuated, and only the six central ones show the characteristic broad subterminal band of rufous. 'Bill light yellowish brown for basal two-thirds, yellower on base of under mandible, blackish brown on apical third; feet light yellowish gray, with blackish brown claws; iris dark umber brown.' (Swinhoe.) Length, 240; culmen, 58; wing, 137; tail, 55; tarsus, 34.

"Adult female.--Does not differ from the male. 'Legs and feet pale bluish gray, nails black.' (Everett.) Length, 267; culmen, 66; wing, 142; tail, 55; tarsus, 33.

"Young birds.--As with G. stenura so with the present species, the young birds appear to be distinguishable by their more uniform dark brown throat and chest; the stripes on the sides of the crown are also black and not mottled with rufous spots." (Sharpe.)

"Extremely abundant in rice-fields at certain seasons." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

123. GALLINAGO GALLINAGO (Linnæus).

FANTAIL SNIPE.

Scolopax gallinago Linnæus, Syst. Nat. ed. 10 (1758), 1, 147.
Gallinago gallinago Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1896), 24,
633; Hand-List (1899), 1, 165; Oates, Cat. Birds' Eggs (1902),
2, 61; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 29.
Gallinago coelestis Oates, Bds. Brit. Burmah (1883), 2, 381.

Can-du-ro', Manila and Mindoro.

Bohol (Everett); Leyte (Everett); Luzon (Meyer, Everett, Whitehead,
McGregor); Mindanao (Mearns); Mindoro (McGregor). Europe to
northern Asia; in winter Senegambia and northeastern Africa,
Indian Peninsula to Malay Peninsula and the Moluccas.

"Male and female.--Crown black with a fulvous streak over median line; a blackish streak from bill to eye, above and below which the feathers are pale fulvous; chin whitish; throat and sides of head and neck fulvous, streaked with black; breast and sides of body fulvous, barred with black; abdomen and vent white; under tail-coverts fulvous, streaked with brown; under wing-coverts barred indistinctly with black and white; tail black, the end rufous mottled with black; upper plumage black, edged and streaked with rich fulvous and chestnut; wing-coverts black, barred with fulvous; quills dark brown, narrowly edged with whitish. Bill fleshy brownish, green for two-thirds of its length from base, remainder horny brown; iris very dark brown; legs and feet brownish green. Length, 267; tail, 61; wing, 127; tarsus, 30; bill from gape, 58." (Oates.)

"Adult female.--Similar to the male. Length, 267; culmen, 71; wing, 135; tail, 62; tarsus, 33.

"Young.--Differs from the adult in being more rufous, especially on the throat and neck. The black markings of the back are more broken up and mottled with rufous bars, and the pale outer bands along the scapulars are not so wide. Seebohm states that young snipes may be recognized by not having a dark shaft-line on the light tips of the upper wing-coverts, but I have found indications of the latter in quite young birds.

"Nestling.--Covered with down of a chestnut color, interspersed with black along the back, and prettily variegated with silvery tips to the feathers; below the eye a whitish streak, bordered with lines of black; under surface of body bright chestnut, with a black spot on the throat and a black line across the fore neck." (Sharpe.)

"This species and G. stenura are likely to be confounded unless special attention is paid to the differences between them. The first and most unfailing point of difference is in the tail. In G. gallinago the tail is composed of twelve, fourteen, or sixteen ordinary soft feathers; in G. stenura there are ten soft feathers and on either side of these a number, varying from five to nine, of narrow rigid feathers with apparently no webs. These narrow feathers require to be looked for; they do not strike the eye, as they are more or less hidden by the tail-coverts and are moreover very close together. A second point of difference lies in the coloration of the lower surface of the wing. In the pintail snipe the axillars and the under wing-coverts are very distinctly and regularly barred with dark brown throughout. In the common snipe these same parts are indistinctly barred, and there is always a patch on the coverts left quite white and unbarred. Mr. Hume points out one or two additional differences which it may be well to quote: In the common snipe the outer web of the first primary is white or nearly so, and the secondaries are broadly tipped with white; in the pintail the outer web of the first primary is of the same color as the inner, and the secondaries are only margined with albescent or brownish white." (Oates.)

Genus ROSTRATULA Vieillot, 1816.

Bill long and slender but shorter than in Gallinago, its tip slightly swollen and bent downward with a median ridge and two lateral grooves, not pitted; culmen little longer than tarsus; female brighter in plumage than male.

124. ROSTRATULA CAPENSIS (Linnæus).

PAINTED SNIPE.

Scolopax capensis Linnæus, Syst. Nat. ed. 12 (1766), 1, 246.
Rostratula capensis Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1896), 24, 683;
Hand-List (1899), 1, 167; Blanford, Fauna Brit. Ind. Bds. (1898),
4, 293, fig. 67; Oates, Cat. Birds' Eggs (1902), 2, 68; McGregor
and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 29.

Pa-co'-bo, Manila.

Catanduanes (Whitehead); Leyte (Everett); Lubang (McGregor); Luzon
(Everett, Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Marinduque (Steere Exp.);
Mindanao (Murray, Everett, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester);
Panay (Bourns & Worcester); Samar (Steere Exp., Whitehead);
Sibuyan (McGregor); Siquijor (Bourns & Worcester). Africa, Indian
Peninsula, Greater Sunda Islands; Burmese provinces to China and
Japan south to Malay Peninsula.

"Adult female.--Above ashy brown, strongly glossed with olive-green, freckled all over with transverse lines of dusky blackish, with here and there broader bars of greenish black; some of the scapular feathers edged with bright ocherous forming a streak down each side of the back; long inner coverts pure white, forming another streak, generally concealed by the scapulars; wing-coverts distinctly glossed with olive-green and finely barred with dusky; alula, primary-coverts, and quills pearly gray, freckled with irregular wavy lines of black, and ocellated ovate spots of rich ocherous on outer web, and with bars of the same color on inner web; all the quills marked with black at base of outer web, more distinctly seen in the primaries than the secondaries; lower back, rump, upper tail-coverts, and tail pearly gray, with black cross-lines, rump with a few white spots, upper tail-coverts spotted with rich ocherous, tail-feathers barred with ocherous; crown dusky, slightly glossed with olive-green, a band of ocherous down the center, bordered on each side by a shade of black; round eye a cincture of isabelline whitish, reaching to a point above ear-coverts, and surrounded by a blackish shade above and below, more broadly in front; lores, sides of face, and throat, deep chestnut, extending backwards round hind neck; across fore neck a broad collar of greenish black; remainder of under surface white, extending upwards on either side of the black præ-pectoral band; on each side of upper part of breast a black patch with a slight greenish gloss, succeeded by some brown feathers waved with dusky lines; axillars and under wing-coverts white, outer ones ashy, freckled with dusky cross-lines and small spots of white or buff. 'Bill greenish, yellowish fleshy at the tip of both mandibles; feet pale green; iris dark brown.' (Butler.) Length, 229; culmen, 47; wing, 140; tail, 42; tarsus, 43.

"Adult male.--Different from the female and rather smaller. Easily distinguished from the female by the absence of chestnut on the throat and neck, and by the different color of the wing-coverts. The latter, instead of being olive-green barred with blackish cross-lines, are bronzy olive, with numerous bar-like spots of yellow-ocher, these spots having a black line above and below; the inner secondaries similarly colored and marked. Although there is a line of sandy buff on each side of the back, there are apparently no white parapteral plumes. Instead of the chestnut on the throat, the latter is white with dusky spots on the upper part, the lower throat light brown, mottled with dusky bars and whitish margins to the feathers, the lower border of this dusky patch edged with a band of black. 'Bill purplish brown; feet dull slaty blue; iris dark brown.' (S. Stafford Allen.) Length, 229; culmen, 49; wing, 127; tail, 41; tarsus, 43.

"Young male.--Resembles the old male almost exactly, but has the throat entirely white, the lower throat and fore neck washed with brown, with some dusky streaks; these streaks on the full-grown male are sometimes black, but the feathers of the back and scapulars have spots or margins of white.

"Young female.--Is at first like the young male and has the same yellow-spotted wing-coverts; the hind neck is gray, vermiculated with dusky like the male, and the markings on the throat are similar to those of the latter sex. When the chestnut color is first assumed, it is of a dull tint, and is obscured by dusky margins to the feathers; the chin is white, and the throat and fore neck uniform brown, with which the chestnut feathers are often mingled." (Sharpe.)

"Fairly abundant about the rice-fields. Easy to bring down on account of its comparatively slow and heavy flight. Resident in the Philippines. We obtained its nest and eggs in Siquijor." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

Subfamily PHALAROPODINÆ.

Small sandpipers with the toes lobed, and posterior side of tarsus serrated.

Genus LOBIPES Cuvier, 1817. [16]

Bill slender, nearly cylindrical, not widened toward tip; nostrils separated from loral feathers by a space equal to much less than the depth of upper mandible at base.

125. LOBIPES LOBATUS (Linnæus).

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.

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.

129. ORTHORHAMPHUS MAGNIROSTRIS (Vieillot).

AUSTRALIAN STONE PLOVER.

Oedicnemus magnirostris Vieillot, Nouv. Dict. d'Hist. Nat. (1818),
23, 231.
Orthorhamphus magnirostris Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1896),
24, 22; Hand-List (1899), 1, 173; Oates, Cat. Birds' Eggs (1902),
2, 84; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 30.

Ta-ba-la-lan, Calayan.

Calayan (McGregor); Camiguin N. (McGregor); Fuga (McGregor);
Luzon (Whitehead); Mindanao (Mearns); Mindoro (Platen?); Palawan
(Whitehead, White). Australia to Bismarck Archipelago and north
to Borneo and islands of Bay of Bengal.

"Adult.--Above ashy brown, with dusky shaft-lines; scapulars like back; upper tail-coverts ashy like back, but freckled and barred with dusky brown; lesser wing-coverts dark brown, lower ones blackish at the ends and forming a broad band across wing, followed by another band of white, formed by median coverts, which are gray at the tips, with a broad white band across the middle followed by another bar of dusky blackish; greater coverts entirely gray, fading off into whitish at the ends; alula and primary-coverts white like the quills they cover; primaries brownish black with white along inner web, extending across outer web of the first two; inner primaries pure white; secondaries dark brown, externally gray, with white bases and small white tips, also white along the inner webs; on the inner secondaries the white confined to inner web, long innermost secondaries ashy brown like back; tail ashy brown, with a black band at the end, before this a broad white band, preceded by a narrow black band; two middle feathers light ashy brown freckled with dusky mottlings, the other feathers also slightly freckled with dusky; crown and neck like the back; lores blackish, as also a broad band along the sides of crown, extending to the sides of the neck, where it joins the black ear-coverts and incloses the white of face, which consists of a white band above and below the eye extending above the ear-coverts; cheeks white, extending in a line along base of upper mandible and forming a streak in front of eye; fore part of cheeks black; chin and throat white; lower throat ashy brown, streaked with darker brown, as also the sides of neck; breast pale ashy; remainder of the under surface white with a slight tawny tinge; under tail-coverts tawny-buff; under wing-coverts and axillars white. 'Base of bill sulphur-yellow, continued along the sides of upper mandible above nostrils; remainder of bill black; tibia lemon-yellow; tarsi and feet wine-yellow; upper ridges of scales of toes lead-color; eyelids primrose-yellow; iris pale yellow.' (Gould.) Length, about 483; culmen, 76; wing, 274; tail, 109; tarsus, 84.

"Adult female.--Similar to the male in color. Length, about 508; culmen, 71; wing, 269; tail, 109; tarsus, 83.

"Young.--Two specimens from the Duke of York Island and Guadaleanar are apparently immature, having the feathers of the upper surface tipped with sandy buff, especially on the wing-coverts, where the white band on the median series is not so defined as in the adults, but showing a broader band of brown-tipped feathers below. There is, however, a second white band formed by the white tips to the greater wing-coverts, and it is somewhat curious that this should be a sign of immaturity." (Sharpe.)

The stone plover is remarkable for its large and powerful bill. It is rare in the Philippine Islands and so far as observed it is found on sea-beaches where it subsists upon sand-crabs.

Order GRUIFORMES.

CRANES.

Very large; bill moderate, straight, and somewhat compressed, rather blunt; nostrils large, elongated, and pervious, situated half way between tip and base of bill; neck very long, its upper part and the head clothed with few, hair-like feathers; wing rounded; secondaries longer than primaries; tail short and soft; legs very long; toes stout; hind toe short and elevated.

Suborder GRUES.

Family GRUIDÆ.

Characters same as those given for the Order.

Genus ANTIGONE Reichenbach, 1852.

Characters same as those given for the Order.

130. ANTIGONE SHARPI Blanford.

SHARPE'S CRANE.

Antigone antigone (not Ardea antigone Linnæus) Sharpe, Cat. Birds
Brit. Mus. (1894), 23, 264.
Antigone sharpii Blanford, Bull. Brit. Orn. Club (1895), 5, 6.
Antigone sharpei Sharpe, Hand-List (1899), 1, 178; Oates,
Cat. Birds' Eggs (1902), 2, 94; McGregor, Bull. Philippine
Mus. (1904), 4, 11, pl. 2; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List
(1906), 31.

Tipol, Luzon.

Luzon (McGregor, Worcester). Burma, Cochin China, and Malay
Peninsula.

Adult.--Nearly uniform pearl-gray, lighter on neck; head and neck nearly naked to 100 mm. or more below anterior border of ear-coverts; a few gray feathers on chin and ear-coverts; a few scattered black hair-like feathers on upper throat and its sides.

An adult female taken in Nueva Ecija Province, Luzon, in September, yields the following data: Legs rose-pink, brown along the tarsi; nails blackish; most of bill and forehead pale dirty green; tip of bill gray; iris yellow; papillose parts of head and neck red, darker behind the ear-coverts. Weight, 5 kilos. Length, 1,270; extent, 2,200; wing, 565; tail, 220; culmen from base, 178; bill from front margin of nostril, 103; tarsus, 275; middle toe with claw, 117; hind toe with claw, 24. Another specimen from northern Luzon measures; culmen from base, 160; bill from nostril, 92; tarsus, 280; middle toe with claw, 107.

Sharpe's crane is abundant in the vicinity of Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija Province, Luzon. When I observed them in September, 1908, they were feeding in pairs and frequenting a grassy plain. Two badly decayed eggs were taken from a nest which consisted of a little grass arranged on the ground in circular form. The eggs are white marked with a few lavender spots and dented with numerous, small, elongated pits. The surface is hard and smooth, very slightly glossy, and with a few small lumps about the larger end. When held toward the light the shell appears through the hole to be dark green. These eggs measure 91.5 by 63 and 97.5 by 64.6.