Chapter XIV: Part 14

_Remarks._--In 1945 the NAMRU2 party found the Palau Fantail in small numbers at Peleliu, Garakayo and Ngabad. At Peleliu the birds were noted as singles or in pairs in brushy undergrowth in forested areas. The birds were observed also in the second growth vegetation in the battle areas. Coultas (field notes) found the bird to be rare and restricted to the true forest, when he visited the Palau Islands in 1931. The fantail is one of the most attractive birds found in the jungles of the Palau Islands. Its bright rufous coloring is conspicuously displayed by the rapid movements of the wings and tail as the bird moves and feeds in the undergrowth. The population is apparently not large, and the individual or pair of birds probably ranges in a relatively large home territory.

_Evolutionary History of Rhipidura in Micronesia._--The evolutionary history of _Rhipidura_ in Micronesia has been studied considerably more than that of some of the other genera in the area. Oustalet (1896:70) notes a close relation between _Rhipidura_ of the Marianas and _R. rufifrons_ of Australia. Mayr (1941b:202, 203) regards the genus _Rhipidura_ as typical of the Polynesian area and remarks that speciation within this genus has proceeded at a relatively rapid rate. Mayr and Moynihan (1946) have devoted a 21-page paper to a thorough discussion of the _R. rufifrons_ group, based on the extensive collections at the American Museum of Natural History. They remark that no other genera are closely related to _Rhipidura_ and that evolution has proceeded further in _R. rufifrons_ than in any other species of the genus. These authors regard the Papuan area, probably New Guinea, as the original home of this group. From their study they point out that many of the subspecies of _R. rufifrons_ of the Papuan area, especially those of the Louisiades and the Solomons, appear to be the least specialized of the species, and that this lack of specialization in these subspecies indicates that the ancestral stock of the species _R. rufifrons_ acquired its specificity somewhere in that area. With regard to the kinds of _Rhipidura_ in Micronesia, Mayr and Moynihan (1946:fig. 2) have logically found three separate colonizations within the area: one represented today by _R. lepida_ at Palau; one of subspecies of _R. rufifrons_ at Yap and in the Marianas; and one by _R. r. kubaryi_ at Ponapé.

_R. lepida_, according to Mayr and Moynihan (1946), is a result of an early colonization by _Rhipidura_. It is related to _R. dedemi_, _R. superflua_, and _R. teijsmanni_, which are mostly monotypic or have only two or three subspecies within the species. These three species are found in the region including Celebes and the Moluccas. _R. lepida_ apparently invaded the Palau Islands from Celebes or an adjacent area and, among named species, most closely resembles _R. teijsmanni_. Both of these species have a white chin and throat, black breast patch, and rufous abdomen. _R. lepida_ has become differentiated chiefly by the presence of a rufous head and back, a more distinct breast band, and proportionately different amounts of rufous and black coloration of the tail feathers.

Mayr and Moynihan (1946:6) give as the chief characters of _R. rufifrons_ the following: "a rufous forehead, a grayish brown head and upper back, a well-defined rufous rump, a white chin and throat, a black breast band with scaling at its lower edge, and a dark brown tail with a distinct rufous base and a white tip." The Micronesian subspecies of _R. rufifrons_ at Yap and in the Marianas display these characters. Of the four subspecies found in the area including Yap and the Marianas, _R. r. versicolor_, _R. r. saipanensis_, _R. r. mariae_ and _R. r. uraniae_, the two first named most closely approach the ancestral stock, which may have been _R. r. commoda_ Hartert of the northern Solomons or some near relative in Melanesia. The amount of white on the chin and throat and on the malar stripe, in _R. r. versicolor_ and _R. r. saipanensis_ is probably nearer that which obtained in the ancestor. At Rota, _R. r. mariae_, exhibits less white on the throat and a thinner, white malar stripe, while at Guam, _R. r. uraniae_ possesses only a small amount of white on the chin and only a very thin line of white in the malar region. This variation in coloration suggests that the birds may have originally become established at Yap, Saipan and Tinian and later, birds from Saipan and Tinian spread to Rota and lastly to Guam.

_R. r. kubaryi_ of Ponapé, although considered as a subspecies of _R. rufifrons_ by most workers, has lost the rufous coloring found in most members of the species. Mayr and Moynihan (1946:6) point to its evolution through subspecies in the Santa Cruz Islands, where in _R. r. agilis_ Mayr the rufous of the lower back is restricted to the upper tail-coverts, and in _R. r. melanolaema_ Sharpe and _R. r. utupuae_ Mayr the rufous is absent. In the latter two subspecies, as well as in _R. r. kubaryi_, the forehead is white instead of rufous.

The invasion of Micronesia by _Rhipidura_ has undoubtedly been the result of abnormally long flights by a relatively weak flyer. The fact that _Rhipidura_ has succeeded in establishing itself at only a few of the seemingly suitable islands in Micronesia may indicate that the possibilities for chance migration and resulting colonization are small, but that new colonization may be expected in the future.

It is my opinion that the populations of _Rhipidura_, as I have observed them in Micronesia, are small because each individual or pair of birds is dependent on a relatively large area of woodland to satisfy its habitat requirements, especially for food. This suggestion needs to be tested by observation made in the field. In comparison with the insect fauna of New Guinea or some other large island, that of Micronesia is indeed small in number of kinds. Hesse, Allee and Schmidt (1937:524) explain the absence of insectivorous animals such as "swallows, swifts, flycatchers, and insectivorous bats" in island communities on the basis of the small number of flying insects in these communities. Probably _Rhipidura_ is able to forage for sedentary insect life as well as for the flying forms.

=Metabolus rugensis= (Hombron and Jacquinot)

Truk Monarch

_Muscicapa Rugensis_ Hombron and Jacquinot, Ann. Sci. Nat. Paris,
(2), 16, 1841, p. 312. (Type locality, Roug = Truk.)

_Monarcha rugensis_ Hartlaub, Archiv. f. Naturgesch., 18, 1852, p.
133 (Gruppe Roug. = Truk); _idem_, Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, p. 168
(Carolinen = Truk); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1867 (1868),
p. 829 (Hogoleu = Truk); Gray, Hand-list Birds, 1, 1869, p. 321
(Caroline = Truk); Giebel, Thes. Ornith., 2, 1875, p. 614
(Carolinae = Truk); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus.
Godeffroy, 1881, p. 353 (Ruk).

_Colluricincla rugensis_ Pucheran, Voy. Pôle Sud, Zool., 3, 1853,
p. 62 (Ruk); Hartlaub, Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, p. 162 (Roug =
Truk).

_Metabolus rugensis_ Bonaparte, Comptes Rendus Acad. Sci. Paris,
38, 1854, p. 650 (no locality = Truk); Sharpe, Cat. Birds British
Mus., 4, 1879, p. 238 (Ruk); Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880,
p. 575 (Ruk); Tristram, Cat. Birds, 1889, p. 197 (Ruk);
Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891
(1891), p. 19 (Ruk); Nehrkorn, Kat. Eiers., 1899, p. 26 (Ruk);
Hartert, Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 4 (Ruk); Matschie, Journ. f.
Ornith., 1901, p. 112 (Ruk); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 2, 1914, p. 262
(Karolinen = Truk); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 54
(Ruk); Wetmore, in Townsend and Wetmore, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool.,
63, 1919, p. 203 (Truk); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia,
1922, p. 63 (Ruk); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2, 1930,
p. 470 (Ruk); Yamashina, Tori, 7, 1932, p. 404 (Truk); Hand-list
Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 178 (Truk); Hand-list Japanese
Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 197 (Truk); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific,
1945, p. 295 (Truk).

_Monarcha (Metabolus) rugensis_ Gray, Cat. Birds Trop. Is. Pacific
Ocean, 1859, p. 19 (Caroline Islands).

_Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Truk.

_Characters._--Adult male: White feathers (with dark bases)
throughout except for black ones on forehead, lores, chin, and
throat; chin and throat with steel-blue gloss; tips of second to
fifth or seventh primaries black, black coloring extending along
inner webs; shafts of primaries and basal half of tail feathers
black; bill and feet black.

Adult female: Resembles adult male, but generally sooty-black,
darker above; under tail-coverts and sometimes rump splotched with
white; white coloring may also be present on tips of secondaries,
on chin, and on tail.

Immature: Resembles adult, but bright cinnamon on upper parts and
on wings and tail; inner webs of primaries grayish or dark brown,
shafts of primaries lighter on basal half; lores, chin and throat
white or washed with creamy-buff; breast and abdomen whitish,
washed with cinnamon, sides darker rufous, under wing-coverts,
axillaries, and under tail-coverts usually light rufous although
somewhat variable in color; basal part of bill yellow, tip of bill
horn colored. Immatures may be observed in all stages of color
change toward the adult condition.

_Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 40.

TABLE 40. MEASUREMENTS OF _Metabolus rugensis_

================+==========+=========+=========+=========
NUMBER AND SEX | Wing | Tail | Culmen | Tarsus
----------------+----------+---------+---------+---------
8 males | 103 | 91 | 27 | 26
| (98-105) | (88-93) | (26-28) | (25-27)
| | | |
6 females | 100 | 87 | 27 | 26
| (97-101) | (86-89) | (26-28) | (25-27)
----------------+----------+---------+---------+---------

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 27 (14 males, 13 females), as
follows: Caroline Islands, USNM--Truk, 2 (Feb. 16, not dated);
AMNH--Truk, 25 (Jan. 29, Feb. 1, 8, 10, 11, May 6, 9, June 11, 13,
14, 15, Oct. 11, 31, Nov. 2, 11, Dec. 3, 12, 17, 20).

_Nesting._--Yamashina (1932a:404) reports on the taking of a nest
containing one egg at Natsushima, Truk Atoll, in May, 1931.
According to Hartert (1900:5) Owston's collectors obtained nests on
June 1, 4, and 12. Two were in breadfruit trees about twenty feet
above the ground. Each nest contained one egg. Hartert writes, "The
eggs are cream-coloured, speckled with brownish red, more
frequently and often very thickly on the large end, and with some
deeper lying pale purplish grey patches, and one has some very fine
black lines on the large end."

_Molt._--A study of adult specimens obtained at various times of
the year indicates that _Metabolus_ normally molts in the period
from about October through January.

Mayr (1933e:1-10) has studied the variation of immature and adult
plumages in _Neolalage banksiana_ (Gray) and other birds pointing
out the occurrence of "retarded" and "progressive" plumages.
Bogert has followed this work in interpreting the condition of the
plumages in _Metabolus_, and through the kindness of Ernst Mayr I
have examined Bogert's unpublished manuscript on the series of
_Metabolus_ at the American Museum of Natural History, from which
the following account of the plumage is taken.

In the series of skins, there are specimens of non-molting,
immature males with "normal" plumage (that is to say, plumage with
upper parts cinnamon-colored and lower parts whitish and darker
buff) taken in October and in February. There are also specimens
of non-molting, immature females with "normal" plumage taken in
November and in May. These immatures are in fresh or slightly worn
plumages. In addition, there is one non-molting, male specimen
(November) which has some white on the crown and throat, some
black on the lores and chin, but because the black feathers are
fresh, the specimen is considered to be a "transition" bird and
may be either a "retarded" adult or a "progressive" immature male.
One non-molting female (October) shows some sooty-black mottling
on the chin and throat and a few black feathers on the crown; this
is apparently a "progressive" immature because the lower mandible
has a yellow basal part, characteristic of the immature. Another
female (June) shows black feathers on the crown, nape, chin,
throat, and breast; this bird is in the process of molting with
the black feathers representing new growth and is an immature
assuming the adult condition--in "progressive" plumage. One
non-molting male (January) has an intermingling of white feathers
in the cinnamon coloring of the head and body, black on the
forehead, chin and throat, primaries black with cinnamon edges,
and bill similar in color to that of the adult; it is considered
to be an adult with "retarded" plumage. Two molting males
(December) resemble adults except for cinnamon coloring on
shoulders, back, primaries, retrices and a slight cinnamon wash on
breast feathers; these may be "retarded" adults. One molting
female (June) has mixed cinnamon and sooty-black feathering; this
may also be a "retarded" adult. Another molting female (December)
with more sooty-black feathering and less cinnamon feathering is
also considered to be a "retarded" adult. In fully adult birds
there is considerable individual variation, especially in the
males where the amount of black on the throat, the extent of the
black on the terminal part of the primaries, and the extent of the
black on the basal part of the tail feathers is variable.
Scattered white feathers may be present on adult females.

_Remarks._--Hombron and Jacquinot first obtained the Truk Monarch, but it was not until the time of Kubary and of the Japanese collectors of Owston that very much was learned concerning the bird. In 1945, McElroy of the NAMRU2 party reported that he found no birds at the several islands of Truk that he visited in December. Some of the Japanese residents of the islands told McElroy that they did not know the bird. Evidently, its numbers are low or it has been eliminated, at least on the islands then populated by the Japanese.

_Metabolus_ belongs to a group of flycatchers including the genera _Pomarea_, _Mayrornis_, _Neolalage_, _Monarcha_, and _Clytorhynchus_. The different plumages of the adults and the immatures are not unusual in this group of genera, this feature being observed in many of the flycatchers of Oceania. Mayr (1933c:1) points out some of the relationships between _Metabolus_ and some of these other genera; he comments that all of them have rather thin bills, in contrast to those of other flycatchers.

_Metabolus_ became established at Truk probably as the result of an independent colonization. It is a well differentiated genus showing little resemblance to _Monarcha godeffroyi_ of Yap. In looking over the genera found in the Pacific area, it appears that _Metabolus_ is closest to _Clytorhynchus_ of the Melanesian region, especially to _Clytorhynchus hamlini_ Mayr, which is resident at Rennell in the Solomon Islands. The bills of these two birds are similar, both being long and thin, with a pronounced hook. In coloration there is some resemblance; _C. hamlini_ has the blackish forehead and chin like the male _Metabolus_ and also the burnt-orange underparts. In _C. hamlini_, however, the sexes are similar, _Metabolus_ also resembles _C. nigrogularis_. Like _Metabolus_, the immatures of this latter species are different in color from the adults.

=Monarcha godeffroyi= Hartlaub

Yap Monarch

_Monarcha godeffroyi_ Hartlaub, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1867
(1868), p. 829, pl. 38. (Type locality, Yap.)

_Monarcha godeffroyi_ Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, p.
50 (Yap); Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 4, 1879, p. 432 (Yap);
Nehrkorn, Journ. f. Ornith., 1879, p. 403 (Yap); Bolau, Mitteil.
Naturhist. Mus. Hamburg, 1898, p. 56 (Yap); Dubois, Syn. Avium, 1,
1902, p. 289 (Yap); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 2, 1914, p. 261 (Yap);
Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 295 (Yap).

_Monarcha godeffroyi_ Gray, Hand-list Birds, 1, 1869, p. 321
(Yap); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 175 (Yap);
Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 194 (Yap).

_Monarches godeffroyi_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc.
London, 1872, pp. 89, 97 (Yap); Gräffe, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 2,
1873, p. 123 (Yap); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus.
Godeffroy, 1881, p. 391 (Yap); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds
Micronesia, 1922, p. 63 (Yap).

_Pomarea godeffroyi_ Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus.
Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 19 (Yap); Matschie, Journ. f.
Ornith., 1901, p. 112 (Yap).

_Monarcharses geoffroyii_ Mathews, Bull. British Ornith. Club, 45,
1925, p. 94 (new generic name); _idem_, Syst. Avium
Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 514 (Yap).

_Monarcharses godeffroyi_ Takatsukasa and Yamashina, Dobutsu.
Zasshi, 43, 1931, p. 486 (Yap?).

_Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Yap.

_Characters._--Adult male: according to Sharpe (1879:432).
"General colour above white, from the hind neck to the rump and
including scapulars; wings black, the quills browner; upper
tail-coverts and tail black; head all around black, including the
lower throat; sides of neck and rest of under surface, from the
foreneck downwards, pure white; thighs and under tail-coverts
black; under wing-coverts black, quills ashy blackish below; white
along the inner edge of the primaries; 'bill entirely blue; feet
whitish blue; iris black' (Kubary M. S.)."

Adult female: "Entirely black, excepting the hind neck and upper
mantle, sides of neck, lower throat, and fore neck, which are pure
white" (Sharpe, 1879:432).

Immature: "Above brown, the head and hind neck ashy grey, the
scapulars rufescent at the tips, the rump rufous, becoming paler
and more fulvous on the upper tail-coverts; wing-coverts dusky
brown, broadly edged externally with rufous-buff, becoming fulvous
on the median and greater coverts; quills dark brown, externally
edged with rufous, the primaries narrowly, the secondaries more
broadly, the innermost of the latter edged and tipped with buff;
tail-feathers ashy brown, narrowly edged with ochraceous brown and
tipped with white, more broadly on the outer feathers; lores and a
broad eyebrow rufous-buff; ear-coverts rather deeper rufous,
shading on to the sides of the throat; under surface of body light
cinnamon-rufous inclining to rufous on the throat and under
tail-coverts; under wing-coverts light cinnamon, like the breast;
quills light brown below, whitish along the inner web; 'bill
horn-colour, the point brown, under mandible paler, feet dirty
white, iris black' (Kubary M. S.)." (Sharpe, 1879:433).

_Remarks._--No specimens of this species have been seen by me. Most taxonomists have regarded this bird as a member of the genus _Monarcha_, although Mathews did propose the name _Monarcharses_ for this bird. On the basis of descriptions and pictures (especially plate 38 in Hartlaub, 1868:828) the bird appears to be related to the monarch flycatchers of the Melanesian area. It may be closest to _Monarcha menckei_ from the Bismarcks, _M. manadensis_ of the New Guinea region, _M. barbatus_ from the Solomons or to _M. leucurus_ from Buru. The drab color of the immatures and the black and white color of the adults are characteristics of the Yap Monarch which are shared with some of the other species of _Monarcha_. The connection between _M. godeffroyi_ and _Metabolus rugensis_ of Truk is not known, but they evidently represent separate colonizations. _M. takatsukasae_ of Tinian appears to be an offshoot of _M. godeffroyi_ of Yap, in which the black and white plumage has been suppressed (or never developed). As indicated by the published descriptions, the immature of _M. godeffroyi_ shows a close resemblance to the adult of _M. takatsukasae_. The latter also shows relationships to immature specimens of _M. leucotis_ and to _M. guttula_ of Melanesia.

The relationship of the two species of _Monarcha_ in Micronesia to the Hawaiian Flycatcher, _Chasiempsis sandwichensis_ is not known. It is apparent that this Hawaiian form was derived from some ancestor from Melanesia, which arrived in the Hawaiian Islands by way of either Polynesia or Micronesia. Mayr (1943:45) has already pointed out that _Chasiempsis_ is "related to the _Monarcha_ group (_Pomarea_, _Mayrornis_, etc.)."

=Monarcha takatsukasae= (Yamashina)

Tinian Monarch

_Monarcharses takatsukasae_ Yamashina, in Takatsukasa and
Yamashina, Dobutsu. Zasshi, 43, 1931, p. 485. (Type locality,
Tinian.)

_Monarcha takatsukasae_ Yamashina, Tori, 7, 1932, p. 400 (Tinian);
Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 175 (Tinian); Hand-list
Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 195 (Tinian); Mayr, Birds
Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 296 (Tinian); Downs, Trans. Kansas
Acad. Sci., 49, 1946, p. 100 (Tinian).

_Geographic range._--Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Tinian.

_Characters._--Adult male: Forehead, lores, eyering, auriculars,
and underparts rufous, chin paler; under tail-coverts white; crown
and nape dark slate-gray; back reddish-brown; rump white; wing and
tail dark brown, outer edges of first three primaries white, tail
with white tips, more broadly tipped on outer tail feathers; outer
edges of scapulars and secondaries buffy but tips more whitish,
forming two wing bars; under wing-coverts whitish; bill
slate-blue, tip pearl; feet dark slate; iris dark brown.

Adult female: Resembles adult male, but slightly smaller and crown
more brownish.

Immature: Resembles adult, but base of bill lighter and underparts
paler.

According to the original description by Yamashina, _M.
takatsukasae_ resembles closely the immature _M. godeffroyi_ of
Yap in coloration; however, the Tinian Monarch has a shorter wing.

_Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 41.

TABLE 41. MEASUREMENTS OF _Monarcha takatsukasae_

================+=========+=========+=============+=============
NUMBER AND SEX | Wing | Tail | Full culmen | Tarsus
----------------+---------+---------+-------------+-------------
6 males | 70 | 68 | 18.0 | 22.0
| (67-72) | (65-70) | (17.5-19.0) | (21.0-23.0)
| | | |
10 females | 67 | 67 | 17.2 | 22.5
| (65-68) | (64-69) | (17.0-19.0) | (21.7-23.0)
----------------+---------+---------+-------------+-------------

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 20 (10 males, 10 females), as
follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--Tinian, 10 (Oct.); AMNH--Tinian, 9
(Sept.); KMNH--Tinian, 1 (Sept.).

_Nesting._--Yamashina (1932a:400, 401) records two nests of the
Tinian Monarch. He writes of one nest containing two eggs taken at
Churo, Tinian, on January 29, 1932, that was "hung on a fork of an
upward pointing branch of a road side tree commonly called 'Oba'
1.5 m. high from the ground in a forest.... The ground color of the
egg shells is white. The spots are pale reddish-brown and
distributed all round the surface like small dots, being
concentrated especially round the larger end." Another nest
containing three eggs was found on January 29, 1932. Yamashina
writes that the eggs measure 20.5 x 15, 21 x 15, and 18 x 15 mm. In
describing these nests Yamashina notes, "The shape of the two nests
mentioned above is like a deep cup. The outer layer of them is made
chiefly of dead leaves, fibers, cotton, wools and moss, and the
inner layer of fine stems and fibers only."

Downs (1946:101) writes that a nest found near Lake Hagoi at
Tinian on August 31, 1945, "was about three feet from the ground
carefully woven into the framework of a triangular crotch.... It
was composed exteriorly of small leaves, scattered white feathers,
and heavy grass; interiorly of grasses only." In the nest he found
a young bird which "was black-skinned, with ugly white quills and
a few short dark feathers on its tail and wings. The back feathers
were rusty brown as were the tufted head feathers." Marshall
(1949:219) assumes that this bird breeds all year.

_Molt._--Birds taken by Coultas in September are in fresh plumage.

_Remarks._--The Tinian Monarch is known only from Tinian, where it was described in 1931 by Yamashina. Downs (1946:100-103) presents a detailed account of this bird as he saw it in 1945. He found it living in brushy woodlands where other birds, including _Rhipidura rufifrons_, were observed. From his description, the actions and food-catching behaviors of this bird must be much like those of _Rhipidura_. Gleise (1945:220) estimated the population of these birds to be 40 to 50 in 1945.

=Myiagra oceanica erythrops= Hartlaub and Finsch

Micronesian Broadbill

_Myiagra erythrops_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London,
1868, p. 6. (Type locality, Pelew Islands.)

_Myiagra erythrops_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London,
1868, pp. 117, 118 (Pelew Islands); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc.
London, 1872, pp. 89, 97 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy,
8, 1875, pp. 4, 20 (Palau); Giebel, Thes. Ornith., 2, 1875, p. 658
(Pelew); Nehrkorn, Journ. f. Ornith., 1879, pp. 399, 403 (Palau);
Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 4, 1879, p. 383 (Pelew); Schmeltz
and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, p. 407 (Palau);
Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6,
1890-1891 (1891), p. 23 (Pelew); Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist.
Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 195 (Palaos); Bolau, Mitteil.
Naturhist. Mus. Hamburg, 1898, p. 55 (Palau); Matschie, Journ. f.
Ornith., 1901, pp. 112, 113 (Palau); Dubois, Syn. Avium, 1, 1902,
p. 283 (Pelew); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 2, 1914, p. 260 (Palau);
Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 54 (Pelew); Kuroda, in
Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 64 (Pelew); Yamashina, Tori,
10, 1940, p. 674 (Palau); Handlist Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942,
p. 195 (Babelthuap, Koror); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol.
107, no. 15, 1948, p. 69 (Peleliu, Ngabad, Garakayo).

_Submyiagra erythrops_ Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2,
1930, p. 504 (Palau); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 176
(Palau).

_Myiagra oceanica erythrops_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945,
p. 296 (Palau).

_Geographic range._--Micronesia: Palau Islands--Babelthuap, Koror,
Garakayo, Peleliu, Ngabad.

_Characters._--Adult male: Crown, occiput, nape, and auriculars
dark "slate-blue"; forehead, lores and orbital ring dark
"cinnamon-rufous"; black and upper wing-coverts olive-brown; rump
more like crown; underparts near "cinnamon," paler on middle of
abdomen, sides, and under tail-coverts; wings and tail dark brown,
edged with white; secondaries edged with brownish; under
wing-coverts whitish with dusky bases; bill and feet black.

Adult female: Resembles adult male, but slightly smaller and paler
in color.

Immature: Resembles adult, but head and rump browner; forehead,
lores, and orbital ring sandy in some individuals, more rufous in
others; underparts usually paler than in adult; bill basally
lighter.

_Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 42.

TABLE 42. MEASUREMENTS OF ADULT SPECIMENS OF _Myiagra oceanica_

==================+============+=========+=========+=============+==========
| Number | | | |
SUBSPECIES | and sex | Wing | Tail | Full culmen | Tarsus
------------------+------------+---------+---------+-------------+----------
_M. o. erythrops_ | 14 males | 69 | 53 | 16.4 | 19.5
| | (68-71) | (51-56) | (16.0-17.3) | (18.5-20)
| | | | |
| 11 females | 66 | 51 | 16.1 | 19.5
| | (64-68) | (48-53) | (15.5-17.0) | (18.5-20)
| | | | |
_M. o. freycineti_| 25 males | 70 | 60 | 16.3 | 19.5
| | (67-73) | (57-64) | (15.8-17.0) | (18.5-20)
| | | | |
| 16 females | 67 | 57 | 16.0 | 19.0
| | (65-70) | (55-62) | (15.5-17.0) | (18.0-19)
| | | | |
_M. o. oceanica_ | 11 males | 81 | 68 | 20.1 | 20.0
| | (78-83) | (65-71) | (19.5-20.5) | (19.5-21)
| | | | |
| 10 females | 79 | 66 | 20.0 | 20.0
| | (77-81) | (65-68) | (20.0-20.5) | (19-20.5)
| | | | |
_M. o. pluto_ | 14 males | 82 | 74 | 17.5 | 19.0
| | (79-83) | (71-77) | (17.5-18.0) | (18.5-20)
| | | | |
| 14 females | 80 | 73 | 17.5 | 19.0
| | (78-84) | (69-77) | (17.0-18.0) | (18.5-20)
------------------+------------+---------+---------+-------------+----------

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 33 (17 males, 15 females, 1
unsexed), as follows: Palau Islands, USNM--Babelthuap, 1 (Nov.
27)--Koror, 4 (Nov. 6, 19, 26)--Garakayo, 1 (Sept. 18)--Peleliu, 2
(Aug. 30)--Ngabad, 2 (Sept. 11); AMNH--exact locality not given, 23
(Oct., Nov., Dec.).

_Molt._--Molt apparently takes place in fall and early winter. Of
the specimens examined, there is little evidence of molt in those
obtained in August and September while there is considerably more
evidence of molt in those taken in November and December.

_Food habits._--A bird taken by the writer on September 17, 1945,
at Garakayo had approximately one-half cc. of insect parts in its
stomach.

_Remarks._--The Micronesian Broadbill at Palau is a friendly little bird and easily called-up to within a few yards of a person by imitating its note. It was seen by the NAMRU2 party in 1945 as singles and in pairs in the dense underbrush of the undisturbed forested areas. The bird was seen at only one woodland area at Peleliu (Southeastern Peninsula), but it was observed more frequently on the smaller islands of Ngabad and Garakayo. Coultas (field notes) also notes that in 1931 this bird was found more frequently on the smaller islands. _Myiagra_ was found to be much less conspicuous at Palau than _Rhipidura lepida_. _Myiagra_ appears to be less active, more solitary in its habits, and possibly more restricted in the territory that it covers in feeding than _Rhipidura_.

=Myiagra oceanica freycineti= Oustalet

Micronesian Broadbill

_Myiagra freycineti_ Oustalet, Bull. Soc. Philom. Paris, (7), 5,
1881, p. 73. (Type locality, Mariannes = Guam.)

_Myiagra freycineti_ Reichenow and Schalow, Journ. f. Ornith.,
1884, p. 395 (Mariannes = Guam); Oustalet, Le Nat., 1889, p. 260
(Mariannes = Guam); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus.
Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 24 (Marianne = Guam);
Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 194
(Guam); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 54 (Guam); Wheeler,
Report Island of Guam, 1900, p. 13 (Guam); Matschie, Journ. f.
Ornith., 1901, pp. 112, 113 (Guam); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P.
Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 50 (Guam); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 69
(Guam); _idem_, Amer. Anthro., 4, 1902, p. 711 (Guam); _idem_, The
Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 263 (Guam); _idem_, Contr. U. S. Nat.
Herb., 9, 1905, p. 79 (Guam); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 2, 1914, p.
260 (Marianen); Cox, Island of Guam, 1917, p. 21 (Guam); Kuroda,
in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 65 (Guam); Bryan, Guam
Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, 1936, p. 25 (Guam); Hand-list Japanese
Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 195 (Guam); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll.,
vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 68 (Guam).

_Submyiagra freycineti_ Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2,
1930, p. 504 (Guam); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 176
(Guam).

_Myiagra oceanica freycineti_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945,
p. 296 (Guam).

_Myiagra oceanica_ Strophlet, Auk, 1946, p. 539. (Guam).

_Geographic range._--Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Guam.

_Characters._--Adult male: A small flycatcher with head and neck
near "dark delft blue" with a metallic luster; lores and anterior
forehead ashy-gray, more bluish and darker on auriculars and sides
of neck than on lores; back and upper wing-coverts near
"green-blue slate" but darker and with metallic luster less
apparent than on head; rump grayer than back; chin and throat
white; breast light "cinnamon," fading to pale buff and white on
abdomen, sides, and under tail-coverts; tibia smoky-gray, tips of
feathers paler; wings dark brown edged with light bluish-gray;
tail bluish-slate, especially middle rectrices, tips of tail
feathers edged with white; bill and feet black; iris dark brown.

Adult female: Resembles adult female of _M. o. erythrops_, but
crown and neck near "deep Payne's gray," auriculars grayer than
neck; anterior forehead and lores buffy and tinged with cinnamon;
back browner than lores with upper wing-coverts and scapulars edged
with slightly lighter brown; rump resembles crown but grayer;
underparts paler than those of _M. o. erythrops_, especially chin
and throat; tibia more brownish.

Immature male: Resembles adult male, but back more brown and less
blue-green, lacking luster; anterior forehead more rufous;
scapulars, upper wingcoverts, and wings edged with light brown;
underparts variable but generally more buffy than those of adult.

Immature female: Resembles adult female, but more brown and less
blue on head and back; underparts more buffy; base of bill paler.

_Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 42.

_Weights._--The author (1948:68) records the weights of five adult
males as 10.5-12.5 (11.9), and those of two adult females as 11.4
and 12.0 grams.

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 64 (33 males, 22 females, 9
unsexed), as follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--Guam, 26 (Jan. 21,
March 16, May 21, 29, 30, June 1, 3, 14, 24, 26, July 10, 12, 13,
20, 23, Aug. 30); AMNH--Guam, 38 (Jan., Feb., March, July, Aug.).

_Nesting._--The writer (1948:68) records a nest containing one egg
found by Muennink at Guam near Mt. Santa Rosa on May 7, 1945. The
nest was in a bamboo stump approximately six feet from the ground.
The egg hatched on about May 21. Seale (1901:50) reports on a nest
and egg taken in the period from May to July. The NAMRU2 party
obtained a female on March 15 with an enlarged gonad. Strophlet
(1946:539) observed a pair of broadbills building a nest on
September 20, 1945; it was completed on October 4 and was
approximately seven feet above the ground. Hartert (1898:33)
reports on a nest taken at Guam on February 14, 1895.

_Molt._--As shown by the specimens examined, molt begins in June
or July.

_Food habits._--The stomach of a bird obtained on January 21,
1945, contained one unidentified bug (Hemiptera) and several parts
of other insects.

_Remarks._--The Micronesia Broadbill at Guam is not a common bird, and like its relative _Rhipidura rufifrons_ is an inhabitant of forested areas, especially those containing brushy undercover. It is an active bird, although less conspicuous than _Rhipidura_. The birds were found as singles or in pairs. The pair of birds which had a nest at the west base of Mount Santa Rosa in May, 1945, allowed the observers to approach closely to them. The birds are easily attracted by squeaking sounds. There is considerable variation in the amount of cinnamon coloring on the breasts of adult birds.

The Micronesian Broadbill at Guam was first discovered by Quoy and Gaimard, who called it "Moucherolle à gorge rouge." Kittlitz (1836:304) evidently records two species of flycatchers from Guam, which he calls _Muscicapa_. I judge these birds to be _Myiagra_ and _Rhipidura_. It was not until 1881 that Oustalet recognized this bird to be new. The first large series of specimens was obtained by Marche for the Paris Museum and was reported on by Oustalet (1895:194). Marche collected 12 skins in August and September, 1887, and 4 additional skins in February, 1889.

=Myiagra oceanica oceanica= Pucheran

Micronesian Broadbill

_Myiagra oceanica_ Pucheran, Voy. Pôle Sud, Zool., 3, 1853, p. 77.
(Type locality, Hogoleu = Truk.)

_Myiagra oceanica_ Hartlaub, Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, p. 168
(Carolinen = Truk); Gray, Cat. Birds Trop. Is. Pacific Ocean,
1859, p. 18 (Hogoleu = Truk); Finsch and Hartlaub, Fauna
Centralpolynesiens, 1867, p. 94 (Hogoleu = Truk); Gray, Hand-list
Birds, 1, 1869, p. 328 (Caroline Is. = Truk); Pelzeln, Journ. f.
Ornith., 1875, p. 51 (Hogoleu = Truk); Sharpe, Cat. Birds British
Mus., 4, 1879, p. 383 (Hogoleu = Truk); Nehrkorn, Journ. f.
Ornith., 1879, p. 403 (Ruk); Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London,
1880, p. 575 (Ruk); Oustalet, Bull. Soc. Philom. Paris, (7), 5,
1881, p. 73 (Carolines = Truk); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr.
Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, p. 353 (Ruk); Reichenow and Schalow,
Journ. f. Ornith., 1884, p. 395 (Carolines = Truk); Tristram, Cat.
Birds, 1889, p. 200 (Ruk); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool.
Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 23 (Ruk); Oustalet,
Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 196 (Hogoleu =
Truk); Nehrkorn, Kat. Eiers., 1899, p. 30 (Ruk); Hartert, Novit.
Zool., 7, 1900, p. 5 (Ruk); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, pp.
111, 112, 113 (Ruck); Dubois, Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, p. 283 (Hogoleu
= Truk); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 2, 1914, p. 260 (Karolinen = Truk);
Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 54 (Ruk); Wetmore, in
Townsend and Wetmore, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 63, 1919, p. 204
(Truk); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 64 (Ruk);
Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 195 (Truk); Baker,
Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 68 (Truk).

_Myiagra albiventris_ Finsch and Hartlaub, Fauna
Centralpolynesiens, 1867, p. 93 (Hoguleu = Truk); Giebel, Thes.
Ornith., 2, 1875, p. 658 (Carolinae = Truk).

_Submyiagra oceanica_ Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2,
1930, p. 505 (Ruk); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 175
(Truk).

_Myiagra oceanica oceanica_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945,
p. 296 (Truk).

_Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Truk.

_Characters._--Adult male: Resembles _M. o. freycineti_, but
larger with crown and nape less green and with less metallic
luster; lores and anterior forehead darker gray; chin, throat, and
sides of neck more buffy-cinnamon; back, rump, upper wing-coverts,
and scapulars less blue and more ashy gray; tibia, wings, and tail
more brownish.

Adult female: Resembles adult male, but smaller with less blue and
more gray on crown; lores and anterior forehead lighter.

Immature: Resembles adult, but crown and nape grayish, slate-blue;
under-parts paler.

_Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 42.

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 23 (12 males, 10 females, 1
unsexed), as follows: Caroline Islands, USNM--Truk, 2 (Feb. 16);
AMNH--Truk, 21 (Feb., June, Nov., Dec.).

_Nesting._--Hartert (1900:5) reports the taking of several nests in
the period from March to July by Owston's Japanese collectors. One
nest contained two eggs, the other nests contained one.

_Remarks._--The broadbill at Truk was first taken by Hombron and Jacquinot, who called it "Platyrhynque océanien." Later, Kubary obtained material which was studied by Finsch (1880e:575). In December, 1945, McElroy of the NAMRU2 party examined two adults with enlarged gonads. Specimens obtained by him at Truk were lost in shipment to the United States. In coloration this subspecies is closest to _M. o. freycineti_; in size it is closest to _M. o. pluto_.

=Myiagra oceanica pluto= Finsch

Micronesian Broadbill

_Myiagra pluto_ Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1875 (1876), p.
644. (Type locality, Ponapé.)

_Myiagra pluto_ Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, 1876, pp. 17,
19 (Ponapé); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877 (1878), p. 779
(Ponapé); Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 4, 1879, p. 380
(Ponapé); Nehrkorn, Journ. f. Ornith. 1879, p. 404 (Ponapé);
Finsch, Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, p. 288 (Ponapé); _idem_, Proc.
Zool. Soc. London, 1880, p. 576 (Ponapé); _idem_, Ibis, 1881, pp.
110, 112, 115 (Ponapé); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus.
Godeffroy, 1881, p. 280 (Ponapé); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber.
Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 23 (Ponapé);
Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 195
(Ponapi); Bolau, Mitteil. Naturhist. Mus. Hamburg, 1898, p. 55
(Ponapé); Nehrkorn, Kat. Eiers., 1899, p. 26 (Ponapé); Christian,
The Caroline Islands, 1899, p. 358 (Ponapé); Matschie, Journ. f.
Ornith., 1901, pp. 111, 112, 113 (Ponapé); Dubois, Syn. Avium, 1,
1902, p. 283 (Ponapi); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 2, 1914, p. 260
(Ponapé); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 54 (Ponapé);
Wetmore, in Townsend and Wetmore, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 63,
1919, p. 204 (Ponapé); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia,
1922, p. 64 (Ponapé); Mayr, Proc. 6th Pacific Sci. Congr., 4,
1941, p. 204 (Ponapé); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p.
195 (Ponapé).

_Submyiagra pluto_ Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2, 1930,
p. 505 (Ponapé); Yamashina, Tori, 1, 1932, p. 401 (Ponapé);
Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 176 (Ponapé).

_Myiagra oceanica pluto_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p.
296 (Ponapé).

_Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Ponapé.

_Characters._--Adult male: A dark, bluish-gray broadbill with
head, ear-coverts, and nape dark, metallic, steel-blue; back and
rump darker and more slate-blue than head; upper tail-coverts
blackish; tail black edged with greenish gloss; wings dark brown,
scapulars and secondaries with outer edges tinged with metallic
bluish-gray; lores black; chin, throat, and upper breast dark with
light metallic-blue wash; lower breast and abdomen slate-gray;
under wing-coverts brownish-black; bill black; feet bluish-black;
iris dark brown. Female resembles male, but slightly smaller and
somewhat duller. Immature duller.

_Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 42.

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 42 (23 males, 19 females), as
follows: Caroline Islands, USNM--Ponapé, 3 (Feb. 11); AMNH--Ponapé,
39 (Nov., Dec.).

_Nesting._--Yamashina (1932a:401) records nests and eggs of the
Ponapé broadbill. The nests were at heights of between .9 and 2.2
meters above the ground. Nests, each containing a single egg, were
obtained on July 21, 25, and August 6. The eggs measure 19.5 by 16,
20.5 by 15.7, 20.5 by 16, and 20.2 by 16. Coultas (field notes)
describes the nest as a cup-shaped structure, made of fine grasses
and ferns, and placed in small trees and bushes at low elevations.
Of specimens taken by Coultas in November and December, 1931,
approximately fifty percent of the males had enlarged gonads.
According to his specimen labels, none of the females was in
breeding condition.

_Molt._--Of the large series of broadbills taken by Coultas,
approximately twenty percent of those taken in November were in
molt whereas only approximately ten percent of those taken in
December were in molt. Specimens taken in February were not in
molt. It is evident that molting takes place in the fall, possibly
from August to December.

_Remarks._--The coloration of the Micronesian Broadbill at Ponapé is in marked contrast to that of other representatives of _Myiagra_ in Micronesia, being dark, bluish-gray in color. Probably the bird has taken on melanistic characters, which is not unusual in birds which have become isolated; examples of this condition may be observed in _Rhipidura_, _Terpsiphone_ and other genera.

Coultas (field notes) writes that the bird is "Common everywhere on the island except in the grasslands. Two birds are working together usually, darting around in the low trees, among the branches or on the ground. The birds are playful, friendly and inquisitive. I should not call them noisy as one or more will sit for many minutes watching the intruder without making a peep. Their call, "Que Que," is a spasmodic outburst that might be repeated many times or just once. The male, presumably, erects the long crown feathers when calling. Perhaps both male and female do this, I can't say. The bird flutters on the wing and displays the feathers as does _Rhipidura_. When sitting, the bird often erects the crest and fluffs the tail and feathers."

_Evolutionary History of Myiagra oceanica._--According to Mayr (1933d:1) _Myiagra_ "is easily recognizable by its broad bill and the color pattern which is similar in all species." The range of the genus _Myiagra_ extends from Australia and Tasmania westward to Timor, northward to the Moluccas, and Micronesia, and eastward to Polynesia. _Myiagra oceanica_ is restricted to Micronesia and consists of four subspecies, which until recently have been considered as four separate species. Unlike many of the species of this genus, _M. oceanica_ shows comparatively little sexual dimorphism. The male of _M. oceanica_ has metallic coloring on the head and the upper back and often has rich, rufous coloring on the breast. The female is less brilliant in coloring, lacking the sheen. The four subspecies vary from each other in size, color and even, to some extent, in basal breadth of the bill. _M. oceanica_ resembles several broadbills, including _M. galeata_ of the Moluccas, _M. rubecula_ of Australia, _M. vanikorensis_ of Fiji, and _M. ruficollis_ of Australia and the Lesser Sundas; however, in my opinion, it has probably been derived from _M. galeata_ of the Moluccan area or from a closely related species. In Micronesia, _M. o. oceanica_ and _M. o. freycineti_ appear to resemble closely this parent stock, whereas _M. o. erythrops_ and _M. o. pluto_ are more differentiated but are considered to have been derived from this same colonization. _M. o. pluto_ bears some resemblance to _M. atra_ of the Papuan area, particularly in the dark coloring; this is probably only a parallel evolution, since they have little else in common. _M. vanikorensis_ of the Fiji area is close to _M. oceanica_ in color and structure; the two species, I suspect, have been derived from a common source rather than from each other. Study of the evolutionary history of the entire genus is necessary before we can understand fully the derivation of the Micronesian and Polynesian species. It seems safe to say that the center of dispersal has been in the Australian region; the lack of diversity of this genus within the Papuan area is at present unexplained.

=Muscicapa narcissina narcissina= Temminck

Narcissus Flycatcher

_Muscicapa narcissina_ Temminck, Pl. Col., 3, 1835, pl. 577, fig.
1. (Type locality, Japan.)

_Muscicapa narcissina narcissina_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific,
1945, p. 302 (Palau).

_Geographic range._--Breeds in eastern Asia and Japan. Winters
south to Malaysia. In Micronesia: Palau Islands--exact locality
unknown.

_Remarks._--Mayr (1945a:302) records the Narcissus Flycatcher as a migrant visitor to the Palau Islands on the basis of two specimens in the Turloff collection, formerly in the Zoölogical Museum in Hamburg.

=Muscicapa griseisticta= (Swinhoe)

Chinese Gray-spotted Flycatcher

_Hemichelidon griseisticta_ Swinhoe, Ibis, 1861, p. 330. (Type
locality, Amoy.)

_Hemichelidon griseisticta_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932,
p. 175 (Koror); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 194
(Koror).

_Muscicapa griseisticta_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p.
302 (Palau); Marshall, Condor, vol. 51, 1949, p. 221 (Palau).

_Geographic range._--Breeds in northwestern Asia and Japan. Winters
south to Malaysia. In Micronesia: Palau Islands--Koror.

_Remarks._--The Chinese Gray-spotted Flycatcher is a casual winter visitor to the Palaus. Marshall (1949:221) took two specimens at Palau on November, 1945.

=Colluricincla tenebrosa= (Hartlaub and Finsch)

Palau Morning Bird

_Rectes tenebrosus_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London,
1868, p. 6. (Type locality, Pelew Islands.)

_Rectes tenebrosus_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London,
1868, p. 118 (Pelew Islands); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London,
1872, pp. 89, 99 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875,
pp. 4, 18, pl. 3, fig. 1 (Palau); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr.
Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, p. 407 (Palau); Wiglesworth, Abhandl.
und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 27
(Pelew).

_Colluricincla tenebrosa_ Gray, Hand-list Birds, 1, 1869, p. 386
(Pelew); Dubois, Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, p. 496 (Pelew); Mayr, Amer.
Mus. Novit., no. 1269, 1944, p. 5 (Palau); _idem_, Birds Southwest
Pacific, 1945, p. 297 (Palau); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol.
107, no. 15, 1948, p. 69 (Peleliu, Ngabad, Garakayo).

_Pinarolestes tenebrosus_ Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 3,
1877, p. 298 (Pelew); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 112
(Palau); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 2, 1914, p. 296 (Palau); Takasukasa
and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 54 (Pelew); Kuroda, in Momiyama,
Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 69 (Pelew); Hand-list Japanese Birds,
rev., 1932, p. 174 (Palau).

_Myiolestes tenebrosus_ Tristram, Cat. Birds, 1899, p. 188
(Pelew).

_Caleya tenebrosus_ Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2,
1930, p. 649 (Pelew).

_Malacolestes tenebrosus_ Mayr, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 590, 1933,
p. 5 (Palau); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 193
(Babelthuap, Koror, Peliliu).

_Geographic range._--Micronesia: Palau Islands--Babelthuap, Koror,
Garakayo, Peleliu, Ngabad.

_Characters._--Adult: Upper parts between "snuff brown" and
"bister," head blacker; chin, throat, and upper breast like upper
parts but darker; lower breast and abdomen lighter and more buffy,
sides darker; feathers of underparts with darker shafts producing
a streaked appearance; underside of wing and under tail-coverts
light-colored; bill dark brown; feet lighter brown; iris
yellowish. Female smaller.

Immature: Resembles adult, but head and neck lighter; ear-coverts,
sides of neck, throat, upper breast darker; lower breast and
abdomen paler.

_Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 43.

TABLE 43. MEASUREMENTS OF _Colluricincla tenebrosus_

================+===========+=========+=============+=========
NUMBER AND SEX | Wing | Tail | Full culmen | Tarsus
----------------+-----------+---------+-------------+---------
| | | |
20 males | 104 | 76 | 23.5 | 31
| (100-107) | (73-79) | (22.5-24.5) | (29-31)
| | | |
9 females | 97 | 73 | 23.0 | 30
| (94-101) | (71-76) | (22.0-24.0) | (30-31)
----------------+-----------+---------+-------------+---------

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 32 (21 males, 11 females), as
follows: Palau Islands, USNM--Koror, 6 (Nov. 5, 18)--Garakayo, 3
(Sept. 18)--Peleliu, 5 (Aug. 29, 30, Sept. 1, 6)--Ngabad, 2 (Sept.
11); AMNH--exact locality not given, 16 (Oct. 8, 13, 26, Nov. 11,
13, 17, 19, 21, 23, Dec. 9).

_Molt._--The molting process in this species seemingly takes place
from August until December. Most of the birds taken by the NAMRU2
party in August and September were in molt. Molting specimens were
obtained by Coultas in October, November and December.

_Food habits._--The Palau Morning Bird feeds on plant and animal
materials. Stomachs obtained by the NAMRU2 party contained green
plant material, seeds, insect parts, and grit. The bird feeds
principally on the ground or in low bushes.

_Remarks._--The Palau Morning Bird is a thrushlike bird which spends its time on or near the ground in areas where ground cover is thick. In 1945, the NAMRU2 party found the bird in the thick matting of vines which had covered over the battle-cleared areas. I did not find the bird at elevations of more than three to four feet above the ground. When flushed, it would flutter a short distance and disappear into the brush. It has a sweet song and may be considered as one of the finest singers in Micronesia. It heralds the break of day with its melodious carol, and its name is derived from its calling early in the morning. I heard the bird only infrequently in the hot part of the day, although it would sing when the skies were overcast. Its song could be heard also as evening approached. The bird is moderately common, and evidently is more abundant on the smaller islands than on Peleliu. Its occurrence on the smaller islands was noted also by Coultas.

The taxonomic status of the Palau Morning Bird has been one of uncertainty as shown by the fact that the bird has been treated under six generic names since its discovery by Captain Tetens. Mayr (1933a:5) erected a new genus, _Malacolestes_, for the morning bird pointing to its differences from "_Rhectes_ (= _Pitohui_) and _Pinarolestes_ (= _Myiolestes_)." Later, he (1944b:5) disregards this name and places the bird in the genus _Colluricincla_ stating that its special characters "are due to isolation." This treatment is followed here. The Palau Morning Bird is the most northern representative of a group of birds which have their center of dispersal in the New Guinea and Australian area. As Mayr has pointed out, _C. tenebrosus_ appears closest to the _C. megarhynchus_ group of New Guinea. These species have bills of similar shape, coloration which is darker above and lighter below, soft feathers on underparts, and streaked appearance of throat and breast. The resemblances between _C. tenebrosus_ and _C. megarhynchus_ might be such as to indicate that these are merely subspecifically distinct from each other.

=Artamus leucorhynchus pelewensis= Finsch

White-breasted Wood-swallow

_Artamus pelewensis_ Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, 1876, p.
41. (Type locality, Palau.)

_Artamus leucorhynchus_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc.
London, 1868, pp. 116, 118 (Pelew); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc.
London, 1872, pp. 89, 99 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy,
8, 1875, pp. 4, 18 (Palau); Walden, Ibis, 1876, p. 188 (Pelew).

_Artamus pelewensis_ Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877 (1878),
p. 739 (Pelew); Tweeddale, Ibis, 1878, p. 385 (Pelew); Sharpe,
Cat. Birds British Mus., 13, 1890, p. 9 (Pelew); Wiglesworth,
Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p.
26 (Pelew); Bolau, Mitteil. Naturhist. Mus. Hamburg, 1898, p. 62
(Palau); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 112 (Palau);
Dubois, Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, p. 533 (Pelew); Reichenow, Die Vögel,
2, 1914, p. 346 (Pelew).

_Artamus leucorhynchus pelewensis_ Stresemann, Novit. Zool., 20,
1913, p. 293 (Palau); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p.
193 (Babelthuap, Koror); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p.
297 (Palau).

_Artamus melanoleucus pelewensis_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds
Micronesia, 1922, p. 69 (Pelew); Mathews, Syst. Avium
Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 635 (Pelew); Hand-list Japanese
Birds, rev., 1932, p. 174 (Palau).

_Geographic range._--Micronesia: Palau Islands--Babelthuap, Angaur.

_Characters._--Adult: Upper surface black, except for back which
is slightly brownish and for rump which is white; underparts
white, except for chin, throat and upper breast which are black;
wings with grayish tips; bend of wing black; bill milky blue,
nostril and tip black; feet black; iris dark brown.

Immature: Resembles adult, but black feathers with brownish
tinges; primaries tipped with white.

_Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 44.

TABLE 44. MEASUREMENTS OF _Artamus leucorhynchus pelewensis_ Finsch

------------------+-----------+---------+---------+-------------
Number and Sex | Wing | Tail | Culmen | Tarsus
------------------+-----------+---------+---------+-------------
| | | |
5 males | 134 | 68 | 25 | 16.5
| (132-136) | (66-69) | (24-26) | --
| | | |
4 females | 134 | 68 | 24 | 17.0
| (132-136) | (67-69) | -- | (16.5-17.0)
------------------+-----------+---------+---------+-------------

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 12 (7 males, 5 females), from
Palau Islands, AMNH--exact locality not given (March, Nov., Dec.).

_Remarks._--Little is known concerning the habits and distribution of the white-breasted Wood-Swallow at Palau. Coultas obtained a series of eight birds in 1931; he writes (field notes) that his native hunter took every bird that he saw. The natives told him that they did not know the nest of the bird. Coultas concluded that the bird was not common. He commented that it may be found perched in the top of a tree on a dead branch or "even displaying in the air." The NAMRU2 party found no evidence of this bird in the southern Palaus in 1945. The specimens obtained by Coultas in November and December, 1931, were in molt and had small gonads.

This wood-swallow is the only Micronesian representative of _Artamus leucorhynchus_. Like several other species of birds it has become established only at the Palau Islands, and has either been unsuccessful in colonizing other parts of Micronesia or has not had the opportunity to do so. This bird had been compared with specimens representing ten subspecies of _A. leucorhynchus_ in Melanesia and Malaysia. _A. l. pelewensis_ differs from these subspecies examined by its blacker appearance, with only a faint brownish wash on the back, and by its shorter, first primary. The curvature of the upper mandible of the bird in the Palaus is similar to that of _P. l. leucorhynchus_ of the Philippines; the mandible is less curved than that of _P. l. celebensis_ of Celebes; the mandible is slightly thicker than that of _P. l. leucopygialis_ of the New Guinea and Australian region. In length of wing _P. l. pelewensis_ resembles closely _P. l. leucorhynchus_; _P. l. celebensis_ has a longer wing and _P. l. leucopygialis_ has a shorter one. Stresemann (1913:293) points to a close relationship between _P. l. pelewensis_ and _P. l. musschenbreeki_ of Tenimber and Babber islands and _P. l. melaleucus_ of New Caledonia; Mayr (1945a:284) says the bird in the Palaus came from the Papuan area. Probably _P. l. pelewensis_ has reached the Palau Islands from the New Guinea area by way of the Philippines.

=Aplonis opacus opacus= (Kittlitz)

Micronesian Starling

_Lamproth[ornis] opaca_ Kittlitz, Kupfertaf. Naturgesch. Vögel, 2,
1833, p. 11, pl. 15, fig. 2. (Type locality, Ualan = Kusaie.)

_Turdus colombinus_ Lesson (part), Traité d'Ornith., 1832, p. 406
(Carolines = Kusaie?).

_Lamproth[ornis] opaca_ Kittlitz, Mém. Acad. Imp. Sci. St.
Petersbourg, 2, 1935, p. 7 (Ualan); _idem_ (part), Obser. Zool.,
in Lutké, Voy. "Le Séniavine," 3, 1836, pp. 285, 297 (Ualan);
Pelzeln, Reise "Novara," Vögel, 1865, p. 68 (Ualan).