“Adult.—Similar to B. javanica, but darker gray on the under surface, which is of a sooty-slate color with a slight tinge of rusty on the abdomen, cheeks and ear-coverts uniform slate-color. It much resembles B. stagnatilis, especially the birds from Flores, but it is not so dingy underneath and has a less shade of rusty on the abdomen. ‘Bill black, lower portion of lower mandible, from base to tip, edged pale horny; front of tarsus, toes, and claws brownish green, bare portion of tibia and back of tarsus dirty greenish yellow; naked skin round eye dull green, tinged with yellow in front; eyelids deep green.’ (Hume.) Length, 445; culmen, 60; wing, 193; tail, 53; tarsus, 43.” (Sharpe.)
This species differs from both B. javanica and amurensis in its much darker color, particularly of the under parts which are nearly uniform slate-gray; the white of chin and throat is much restricted and on the fore breast is reduced to a few shaft-lines; all of the wing-coverts are edged with dull rusty buff. The specimen collected by Mearns near Palawan measures: Wing, 165; tail, 58; culmen from frontal feathers, 60; tarsus, 47; middle toe with claw, 50.
Genus BUBULCUS Bonaparte, 1854.
Non-breeding plumage all white; legs and nails black; primaries and secondaries about equal in length; exposed culmen less than middle toe with claw, the latter less than tarsus.
148. BUBULCUS COROMANDUS (Boddaert).
INDIAN CATTLE EGRET.
- Cancroma coromanda Boddaert, Tabl. Pl. Eul. (1783), 54.
- Bubulcus coromandus Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1898), 26, 217; Hand-List (1899), 1, 202; Oates, Cat. Birds’ Eggs (1902), 2, 130, pl. 5, fig. 2; Blanford, Fauna Brit. Ind. Bds. (1898), 4, 389, fig. 92 (head); McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 35; McGregor, Phil. Jour. Sci. (1907), 2, sec. A, 322.
Ta-gac′ cal-a-bau, Manila; la-guac′, Calayan; tá-bon, Bohol.
Balabac (Steere Exp., Everett); Basilan (McGregor); Batan (McGregor); Bohol (Everett, McGregor); Bongao (Everett); Calayan (McGregor); Catanduanes (Whitehead); Cebu (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Cuyo (McGregor); Guimaras (Steere Exp.); Lubang (McGregor); Luzon (Jagor, Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Masbate (Bourns & Worcester); Mindanao (Steere Exp., Goodfellow); Mindoro (McGregor); Negros (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester); Palawan (Steere, Everett, Whitehead, Platen, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, White); Panay (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester); Siquijor (Celestino); Sulu (Platen); Tablas (Bourns & Worcester); Ticao (McGregor). Eastern Siberia, Korea, China, Indian Peninsula, Ceylon; Indo-Chinese countries to Celebes and Moluccas.
Adult in breeding plumage.—White; head, neck, and fore breast golden buff; long decomposed dorsal plumes delicate vinaceous-pink, washed with brown; ends of the plumes on fore breast also vinaceous-pink. Iris light lemon-yellow; bill and bare skin around eye chrome-yellow; legs and nails black. A male from Mariveles, Luzon, measures: Length, 540; wing, 265; tail, 98; exposed culmen, 63; tarsus, 95; middle toe with claw, 89.