A Manual of Philippine Birds

by Richard C. McGregor

“Its nest is a mere platform of twigs, grass-stems, tendrils, and leaves, measuring about 180 mm. in breadth. The eggs are nearly oval in form, pure white in color, and measure 31 by 24.” (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

Genus PHAPITRERON Bonaparte, 1854.

Length, 230 to 280 mm.; sexes alike in color; colors nearly uniform brown of various shades; a wide iridescent band on neck; primaries neither scooped nor cut; rectrices graduated and rounded and with gray tips; under tail-coverts gray or dark buff. Birds of this genus are closely related inter se, maculipectus alone showing a slight departure from the type in its mottled breast. The species fall naturally into two groups which might take the rank of subgenera were anything to be gained thereby. The first five species (see key to species), the amethystina group are rare deep-woods birds; their colors are generally darker brown than those of the leucotis group and the bill is noticeably longer and heavier, being longer than tarsus. The five species of the leucotis group are fairly common in their respective ranges; they are to be found in more open country or even on the borders of rice-fields; in this group the tarsus equals, or is slightly greater than, the culmen.

Species.

• a¹. Culmen more than 19 mm.; longer than tarsus.
  • b¹. Breast not mottled.
    • c¹. Under tail-coverts cinnamon or ocherous-brown.
      • d¹. Breast brown; wing longer amethystina (p. [30])
      • d². Breast pearly ash; wing shorter brunneiceps (p. [32])
    • c². Under tail-coverts ashy gray.
      • d¹. Under tail-coverts not tipped with fulvous cinereiceps (p. [31])
      • d². Under tail-coverts slightly tipped with fulvous frontalis (p. [32])
  • b². Breast distinctly mottled maculipectus (p. [33])
• a². Culmen less than 17 mm.; equal to or less than tarsus.
  • b¹. Forehead gray or fulvous, not white.
    • c¹. Throat and cheeks deep ruddy fulvous.
      • d¹. Throat darker; occiput dull amethystine-rufous leucotis (p. [33])
      • d². Throat lighter; occiput bright coppery amethystine occipitalis (p. [34])
    • c². Throat and cheeks pale fulvous.
      • d¹. Forehead grayish; light streak under eye fulvous nigrorum (p. [35])
      • d². Forehead pale fulvous; light streak under eye white brevirostris (p. [35])
  • b³. Forehead and chin pure white albifrons (p. [36])

16. PHAPITRERON AMETHYSTINA Bonaparte.

AMETHYSTINE BROWN PIGEON.

• Phapitreron amethystina Bonaparte, Consp. Gen. Avium (1854), 2, 28; Compt. Rend. (1855), 40, 214; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 10.
• Phabotreron amethystina Walden, Trans. Zool. Soc. (1875), 9, 214, pl. 34, fig. 2; Salvadori, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1893), 21, 66; Sharpe, Hand-List (1899), 1, 55.

Bohol (McGregor); Dinagat (Everett); Leyte (Steere Exp.); Luzon (Meyer, McGregor); Mindanao (Everett, Goodfellow, Celestino); Panaon (Everett); Samar (Steere Exp., Whitehead).

Adult.—A black line below eye from gape to neck; below this a line of white mixed with reddish brown; general color above dark brown, lighter on forehead and fore crown; bird held toward the light, neck and its sides, beautiful, iridescent purple and violet-blue; wing-coverts, back, rump, and tail-coverts, dark glossy green; bird held away from the light, neck and sides of neck blue or deep violet; wings, back, tail, and its coverts washed with purple; below uniform light brown except middle of abdomen and tail-coverts which are dark buff; tail dark brown with a broad, apical, gray band, the middle pair of rectrices do not show this band from above. Iris light brown; bare skin about eyes dark, dirty red; bill black; legs and feet bright carmine; nails horn-colored. Length, about 255. In a male from Bataan Province, Luzon, the wing is 140; tail, 99; culmen, 23; tarsus, 20.5. Salvadori gives the following measurements: Wing, 146; tail, 78; bill, 22; tarsus, 22.