Whitehead thus describes the habits of this species: “Fairly common in the lower valleys in the mountainous districts of north Luzon. This species has the pretty habit of its Malay cousin L. temmincki. Just at the last moment of the tropical day, when the highest heavens are tinged with the soft light of the setting sun, Lyncornis leaves its bed among the dead leaves and grass and flies high into the air, rising and descending with vertically held wings, uttering every now and then its pretty whistle, ‘tet-a-bow, tet-a-bow.’ But soon when the last rays have ceased to gild the sky, it descends to mother earth to feed on winged insects, its pretty note being then exchanged for a frog-like croak. Toward sunrise Lyncornis once more rises to the heavens and utters the same ‘tet-a-bow,’ but it shortly dives to the ground, and rests unseen until the evening light again tempts it from its concealment.”
Genus CAPRIMULGUS Linnæus, 1758.
Wings long and pointed, first primary shorter than second; rictal bristles conspicuous, no ear-tufts on sides of head; males generally distinguished by having large white spots on wings and tail.
Species.
MALES.
- a1. White spot on first primary
smaller and not reaching the shaft.
- b1. White spot on outer rectrix subterminal. jotaka (p. [349])
- b2. White spot on outer rectrix terminal.
- a2. White spot on first primary larger and reaching the shaft. griseatus (p. [344]); mindanensis (p. [346])
FEMALES.
- a1. A large terminal white spot on
tail.
- b1. Larger, length about 290 mm.; a larger terminal white spot across both webs of outer rectrix; spot on first primary white and larger, on second primary extending to the shaft. macrurus (p. [348])
- b2. Smaller, length about 250 mm.; a smaller terminal white spot across inner web of outer rectrix; spot on first primary buff and smaller; on second primary not extending to the shaft. manillensis (p. [346])
- a2. No terminal white spot on tail which is barred and mottled.