A Manual of Philippine Birds

by Richard C. McGregor

“Common in Palawan and the Calamianes Islands. Food, ants and their larvæ. Observed in trees in the open fields in Culion. Found only in the forest in Palawan.

“Ten males average, 260 in length; wing, 150; tail, 84; culmen, 29; tarsus, 23; middle toe with claw, 27. Five females, length, 261; wing, 134; tail, 84; culmen, 28; tarsus, 21; middle toe with claw, 28. Iris chocolate-brown; legs and feet dirty green; bill black, except base of lower mandible, which is gray.” (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

Genus CHRYSOCOLAPTES Blyth, 1843.

Culmen nearly straight; nasal ridge strongly marked; nostrils exposed; feathers of throat and breast with large nearly circular light spots bordered with black or blackish brown; upper parts red or yellow; inner webs of quills with large white spots; of medium size, length 250 to 280 mm.; bare space around eye larger than in Tiga and the crest laterally compressed instead of being spread out.

Species.

• a¹. Mantle and back golden yellow. erythrocephalus (p. [399])
• a². Mantle and back largely crimson.
  • b¹. Sides of head and entire lower parts strongly washed with yellow. xanthocephalus (p. [402])
  • b². Sides of head and lower parts not washed with yellow.
    • c¹. Wings and mantle crimson without any mixture of yellow.
      • d¹. Chin and jaw not washed with crimson; light spots on throat and fore breast nearly round hæmatribon (p. [400])
      • d². Chin and jaw washed with crimson; light spots on throat and fore breast pear-shaped rufopunctatus (p. [402])
    • c². Wings and mantle more or less orange or yellow.
      • d¹. Wings and mantle crimson mixed with golden yellow lucidus (p. [401])
      • d². Mantle and wing-coverts orange with scarcely a tinge of crimson. montanus (p. [401])

363. CHRYSOCOLAPTES ERYTHROCEPHALUS Sharpe.

RED-FACED GOLDEN FLICKER.

• Chrysocolaptes erythrocephalus Sharpe, Trans. Linn. Soc. (1877), 1, 315, pl. 46, fig. 1; Hand-List (1900), 2, 228; Hargitt, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1890), 18, 452; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 65.

Balabac (Everett); Calamianes (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Palawan (Steere, Everett, Lempriere, Platen, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Celestino, White).