“Five males average: Length, 86; wing, 49; tail, 23.6; culmen, 12; tarsus, 12; middle toe with claw, 12. Two females, length, 82.5; wing, 45; tail, 20.5; culmen, 12.7; tarsus, 11; middle toe with claw, 12. Iris dark brown; bill, legs, feet, and nails black. Breeding in Samar in August.” (Bourns and Worcester MS.)
Three sets of eggs of this flowerpecker were collected by Whitehead near Paranas, Samar, in July, 1896. These eggs are described as rather long, ovate in shape, pure white, and measuring 15 mm. by 12 mm.
“Nest round, pocket-shaped, with the entrance at the side, suspended from slender boughs or to the stem of a large leaf. The outside of the nest is made of green moss bound together with spider’s webs, the inside lined with the dark brown down stripped from the young fern-fronds. A favorite site is a neglected native clearing some distance from the forest.” (Grant and Whitehead.)
637. DICÆUM BESTI Steere.
BEST’S FLOWERPECKER.
- Dicæum besti Steere, List Birds & Mams. Steere Exped. (1890), 22; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 97.
Pis-pis, Siquijor.
Siquijor (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Celestino).
Male.—Similar to the male of D. cinereigulare, but the throat clear ashy gray, not washed with yellow; rump with a slightly yellow wash. Wing, 52; tail, 27; culmen from base, 13; bill from nostril, 9; tarsus, 14.
Female.—Plumbeous above; rump, tail-coverts, and center of back greenish yellow; chin pale yellow; throat and chest ashy gray; middle of breast and of abdomen and tail-coverts rich lemon-yellow; sides and flanks ashy gray, washed with tea-green; primaries edged with cinereous. Wing, 50; tail, 25; culmen from base, 12; bill from nostril, 8; tarsus, 13.