“The Samar crow has the shy habits of C. pusillus, but its note is entirely different. We heard its note for a long time without suspecting that it was made by a crow. We occasionally found C. pusillus about the open fields, but never met with C. samarensis except on the sides of well-wooded hills. A male measures: Length, 355; wing, 252; tail, 116; culmen, 52; tarsus, 35; middle toe with claw, 45. Three females average: Length, 338; wing, 215; tail, 118; culmen, 48; tarsus, 46; middle toe with claw, 44. Iris dark brown: legs, feet, nails, and bill black. Food fruit and insects.” (Bourns and Worcester MS.)
[1] It is a matter of difficulty to distinguish between the soft short tail-feathers and the long, overhanging coverts; in this species, therefore, it is more convenient to measure from base of tail to tip of longest covert. [↑]
[2] The status of Gallus stramineicollis, described from a specimen collected in Sulu by Burbidge, is somewhat doubtful; Grant considers it a domestic bird. The original description follows:
“General color above black, shot with green and purple; wing-coverts like the back, the innermost and the scapulars with a slight subterminal shine of coppery brown; primary-coverts and primaries black, the secondaries externally green; feathers of the lower back and rump straw-yellow, with darker longitudinal centers of black or green; upper tail-coverts and tail glossy oil-green; crown of head and nape black; hind-neck and neck-hackles, as well as sides of neck, straw-yellow, deeper on the hind-neck, with green longitudinal centers to the feathers; remainder of under surface of body black with a green gloss; comb short and rounded; sides of face and entire throat bare. Total length 34.5 inches [876 mm.], culmen 1.1 [28], wing 9.0 [229], tail 17.5 [445], tarsus 3.4 [86].” [↑]
[3] Birds from some of these localities may be M. langhornei. [↑]
[4] It is possible that all the records of Ptilocolpa for Mindanao should be referred to P. mindanensis. [↑]
[5] Whitehead’s diagnosis is as follows: “Similis P. griseipectori (Bp.), sed plaga præpectorali nigra, nec cinerea, facile distinguenda. Long. tot. 13.0 poll., alæ 8.3, caudæ 4.8, tarsi 0.85.” [↑]
[6] The order Colymbiformes as used here is equivalent to order VIII Podicipedidiformes of Sharpe’s Hand-List and not order IX Colymbiformes of that work. Tachybaptus Reichenbach is to be used for the genus or subgenus Podiceps Latham. Cf. Stone, Auk (1907), 24, 190; Allen, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. (1907), 24, 24. [↑]
[7] Mr. W. Eagle Clarke informs me that he has received a specimen of the Philippine grebe from Panay. [↑]