Five new birds from the Philippines

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FIELDIANA • ZOOLOGY

Published by
CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM

Volume 31 December 30, 1948 No. 25

FIVE NEW BIRDS FROM THE PHILIPPINES

A. L. Rand
Curator, Division of Birds

In working out the collection made in the Philippine Islands by
the 1946-47 Philippine Zoological Expedition of Chicago Natural
History Museum it was found necessary to name five new subspecies
of birds. It seems advisable to publish the present description of
new forms in advance of the full report, which is in press. An
introductory account of the expedition as a whole, by Mr. Hoogstraal,
who was in charge of the expedition in the field, will soon be published.

Dr. Ernst Mayr, of the American Museum of Natural History,
kindly lent material for comparisons, and compared the grebes for
me in New York, and Mr. H. G. Deignan of the United States
National Museum also lent comparative material and supplied in-
formation. To these gentlemen I wish to express my thanks.

Podiceps ruficollis cotabato subsp. nov.

Type. — Chicago Natural History Museum No. 183976, from
Liguasan Marsh, near sea level, Cotabato Province, Mindanao
Island, Philippine Islands. Adult male, collected December 18,
1946, by 1946-47 Philippine Zoological Expedition.

Diagnosis. — A rather small form with the undoa^rts dark, the
black of the chin much restricted, the chestnut Hning the eye
and extending more than halfway up the sides of tne^reck, and much
white in the secondaries.

Compared with philippensis of Luzon the new form has the lower
breast and belly much darker, upper parts darker and more blackish,
and wing and bill slightly smaller.

Mayr, who compared this material with tricolor and vulcanorum
in the American Museum, reports that this new race differs from
tricolor in its smaller size, average lighter under parts, and extensive
presence of white in the secondaries. The new form is distinguished
from vulcanorum by its shorter bill, blacker under parts, and blackish
breast collar. In regard to the amount of black on the chin, Mayr

No. 620 201

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202 FIELDIANA: ZOOLOGY, VOLUME 31

writes that he cannot see much difference between tricolor and
vulcanorum despite Rensch's comments in the original description
of the latter.

Measurements. — Wing: male 98; female 98, 98. Measurements of
two specimens of philippensis are: male, 113; female, 105. Hachisuka
(1931-32, The Birds of the Philippine Islands, 1, p. 248) gives the
wing as 100-107 mm., culmen 23 mm. Hartert (1912-21, Vog. Pal.
Fauna, p. 1455) gives the wing as 109-112.5.

Range. — Known only from Mindanao.

Remarks. — Grebes from the Philippines have all been included
under the name philippensis and have been described as having the
belly white. The original description refers to the under side of
the body as being white, which is clearly applicable to the Luzon
Island birds in our collection but not to the Mindanao birds. The
type locality of philippensis, hitherto given as the fresh waters of
the Philippines, is hereby restricted to the island of Luzon.

The present series of three Mindanao birds presents some varia-
tion; in two the under parts are dark brownish gray with many of
the feathers with buffy white tips; the third has more white in the
central part of the under parts with the gray showing through, but
it is still quite distinct from the white-bellied philippensis.

As we have no specimens of vulcanorum and tricolor in Chicago
Natural History Museum, Dr. Mayr kindly compared my specimens
with his series in New York.

In addition to the type, we have the following specimens of this
form: Mindanao, 2 females, 2 downy young, December 15-18.

Megalaema haemacephala mindanensis subsp. nov.

Type. — Cfl m Natural History Museum No. 184583, from
Todaya, altitU^^,800 feet, Mount Apo, Mindanao Island. Adult
male, collected October 27, 1946, by 1946-47 Philippine Expedition.

Diagnosis. — Adults like those of M. h. haemacephala of Luzon
but differ in the under parts generally having more of a yellowish
wash; in the ventral streaking being heavier, with the streaks being
deeper and more intensely green in color; and in the upper parts
being slightly deeper green, more of a blue green, rather than yellow
green.

Measurements.- — Male adult: wing (5) 80-85 (av. 82.6); culmen
(5) 21-23 (av. 22.4). Female adult: wing (4) 80-82 (av. 81.5 mm.);
culmen (4) 22-23 (av. 22.5).

RAND: NEW BIRDS FROM THE PHILIPPINES 203

Range. — Specimens belonging to this race examined from Min-
danao only; probably occurs also on some neighboring islands.

Remarks. — Two names are available for the yellow-throated
barbets of the Philippines, Bucco haemacephalus of Mtiller, 1776,
and Bucco philippinensis of Gmelin, 1788, both names without de-
finite locality beyond the Philippine Islands. It seems advisable to
restrict both of these names to Luzon and apply the new name to
Mindanao birds.

It is interesting that the color of the back and of the breast and
belly of mindanensis resembles more closely that of examples of the
red -throated form intermedia than that of Luzon specimens of
haemacephala.

Material from Mindoro (seven adults) resembles Luzon birds
(twelve adults) more closely than it does Mindanao material (nine
adults).

Irena cyanogaster hoogstraali subsp. nov.

Type. — Chicago Natural History Museum No. 184278, from
Burungkot, Upi Municipality, Cotabato Province, Mindanao Is-
land, Philippine Islands. Adult male, collected January 5, 1947,
by 1946-47 Philippine Zoological Expedition.

Diagnosis. — Similar to J. c. melanochlamys of Basilan but the
glossy blue of crown, wings and upper and under tail coverts is
paler and bluer, less purplish tinged; the brilliant blue of the upper
tail coverts is of greater extent, reaching nearly to the rump; and
the dull blue of the lower back, rump, tail, breast and abdomen is
bluer, lacking a purplish tinge.

Measurements. — Male: wing 125, 125; tail 98, 100; culmen 28,
30.5; tarsus 18.5, 19 mm.

Range.— Island of Mindanao in the Philipph

Remarks. — Though I have but two MindanaolHT three Basilan
birds, the National Museum has one Mindanao bird and nine from
Basilan, and Mr. Deignan writes that the differences stated above
hold for this material.

The race melanochlamys was described from the Steere collection
from Basilan. i

The other races in the Philippines are J. c. cyanogaster Vigors,
with the upper back blue (not black), from Luzon and Polillo, and
I. c. ellae Steere, with back black and under parts "deep velvety
black, feathers of abdomen slightly washed with blue," from Leyte
and Samar.

10 a to tl

204 FIELDIANA: ZOOLOGY, VOLUME 31

Rhabdornis inornatus alaris subsp. nov.

Type. — Chicago Natural History Museum No. 184455, from east
slope of Mount McKinley at 3,000 feet, Davao Province, Mindanao
Island, Philippine Islands. Adult male, collected September 18,
1946, by 1946-47 Philippine Expedition.

Diagnosis.— Similar to R. i. inornatus from Samar but differs
in the great reduction of the white streaks in the upper wing coverts;
in the reduced amount of white in the stripe over and extending
behind the eyes; in the reduced amount of white on the side of the
neck, posterior to the black cheek patch; in the slightly more brown-
ish, less grayish top of the head; in the heavier and more extensive
streaking of the under parts; and in the more earthy brown, less
ochraceous-white lining to the under wing. This new race appears
to have on the average a slightly longer wing.

Measurements. — R. i. inornatus: Samar, male, wing 79, 85; tail
41, 48; culmen 18, 19; tarsus 19, 21. Grant's original measurements
(1897, Bull. Brit. Orn. Club, 6, p. xviii) were: total length 6.2 in.,
culmen 0.74 in.; wing 3.2 in.; tail 2.0 in.; tarsus 0.8 in. R. i.
alaris: Mindanao, male, wing 88, 89, 90; tail 51, 53, 53; culmen
18, 18.5, 19; tarsus 20, 21, 21; female, wing 85, 92; tail 46, 47; cul-
men 18, 18; tarsus 20, 21.

Material examined. — R. i. inornatus: Samar, 2 males (A.M.N.H.).
R. i. alaris: Mindanao, 2 females (A.M.N.H.), 3 males (C.N.H.M.).

Range. — Mindanao.

Remarks. — This species was first recorded from Mindanao by
McGregor (1907, Philippine Jour. Sci., p. 296), and the specimen
was the first known female. McGregor compared this with the
plate published by Ogilvie-Grant (1897, Ibis, pi. 6) and noted that
while it agreed^ quite closely with the plate, the top of the head was
browner, less gray". The Samar birds, judging by present material,
do have grayer heads, but this is overemphasized in the plate. The
faint white streaks in the upper back of the bird shown in the plate
agree with those of one of the present Samar birds, but the other
has them barely indicated; the characteristic extensive white in the
side of the neck is well shown in the plate.

The two old female specimens from Mindanao (1903 and 1915)
are slightly more rusty brown (as are the two Samar males, 1896)
than the three fresh 1946 Mindanao males. This difference is
attributed to foxing and females appear inseparable from males in
plumage.

RAND: NEW BIRDS FROM THE PHILIPPINES 205

Anaimos plateni culionensis subsp. nov.

Type. — Chicago Natural History Museum No. 184810, from
San Pedro, Culion Island, Calamianes group, Philippine Islands.
Adult male, collected March 27, 1947/ by 1946-47 Philippine Zoo-
logical Expedition.

Diagnosis. — Similar to A. p. plateni of Palawan but adult male
with yellow of under parts distinctly more orange yellow, less clear
yellow; red pectoral spot somewhat larger; yellow of rump more
orange tinged; white malar stripe averaging slightly smaller. Adult
female averages somewhat deeper yellow below, with more of a
tendency toward an orange pectoral spot. In size this subspecies
averages slightly smaller than^ A. p. plateni.

Measurements. — Male, wing 52, 52, 53, 54; culmen 12, 12, 12.
Female, wing 49, 51, 53; culmen 11, 11.5, 12 mm. A series of A. p.
plateni from Palawan measures: male, wing (6) 53-56 (av. 54.5);
culmen 12-13; female, wing 51, 53; culmen 12, 12.5.

Range. — Probably throughout the Calamianes group, northeast
of Palawan, in the Philippines, though I have specimens only from
Culion Island.

Remarks.— Bourns and Worcester reported this species abundant
in the Calamianes Islands, and commented on the average slightly
smaller size (McGregor, 1909, A Manual of Philippine Birds, p. 638).