[Pg 77]

In the last decade former Governor-General W. Cameron Forbes
has presented to the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy three large
collections of Philippine birds. One of these was made in 1911,
another in 1913, and the third and finest collection in 1921 while,
with General Leonard Wood and Colonel Gordon Johnston, Mr.
Forbes was on an official tour of inspection of the islands.

On the excursions which resulted in the gathering together of these
collections Mr. Forbes was sometimes accompanied by General
Leonard Wood, the Honourable Dean C. Worcester, and Dr. Richard
C. McGregor, and he had also the expert assistance of Mr. A. Celestino.

During the spring and summer of 1921 Governor Forbes and party
visited most of the islands of the group. Bird collecting was carried
on with enthusiasm by all the members of the party on every possible
occasion, but stops at the different islands were at best limited to a
few days and official business had, of course, precedence. The collections
therefore while large, interesting, and fairly representative
are by no means exhaustive.

The following notes, which include descriptions of five new forms,
are based on the three collections.

I am under great obligations to Dr. Chas. W. Richmond and Mr.
J. H. Riley of the United States National Museum for making some
comparisons in Washington and for giving me data from other specimens
in the collections under their care.

Twelve specimens, both sexes, mostly fully adult, Lake Liguasan,
Mindanao, March and August.

The Comb-crested Jacana has been found in the Philippine Islands,
apparently only in Mindanao. Specimens from that island I am
unable in any way to distinguish from one skin in the M. C. Z. from
Celebes, the type-locality of the species. Mr. J. H. Riley writes me
[Pg 78]
that he has lately compared three specimens from Celebes with one
from Mindanao with the result that he could find no differences.
It is safe therefore to refer the Philippine bird to the typical form.

Three specimens, two males and a female, from Mindanao, March
and August.

These belong, as of course was to be expected, to the decidedly small
form of Australia, Java, Celebes, etc., the range of which must be
extended to include the Philippines as well.

Five adults, both sexes, Tubbataba Reef, Sulu Sea, August, 1913.

The Blue-faced Booby, which breeds in the Tubbataba Reef in the
Sulu Sea is indistinguishable, so far as I can see, from the Australian
form.

The color of the bill and feet was not noted on the labels of Gov.
Forbes's birds; in the dry specimens the bill is pale yellow and the
feet are dull greenish black.

Six specimens, two adult males in full breeding plumage, three adult
females and one immature male, from Cavilli and Bancoran Islands,
Sulu Sea, March and September.

I follow Rothschild in restricting Gmelin's name minor to the bird
[Pg lxxix]
of the eastern Indian Ocean, north Australia etc. (= F. minor listeri
Mathews), and with little doubt refer to this form the Philippine
Frigate.

The color of the bill in the three females is bright pink, not far from
between France-pink and geranium-pink of Ridgway. The soft
parts were described by Governor Forbes on the labels as—"Eyelid
bright red: bill light pink, nail white, tip black; feet pale pink."
The males all have dark bills, their soft parts were noted on the labels
as—"Bill blue-black; feet dull brownish, with a slight reddish
tinge."

An adult female of F. minor palmerstoni (Gmelin), shot by Flood,
29 September, 1895 at Molokai, H. I. (115,028 M. C. Z.) has a decidedly
pinkish bill, the color of which was noted on the label as "light
purple."

Gmelin mentions the red bill in his short diagnosis of minor and
Edwards's plate to which he refers shows a female Frigate with a red
bill.

I have dwelt at the above length upon the red bill of the female of
both minor and palmerstoni because it is a character that I have seen
but little mentioned, and because I feel morally certain that the
American bird—Fregata magnificans Mathews according to Rothschild,
F. minor rothschildi Mathews according to Mathews—does not
show it. We have a very large series of Frigate birds from America,
and among the females none show any trace of reddish or pinkish on
the bills, nor do I find the bill of the female described as pink on any
label, or for that matter in any text-book.

This being the case, it is a matter of much interest to know what
forms have a pink bill in the female, and what do not.

Three specimens, from Tawi Tawi Island, two adult males and one
adult female all taken 21 August, 1921.

Compared with Fregata ariel iredalei Mathews of the western
Indian Ocean these are large birds with heavy bills, and appear wholly
referable to true ariel of Australia etc.

[Pg 80]

One immature example (sex not determined) was shot by Mrs.
Robb White at Sagada, Bontoc, northern Luzon in July 1913 and
given to Governor Forbes. This, I believe, is the first record for the
species in the Philippines. The specimen, M. C. Z. 64,621, affords a
wing length of 366 mm.

Two adult males, Mindoro, July. (Also two old skins in M. C. Z.
labeled "Manilla").

Stuart Baker, (Ibis 1919, p. 219), has already pointed out the strong
characters that distinguish the Philippine form of this little Barbet.
I include it in these notes merely to emphasize the fact that it must be
kept distinct from birds from India, the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra,
etc. Its long bill, dark colors, and heavily striped under parts at once
distinguish it.

Four adults, both sexes, Negros, July.

This is another strongly marked representative form, peculiar to
the Philippines. It differs from X. rosea rosea (Dumont) of Java etc.
in its very much larger bill (averaging 22 mm. as against 16 mm. in
true rosea), slightly larger size, darker colors, and much more heavily
striped under parts.

Twelve specimens, both sexes, Lubang near Luzon, Mindanao,
Palawan, Camiguin, Camotes, Basilan, Panay, Mindoro, and Cagayan
de Sulu, June, July, and August.

Type.—M. C. Z. 64,329 adult , Lubang, near Luzon, 6 July, 1913.
W. Cameron Forbes.

Characters.—Similar to L. niger niger (Forster), (type-locality
"in India Orientali" which I will farther restrict to Singapore, being
as likely as anywhere else to have been whence the type actually came),
but larger; in color the adult differing in the sheen of the head and
back being darker and more purplish, less greenish; the rump slightly
darker gray and the tibia grayer, less whitish. The adult decidedly
[Pg 81]
grayer less brownish above—deep neutral gray (the upper parts in
L. nigra nigra are hair-brown to Chaetura drab).

Remarks.—Birds from Java are small and appear to be quite like
those from Singapore and the southern Malay peninsula. The Borneo
bird is a little larger and the one female before me is gray above as in
the Philippine form.

Nine specimens, both sexes, from Palawan and Dumaran Islands,
June, July, August, and September.

Type.—M. C. Z. 64,334 adult , Puerto Princesa, Palawan Island,
4 August, 1913. W. Cameron Forbes.

Characters.—Similar to A. tiphia tiphia (Linné) and A. t.
viridis (Bonaparte) of Borneo, but bill longer and heavier; the upper
parts much more yellowish olive-green and the forehead, including
the lores, broadly bright yellow.

[Pg 82]

Remarks.—The Palawan and Dumaran bird represents a very good
form, easily separated from A. tiphia tiphia or A. t. viridis by its
larger bill and much brighter upper parts. The series shows no
individual variation, and no tendency to ever become dusky or black
above.

Three specimens from the Sulu Archipelago; an adult Sibutu,
23 August, an adult Cagayan de Sulu, 2 July, and an immature
Jolo, 2 August.

Type.—M. C. Z. 57,529 adult , Cagayan de Sulu, 2 July, 1911.
W. Cameron Forbes.

Characters.—Similar to O. ruficeps ruficeps (Lesson), (specimens
from Borneo), but slightly larger, with longer bill; upper parts clearer
gray; crown slightly deeper brown.

Remarks.—There are, in the U. S. N. M., three skins from Sibutu
similar in all respects to ours.

Birds from Palawan and Clulion Islands are somewhat smaller
than those from Sulu, but agree in color more nearly with them, than
they do with true ruficeps of Borneo.

[Pg 83]

Two adult males from Camiguin Island, 2 August, 1921.

Type.—M. C. Z. 86,369 adult , Camiguin Island, 2 August, 1921.
W. Cameron Forbes.

Characters.—Similar to Z. basilanica Steere, but larger; upper
parts much brighter and yellower,—yellowish citrine rather more
strongly yellowish on head and upper tail coverts; yellow of under
parts brighter and clearer—bright yellow chrome.

Remarks.—This new form which is well marked and quite distinct,
belongs in the group characterized by possessing a wide stripe of yellow
along the median under parts and gray sides and flanks. In the
Philippines this group is represented by:

I have given the new form, which is named in honour of Governor
W. Cameron Forbes, specific rank because in an enormous genus,
largely composed of island forms, like Zosterops, I do not know where
to draw the line between species and subspecies and much prefer
leaving the question to be decided by some future reviewer of the
genus.

Zosterops meyleri McGregor also of Camiguin Island, is a small
species with wholly yellow under parts, belonging in a different group
of the genus.

Four adults, both sexes, Palawan, August.

Type.—M. C. Z. 64,180 adult , Puerto Princesa, Palawan Island,
14 August, 1913. W. Cameron Forbes.

Characters.—Similar to O. xanthonotus xanthonotus Horsfield of
[Pg 84]
Java, but larger with longer tail. Adult differing in color in
much more heavily striped under parts and in the black of chest
extending farther backward to include the upper breast; and much less
sharply defined posteriorly against the white under parts; back more
greenish yellow; yellow spot on outer tail feather large. The adult
besides differing, as does the , in heavier stripes below etc., has the
whole pileum, occiput, upper neck, and sides of neck heavily streaked
black and olive-green, and the throat and chest dull gray with whitish
streaks. (A probably an older bird in the U. S. N. M. has the head
neutral gray with an olive wash, very conspicuously streaked with
black, the black streaks extending as in the others right to base of
bill).

Remarks.—The Black-headed Oriole has been recorded from
Palawan and Calamianes Islands only in the Philippines. The
Palawan representative form is strongly marked and easily to be distinguished
from O. x. xanthonotus of Java.

The bird of Borneo may represent still another form, distinguished
from true xanthonotus by slightly smaller size, the under parts less
purely white, that is, much more suffused with yellowish or yellowish
ochraceous, sometimes even with grayish and with the yellow tail-spots
larger. This form probably should be known as Oriolus xanthonotus
consobrinus Wardlaw-Ramsay (P. Z. S., 1879, p. 709, N. E.
Borneo). Everett, however, (Birds of Borneo 1889, p. 119), in mentioning
the type states that "It is dissimilar from all known immature
individuals of O. xanthonotus and belongs rather to the O. steerii
group." If this is true and there is in north Borneo a form of the
Philippine group of Orioles, with the sexes alike in plumage and with
the throat and chest plain gray, then the form of the Black-headed
Oriole of Borneo, if recognized, should be named.

In old females from Java the pileum and cheeks are dark mouse-gray,
blackish on the forehead, the black streaks narrow, almost
obsolete and noticeable on the crown and occiput only. Females from
the mainland and Borneo and Sumatra also, when adult, have faint
blackish streaks on the crown. In immature plumage the head is
wholly unstreaked, which I doubt to be the case in the Palawan form.

There have been published of the Bulletin Vols. I. to LIV., LVI.,
and LVIII. to LXIV.; of the Memoirs, Vols. I. to XLII., and also
XLIV. to XLVI., and XLVIII.

Vols. LV., LVII. and LXV. of the Bulletin, and Vols. XLIII.,
XLVII. and XLIX. of the Memoirs, are now in course of publication.

The Bulletin and Memoirs are devoted to the publication of
original work by the Officers of the Museum, of investigations carried
on by students and others in the different Laboratories of Natural
History, and of work by specialists based upon the Museum Collections
and Explorations.

The following publications are in preparation:—

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Each number of the Bulletin and of the Memoirs is sold separately.
A price list of the publications of the Museum will be sent on application
to the Director of the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy,
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