A Manual of Philippine Birds. Richard C. McGregor
of the upper surface, the innermost secondaries banded with blackish brown and sandy rufous; the head rufous, streaked with dark brown, but indistinctly; sides of face buffy white, with very fine streaks of brown; throat white; lower throat, sides of neck, and chest reddish buff, slightly mottled with dusky bases to the feathers of the side of breast; remainder of under surface white, suffused with rufescent buff, and shaded with ashy brown on the sides of the body.
“It is evident from the molting specimens in the collection that the black markings are acquired first, and that the rufous-color overspreads the plumage afterwards. Great variation in the amount of the nuptial decoration is seen in the series, and sometimes very old individuals have the abdomen, and even the under tail-coverts, barred.” (Sharpe.)
The black-tailed godwit is extremely rare in the Philippines, the only specimens examined by me being two killed near Manila, in February, 1908.
Genus TOTANUS Bechstein, 1803.
Culmen straight, equal to tarsus; secondaries and rump white.
105. TOTANUS EURHINUS (Oberholser).
ASIATIC REDSHANK.
Totanus calidris Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1896), 24, 414 (part); Hand-List (1899), 1, 160 (part); Oates, Cat. Birds’ Eggs (1902), 2, 43 (part).
Totanus totanus eurhinus Oberholser, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. (1900), 22, 207.
Totanus eurhinus McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 25.
Bantayan (McGregor); Basilan (McGregor); Bohol (Everett, McGregor); Cebu (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Cuyo (McGregor); Mindanao (Mearns); Mindoro (Porter); Negros (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester); Palawan (Platen, Whitehead); Siquijor (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester). Central and eastern Asia, south in winter to Malay Archipelago.
“Male.—Above rufescent broccoli-brown, the feathers everywhere with dark brown centers, the back more or less irregularly barred with the same; rump pure white, sparingly marked with brownish; tail and upper tail-coverts dull white, heavily barred with sepia-brown, the terminal portion of central tail-feathers buffy; wings fuscous, the innermost secondaries like the back and barred on exposed portions with dark brown; remainder of secondaries white, but pale brown on concealed bases; greater coverts white or grayish distally, brownish gray basally, and barred with sepia; median coverts brownish gray, barred with sepia; lesser coverts almost plain; lower surface white, more or less heavily marked throughout with sepia, these markings taking on throat and breast the form of broad streaks, on flanks, sides, and crissum of bars, and elsewhere of more or less irregular spots; lining of wing white, varied with brownish, except on axillars. ‘Length of male, 292; of female, 298; bill black, orange-brown at base beneath; iris dark brown; feet orange-red; claws black.’ (Abbott.)
“The form of Totanus totanus inhabiting Central and Eastern Asia, although seemingly identical with the European bird in color and markings, is yet so much larger, particularly in length of wing, tail, and culmen, that its separation as a subspecies appears to be warranted.” (Oberholser.)
Taking the measurements of three males and two females from Central Asia as recorded by Oberholser gives the following average measurements: Wing, 163; tail, 66.8; exposed culmen, 46.6; tarsus, 47.2; middle toe, 30.2.
A male from Cuyo measures: Wing, 159; tail, 61; exposed culmen, 46; tarsus, 49; middle toe with claw, 34. A female from Cuyo, wing, 151; tail, 59; exposed culmen, 43; tarsus, 47; middle toe with claw, 35.
I refer Philippine specimens of the redshank to the Asiatic subspecies as being the one more likely to occur here if two races of Totanus totanus be recognized.
Genus HELODROMAS Kaup, 1829.
Bill straight, equal to tarsus, greater than middle toe with claw; rump and tail-coverts white.
106. HELODROMAS OCHROPUS (Linnæus).
GREEN SANDPIPER.
Tringa ocrophus12 Linnæus, Syst. Nat. ed. 10 (1758), 1, 149.
Helodromas ochropus Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1896), 24, 437; Hand-List (1899), 1, 160; Oates, Cat. Birds’ Eggs (1902), 2, 44; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 25.
Bohol (McGregor); Luzon (Everett, Steere, Whitehead); Negros (Whitehead); Samar (Steere). Africa, Europe, and northern Asia; in winter to Indian Peninsula and Malay Archipelago.
“Adult male in winter plumage.—Above uniform olive-brown with a slight gloss of bronzy olive; scapulars and wing-coverts like back, but having a few tiny white spots on the margins; lower back and rump darker, blackish brown with white edges to the feathers; upper tail-coverts pure white; lesser wing-coverts, outer median, and outer greater coverts uniform olive-brown; alula, primary-coverts, and quills blackish brown, secondaries like the back and freckled with tiny white spots on the edges; tail-feathers white, the center ones with three black bars on the terminal half, these bars disappearing gradually on the lateral feathers, outer ones being entirely white; crown, hind neck, and mantle uniform ashy brown; a supra-loral streak of white; lores dusky, surmounted by an indistinct, white eyebrow, lined with blackish streaks; sides of face, ear-coverts, and cheeks white, rather broadly streaked with blackish brown; throat white, streaked with brown on the sides; lower throat, sides of neck, and fore neck also distinctly streaked with brown; remainder of under surface pure white; sides of upper breast brown, slightly mottled with white; under wing-coverts and axillars blackish, barred very plainly with white; lower primary-coverts and inner lining of quills uniform, with white dots along the inner edge of the secondaries. ‘Bill dusky above, reddish beneath; feet grayish blue, tinged with green; iris dusky.’ (Macgillivray.) Length, 228; culmen, 35; wing, 137; tail, 56; tarsus, 33.
“Adult male in breeding plumage.—Differs from the winter plumage in being much more variegated, the whole of the back being spotted with white, the spots being arranged in pairs on the edges of the feathers, which are also tipped with a bar or twin spots of white; the whole of the head and neck streaked with white, and the brown streaks on the side of the face, fore neck, and chest very broad and distinct, the sides of the upper breast being brown, very much mottled with bars of white. Length, 236; culmen, 35; wing, 137; tail, 55; tarsus, 30.
“Adult female in breeding plumage.—Does not differ in color from the male, but is not quite so strongly marked. Length, 229; culmen, 38; wing, 142; tail, 50; tarsus, 33.
“Young in autumn plumage.—Scarcely differs from the winter plumage of the adult, but, when freshly molted, it has indistinct margins of ashy bronze on the feathers of the upper surface; the tail-bands are narrower on the center feathers, while the subterminal band is broader than in the adults.
“The change to the summer plumage is apparently effected by a distinct molt, which takes place while the bird is in its winter quarters, and in many instances, especially in the case of the males, the summer plumage is completely assumed before the species leaves for its breeding place.” (Sharpe.)
Genus HETERACTITIS Stejneger, 1884.
Bill straight, longer than tarsus; back, rump, and tail-coverts uniform in color.
107. HETERACTITIS BREVIPES (Vieillot).
POLYNESIAN TATTLER.
Totanus brevipes Vieillot, Nouv. Dict. d’Hist. Nat. (1816), 6, 410.
Heteractitis brevipes Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1896), 24, 549; Hand-List (1899), 1, 161; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 26.
Bantayan