A Manual of Philippine Birds. Richard C. McGregor
Northern Siberia, northeastern Europe; in winter Africa and Indian Peninsula to Australia.
“Adult male in breeding plumage.—Differs from the winter plumage in having black centers to feathers of upper surface; head streaked with blackish brown; a rufescent tint pervades the upper surface; lesser wing-coverts and scapulars almost entirely black, the latter forming a double band down the back; wing-coverts, secondaries, lower back, rump, and upper tail-coverts, mottled with dusky markings; below white; lower throat and fore neck streaked with blackish. ‘Bill black, base of lower mandible yellowish green; feet olive-gray; iris dark brown.’ (Taczanowski.) Length, 215; culmen, 51; wing, 136; tail, 56; tarsus, 29.
“The yellow base to the lower mandible appears to me to be a sign of immaturity and winter plumage, as it seems to disappear entirely in breeding birds.
“Adult female in breeding plumage.—Similar to the male, with less of the bronzy tint above; black streaks on upper surface and dusky streaks on throat less pronounced. Length, 241; culmen, 48; wing, 136; tail, 56; tarsus, 25.
“Young male of the year.—Similar to the adults, but with a much shorter bill, its base conspicuously yellow; mantle streaked with blackish; scapulars marked with black almost as much as in the adult bird; upper tail-coverts and tail barred with dusky and pale rufous; greater coverts black, forming a band across wing; head, neck, and under parts as in the adult winter plumage, the throat not being streaked with dusky. ‘Bill blackish olive, yellowish olive at base of both mandibles; feet, including web, bright orange-yellow; iris blackish brown.’ (Stejneger.)
“Adult in winter plumage.—General color above light ashy gray, with obsolete whitish edges to scapulars and wing-coverts, especially the greater series; lesser coverts distinctly black in the center; alula, primary-coverts, and quills blackish, outer primaries with white shafts, inner primaries ashy toward the ends, with a white fringe; secondaries broadly tipped with white, and white along the inner web; inner secondaries ashy gray like the back, with blackish shaft-lines; lower back, rump, and upper tail-coverts like the back, the latter freckled and edged with ashy white; tail-feathers ashy gray, whitish at base, mottled with ashy; head and neck ashy gray; forehead and eyebrow white, becoming fulvescent above ear-coverts; lores dusky ashy; sides of face whitish, streaked with ashy gray, the upper edge of ear-coverts uniform ashy; cheeks, throat, and under surface pure white; sides of neck and sides of upper breast ashy gray, the latter with a distinct dusky patch; axillars and under wing-coverts white; feathers along edge of wing ashy gray; quills grayish below. ‘Bill dark brown, yellowish at base of lower mandible; feet and toes yellow; iris brown.’ (Oates.)” (Sharpe.)
This curious sandpiper was met with in considerable numbers on the tide-flats near Minglanilla, Cebu, in November, 1906. At or near high water the species was found, in company with Heteractitis, resting among the roots of mangrove trees and at such times it was no uncommon occurrence to kill several specimens of each species at one shot. As the rocky flats became exposed these birds scattered to feed and became more difficult to approach. The bill of the female is much longer than that of the male, but the plumage is similar in the two sexes. In a male taken November 20, the bill was black, except the yellow base, legs bright orange-chrome, and nails black.
Genus GLOTTIS Koch, 1816.
Bill slightly curved upward; culmen decidedly shorter than tarsus; the latter about twice the middle toe without claw; rump white.
110. GLOTTIS NEBULARIUS (Gunnerus).
GREENSHANK.
Scolopax nebularius Gunnerus, Leem. Lapp. Beschr. (1767), 251.
Glottis nebularius Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1896), 24, 481; Hand-List (1899), 1, 161; Oates, Cat. Birds’ Eggs (1902), 2, 47; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 26.
Bohol (McGregor); Cebu (McGregor); Luzon (McGregor); Mindanao (Platen); Mindoro (McGregor); Negros (Steere Exp.). Africa, northern Europe and northern Asia; in winter Indian Peninsula to Australia.
“Adult in winter plumage.—General color above ashy brown, mottled with whitish edges to the feathers, which are freckled and subterminally lined with darker brown, the shafts being also well marked; scapulars clearer ashy gray, with an interrupted subterminal line of blackish brown; lower back, rump, and upper tail-coverts pure white; exterior wing-coverts uniform blackish brown; median and greater covers lighter brown, fringed with white; alula, primary-coverts, and quills blackish, the latter fringed with white at the end of the inner webs; secondaries ashy brown, edged with white, innermost long secondaries spotted with black on the margins; tail white, center feathers crossed with regular but somewhat interrupted bars of brown, outer feathers with a few broken spots and bars of brown on outer webs; crown and hind neck grayish brown, the feathers edged with white, imparting a streaked appearance, more marked on the head; forehead, lores, and sides of face pure white; sides of neck and upper margin of ear-coverts narrowly streaked with ashy brown; entire under surface pure white; sides of upper breast irregularly freckled with brown; under wing-coverts white, with a subterminal bar of brown, or a central arrowhead line of the latter color; axillars white, with a few remains of brown spots; lower primary-coverts ashy, with whitish edgings; quills below ashy, the lateral markings of the secondaries indicated below. ‘Bill and feet light slate-color; iris dark brown.’ (Ayres.) Length, 330; culmen, 56; wing, 183; tail, 60; tarsus, 55.
“Adult male in breeding plumage.—Of a more ruddy brown than in the winter plumage and with black centers to feathers of upper surface; head and neck streaked with black; sides of face white, narrowly streaked with black; below white, lower throat, fore neck, and chest with numerous ovate spots of black; flanks with a few irregular bars of black; under wing-coverts and axillars white barred with black, bars on the latter somewhat interrupted; lower back, rump, and upper tail-coverts white, lateral coverts barred with black; two center tail-feathers ashy gray, slightly freckled with dusky, and notched with black on the margins; remainder of tail-feathers white barred with blackish, the bars becoming more irregular on the lateral feathers, which have distinct bars only on the outer webs. ‘Bill blackish brown, lighter brownish gray toward base, especially on lower jaw; feet yellowish gray, joints bluish.’ (Stejneger.) Length, 305; culmen, 53; wing, 190; tail, 76; tarsus, 56.
“Adult female.—Similar to the male in color. ‘Bill blackish brown, basal half lighter, on upper mandible with a bluish, on lower one with a reddish-gray tinge; feet dirty olive-gray, joints darker and more bluish gray.’ (Stejneger.)
“Young after first molt.—Similar to the winter plumage of the adults but more tinged with rufous-brown and with the feathers spotted with whity brown on both webs; center tail-feathers white, distinctly barred across with black, chest also distinctly streaked with dusky; sides of breast spotted and mottled with dusky brown.” (Sharpe.)
Genus RHYACOPHILUS Kaup, 1829.
Bill straight; culmen equal to middle toe without claw but much less than tarsus; rump white.
111. RHYACOPHILUS GLAREOLA (Linnæus).
WOOD SANDPIPER.
Tringa glareola Linnæus, Syst. Nat. ed. 10 (1758), 1, 149.
Rhyacophilus glareola Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1896), 24, 491; Hand-List (1899), 1, 162; Oates, Cat. Birds’ Eggs (1902), 2, 48; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 27.
Basilan (McGregor); Bohol (Everett); Cagayan Sulu (Mearns); Calamianes (Bourns & Worcester); Calayan (McGregor); Cebu (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Guimaras (Steere Exp.); Lubang (McGregor); Luzon (Jagor, Meyer, Everett, Whitehead); Mindanao (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Celestino); Negros (Steere Exp.); Palawan (Platen, Whitehead,