A Manual of Philippine Birds. Richard C. McGregor
“There is considerable variation with regard to the rufous color of the throat and breast, this being sometimes very rich in tint. I imagine that this is a sign of nesting plumage to a great extent; but it may also indicate the age of the bird, the plumage becoming more richly colored as the bird gets older.” (Sharpe.)
“Numerous flocks seen by me on the plains of Isabela in April, 1906.” (Worcester.)
During the winter months this anomalous plover visits the Philippines in small numbers. Its deeply cleft bill and forked tail distinguish it from all other plovers; and even while on the wing it may be recognized by its circling, swallow-like flight.
Suborder ŒDICNEMI.
Family ŒDICNEMIDÆ.
Bill large and strong, nostrils pervious, their opening a long slit; wings when folded falling short of the tip of tail; secondaries longer than primaries; tarsus covered with hexagonal scales; tarsus longer than culmen or than middle toe with claw.
Genus ORTHORHAMPHUS Salvadori, 1874.
Characters same as those given for the Family.
129. ORTHORHAMPHUS MAGNIROSTRIS (Vieillot).
AUSTRALIAN STONE PLOVER.
Œdicnemus magnirostris Vieillot, Nouv. Dict. d’Hist. Nat. (1818), 23, 231.
Orthorhamphus magnirostris Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1896), 24, 22; Hand-List (1899), 1, 173; Oates, Cat. Birds’ Eggs (1902), 2, 84; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 30.
Ta-ba-la-lan, Calayan.
Calayan (McGregor); Camiguin N. (McGregor); Fuga (McGregor); Luzon (Whitehead); Mindanao (Mearns); Mindoro (Platen?); Palawan (Whitehead, White). Australia to Bismarck Archipelago and north to Borneo and islands of Bay of Bengal.
“Adult.—Above ashy brown, with dusky shaft-lines; scapulars like back; upper tail-coverts ashy like back, but freckled and barred with dusky brown; lesser wing-coverts dark brown, lower ones blackish at the ends and forming a broad band across wing, followed by another band of white, formed by median coverts, which are gray at the tips, with a broad white band across the middle followed by another bar of dusky blackish; greater coverts entirely gray, fading off into whitish at the ends; alula and primary-coverts white like the quills they cover; primaries brownish black with white along inner web, extending across outer web of the first two; inner primaries pure white; secondaries dark brown, externally gray, with white bases and small white tips, also white along the inner webs; on the inner secondaries the white confined to inner web, long innermost secondaries ashy brown like back; tail ashy brown, with a black band at the end, before this a broad white band, preceded by a narrow black band; two middle feathers light ashy brown freckled with dusky mottlings, the other feathers also slightly freckled with dusky; crown and neck like the back; lores blackish, as also a broad band along the sides of crown, extending to the sides of the neck, where it joins the black ear-coverts and incloses the white of face, which consists of a white band above and below the eye extending above the ear-coverts; cheeks white, extending in a line along base of upper mandible and forming a streak in front of eye; fore part of cheeks black; chin and throat white; lower throat ashy brown, streaked with darker brown, as also the sides of neck; breast pale ashy; remainder of the under surface white with a slight tawny tinge; under tail-coverts tawny-buff; under wing-coverts and axillars white. ‘Base of bill sulphur-yellow, continued along the sides of upper mandible above nostrils; remainder of bill black; tibia lemon-yellow; tarsi and feet wine-yellow; upper ridges of scales of toes lead-color; eyelids primrose-yellow; iris pale yellow.’ (Gould.) Length, about 483; culmen, 76; wing, 274; tail, 109; tarsus, 84.
“Adult female.—Similar to the male in color. Length, about 508; culmen, 71; wing, 269; tail, 109; tarsus, 83.
“Young.—Two specimens from the Duke of York Island and Guadaleanar are apparently immature, having the feathers of the upper surface tipped with sandy buff, especially on the wing-coverts, where the white band on the median series is not so defined as in the adults, but showing a broader band of brown-tipped feathers below. There is, however, a second white band formed by the white tips to the greater wing-coverts, and it is somewhat curious that this should be a sign of immaturity.” (Sharpe.)
The stone plover is remarkable for its large and powerful bill. It is rare in the Philippine Islands and so far as observed it is found on sea-beaches where it subsists upon sand-crabs.
Order GRUIFORMES.
CRANES.
Very large; bill moderate, straight, and somewhat compressed, rather blunt; nostrils large, elongated, and pervious, situated half way between tip and base of bill; neck very long, its upper part and the head clothed with few, hair-like feathers; wing rounded; secondaries longer than primaries; tail short and soft; legs very long; toes stout; hind toe short and elevated.
Suborder GRUES.
Family GRUIDÆ.
Characters same as those given for the Order.
Genus ANTIGONE Reichenbach, 1852.
Characters same as those given for the Order.
130. ANTIGONE SHARPI Blanford.
SHARPE’S CRANE.
Antigone antigone (not Ardea antigone Linnæus) Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1894), 23, 264.
Antigone sharpii Blanford, Bull. Brit. Orn. Club (1895), 5, 6.
Antigone sharpei Sharpe, Hand-List (1899), 1, 178; Oates, Cat. Birds’ Eggs (1902), 2, 94; McGregor, Bull. Philippine Mus. (1904), 4, 11, pl. 2; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 31.
Tipol, Luzon.
Luzon (McGregor, Worcester). Burma, Cochin China, and Malay Peninsula.
Adult.—Nearly uniform pearl-gray, lighter on neck; head and neck nearly naked to 100 mm. or more below anterior border of ear-coverts; a few gray feathers on chin and ear-coverts; a few scattered black hair-like feathers on upper throat and its sides.
An adult female taken in Nueva Ecija Province, Luzon, in September, yields the following data: Legs rose-pink, brown along the tarsi; nails blackish; most of bill and forehead pale dirty green; tip of bill gray; iris yellow; papillose parts of head and neck red, darker behind the ear-coverts. Weight, 5 kilos. Length, 1,270; extent, 2,200; wing, 565; tail, 220; culmen from base, 178; bill from front margin of nostril, 103; tarsus, 275; middle toe with claw, 117; hind toe with claw, 24. Another specimen from northern Luzon measures; culmen from base, 160; bill from nostril, 92; tarsus, 280; middle toe with claw, 107.
Sharpe’s crane is abundant in the vicinity of Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija Province, Luzon. When I observed them in September, 1908, they were feeding in pairs and frequenting a grassy plain. Two badly decayed eggs were taken from a nest which consisted of a little grass arranged on the ground in circular form. The eggs are white marked with a few lavender spots and dented with numerous, small, elongated pits. The surface is hard and smooth, very slightly glossy, and with a few small lumps about the larger end. When held toward the light the shell appears through the hole to be dark green. These eggs measure 91.5 by 63 and 97.5 by 64.6.
This species has been reported from the Candaba Swamp in central Luzon and Worcester found it abundant in northern Luzon. He says: “I saw Antigone sharpei in large numbers in Cagayan and Isabela during my recent trip, 1906, through those provinces. I am informed that these birds nest on the ground in May, contenting