Sternum with a keel; scapulæ and coracoids fused forming an acute or a right angle; foramen ischiadicum present; distal six or seven vertebræ fused to form the pygostyle.
Bill short and stout, culmen curved; head small; body heavy; wings short and rounded, curved to the body; tail either very short or greatly elongated; legs moderate to heavy; claws well developed; toes four, slightly webbed at base. Members of this order are terrestrial; their flight is strong and swift but can not be sustained for a long distance. Their food consists of grain, seeds, and insects. The nest is usually a slight hollow in the ground, hidden by grass or brush; the megapodes, however, bury their eggs in mounds.
Nostrils oval, situated near anterior border of surrounding membrane; bill moderate, culmen curved; orbital area nearly naked; ear-opening small; chin, throat, and face scantily feathered with short plumes, the skin usually red or dusky; legs, feet, and claws very large and powerful; claws slightly curved and usually blunt; anterior face of tarsus bearing a row of large scutes; rectrices short, exceeding coverts but little; sexes alike.
Characters same as those given for the Family.
Ou-cong′, Calayan, Camiguin N.; ta-bon′, Luzon, Mindoro, Cagayancillo, and in general.
Balabac (Steere, Everett); Bantayan (McGregor); Basilan (Steere, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester); Cagayancillo (McGregor); Calayan (McGregor); Camiguin N. (McGregor); Cebu (Everett, Bourns & Worcester); Cresta de Gallo (McGregor); Fuga (Whitehead, McGregor); Luzon (Cuming, Heriot, Whitehead); Marinduque (Steere Exp.); Mindanao (Steere, Everett, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Goodfellow); Mindoro (McGregor, Porter); Palawan (Everett, Lempriere, Whitehead, Platen, Bourns & Worcester, White); Romblon (Bourns & Worcester); Samar (Bourns & Worcester); Sibutu (Everett); Sibuyan (Bourns & Worcester); Sulu (Bourns & Worcester, Platen); Tablas (Bourns & Worcester); Tawi Tawi (Bourns & Worcester); Ticao (McGregor). Celebean Islands and islands of northwestern Borneo.
Adult.—Top of head dark blue-gray with a wash of olive-brown; a narrow gray collar on hind neck; rest of upper parts, including exposed parts of folded wing, rich olive-brown; lower parts dark blue-gray. Iris brown; bill yellow, dusky at base and about nostrils; legs and nails black or dark brown; skin about eye varies from bright red to almost black. A male from Cagayancillo measures, 340 in length; wing, 230; tail, 72.4; tarsus, 62; middle toe with claw, 57; bill from nostril, 14. A female from the same island measures, 340 in length; wing, 235; tail, 70; tarsus, 58; middle toe with claw, 57; bill from nostril, 14.
Young.—A bird measuring but 165 in length, taken in Calayan, October 7, 1903, bears a general resemblance to the adult but the superorbital space, lores, chin, and throat are closely feathered; forehead, chin, and area below eye dull yellowish brown; throat, sides of neck, and breast dull brown; middle of abdomen dark ochraceous brown; feathers of upper parts dark brown, obscurely edged with olive-brown on back, scapulars, and wing-coverts; plumage, except remiges and rectrices, soft and decomposed.
Nest.—The incubation mound built by this species is fully described below. The eggs are prized by the natives for food; both the eggs and the birds are quite palatable. When fresh the thin surface layer of the egg is dark pink, usually smooth, but occasionally roughened by small lumps; when exposed to air and light for some time the color becomes dull, dirty brown and in many cases the outer layer crumbles away exposing the true shell which is dull white and closely pitted. Five eggs from Calayan taken in December measure: 78 by 52; 82 by 52.5; 82.5 by 47; 80 by 51; 79 by 51.
“This species probably occurs on every island of any size in the group. It is frequently met with a considerable distance inland, where it frequents wooded plains and hill. Its nest is usually, though by no means always, built near the seashore. Several pairs of birds frequently nest in the same mound, scratching up a little additional material every time that an egg is deposited, eventually forming a very large mound of earth, decayed leaves, sticks, etc., which in extreme cases comes to measure from 4 to 5 meters in diameter by 1½ meters high in the middle. The mound is frequently formed about the roots of some old stump. When ready to lay, the female tunnels into this mound, sometimes even burrowing into the solid ground to a depth of half a meter or more, so that the eggs are one to two meters below the surface of the mound. The egg is deposited at the bottom of this burrow, which is then filled up. The young birds dig to the surface as soon as hatched. They can run and fly when they leave the shell, and seem always to shift for themselves from the day of their birth. M. cumingi seems to lay all the year round, the female apparently depositing an egg about once a week. The eggs are oval in form, of a curious pinkish color when fresh, but rapidly fading to a light dirty brown if exposed to the light.
“The old birds seem rather reluctant to take wing and when flushed fly but a short distance, alight on the ground and run with great rapidity.
“There is much individual variation as to size and color even in birds from one locality. Length, 336 to 380; culmen, 15 to 19; tarsus, 55 to 68; wing, 210 to 233; tail, 63 to 86. Iris dark chocolate-brown; bill light yellowish at tip, brown at base; legs sometimes dark brown, but usually strongly tinged with red, especially at back; feet dark brown to black; nails black.” (Bourns and Worcester MS.)
Bill strong and horny, nostrils oblong, never hidden by feathers; culmen curved but not hooked; tarsi naked and in the male armed with spurs (Excalfactoria without spurs); toes four, naked, and never pectinated along sides; sexes differently colored.
This genus resembles Turnix but is distinguished from it by having a hind toe; the male is much handsomer than the female; the tail has but eight short rectrices which are hidden by the long upper coverts.
Pu-gong bú-quet, ti-co ti-co, Manila; pu-gong pa-rang, Calapan, Mindoro.
Basilan (McGregor); Batan (McGregor); Bongao (Everett); Calamianes (Bourns & Worcester); Cebu (Bourns & Worcester); Lubang (McGregor); Luzon (Heriot, Whitehead, McGregor); Masbate (Bourns & Worcester); Mindanao (Koch & Schadenberg, Clemens); Mindoro (McGregor, Porter); Negros (Layard, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester); Palawan (Whitehead, Bourns & Worcester, White); Panay (Bourns & Worcester); Samar (Whitehead); Sibuyan (McGregor); Siquijor (Celestino); Sulu (Guillemard); Ticao (McGregor). Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Australia.
Adult male.—Upper parts dark brown; most of the feathers with light shaft-lines, large subterminal black blotches, and some black bars; the black markings heaviest on lower back; forehead, circumorbital area, sides of neck, breast, and flanks slate-blue; chin, upper throat, and lower half of face black; throat patch bordered posteriorly by a wide, crescentic, white patch which is bordered posteriorly by a narrow black band; a white included patch on side of face from lower mandible to below ear, the anterior end of which is pointed; a narrow white line from below nostril to eye; a patch of rich chestnut covering middle of abdomen and lower breast; wings sandy brown; coverts and secondaries vermiculated with darker brown; tail chestnut; upper tail-coverts chestnut mixed with slate-blue. Iris deep red; bill dark blue, black along upper part; legs dark yellow; nails brown. Length about 135. Five males measure: Wing, 66 to 70; tail-coverts,1 26 to 28; exposed culmen, 9 to 11; tarsus, 18 to 19.
Adult female.—Upper parts and wings as in the male, but with a light buff, median line on head; forehead, sides of head, and throat dark buff; the black and white throat patch of male replaced in female by an equal area of dark buff in which the white bases of feathers show through on chin and upper throat; a line of fine black spots from gape to below ear-coverts; breast and flanks light buff, each feather crossed by one to three crescentic marks of blackish brown; middle of abdomen white or with a pale buff wash. Five females measure: Wing, 67 to 71; tail-coverts, 22 to 26; exposed culmen, 10 to 11; tarsus, 17 to 18.5.
Young.—In a very young chick from Sibuyan, sex undetermined, the upper parts, including wings and coverts, are blackish brown; top of head marked with three buffy lines extending from forehead to nape and separated by wide blackish brown bands; wing-coverts and feathers of back with edges and shafts buff; chin and throat pale yellow; upper breast, sides, and flanks black with wide white shaft-stripes; belly dirty yellowish buff. A nearly full grown male in mixed plumage, from Calapan, has the black chin-spot developed, the white patches partly developed, and the breast, abdomen, and flanks retain some of the old striped feathers of the first plumage along with the new chestnut and slate feathers. The young female of E. chinensis is said to have the upper breast and sides spotted; as age increases these spots resolve themselves into transverse bars. The young female of E. lineata probably undergoes a similar change of plumage.
Both the painted and bustard quails frequent grassy fields and plains, usually in small companies. When flushed they fly but a short distance and seldom get up a second time, seeming to place more reliance on running than on flight. Except Polyplectron the genera of the Philippine Turnicidæ and Phasianidæ range from the coasts to the highlands.
Head surmounted by a fleshy comb; a wattle on each side of throat; tail laterally compressed, the central feathers being higher than the lateral ones; the former greatly elongated and curved in the males; feathers of neck and rump long and pointed; each tarsus armed with a long sharp spur.
La-bú-yu, Lubang, Manila, and generally; ma-noc′ i-has′, Bohol.
Balabac (Steere); Basilan (Everett, Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Bohol (McGregor); Bongao (Everett); Calamianes (Bourns & Worcester); Camiguin N. (McGregor); Calayan (McGregor); Cebu (Everett, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Fuga (Whitehead, McGregor); Guimaras (Meyer, Steere Exp.); Lubang (McGregor); Luzon (Meyer, Schmacker, Whitehead, McGregor); Marinduque (Steere Exp.); Masbate (Bourns & Worcester); Mindanao (Everett, Steere Exp., Goodfellow); Mindoro (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, McGregor, Porter); Negros (Bourns & Worcester, Keay); Palawan (Steere, Whitehead, Platen, Bourns & Worcester, White); Panay (Steere, Bourns & Worcester); Romblon (Bourns & Worcester); Samar (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester); Sibuyan (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Siquijor (Steere Exp., Celestino); Sulu (Guillemard, Bourns & Worcester); Tablas (Bourns & Worcester); Ticao (McGregor). Malay and Indian Peninsulas, Indo-Malayan Islands, Indo-Chinese countries.
Adult male.—Sides of head, chin, and throat clothed with scattered hair-like feathers; ear protected by short close-set feathers; feathers on top of head, neck, and mantle lanceolate, those of mantle very long; head, neck, and sides of neck dark reddish brown, becoming lighter and yellowish near ends of longest feathers, and forming a zone of orange-yellow, the tips again darker, reddish, and shaft-lines darker; mantle feathers hidden by hackles, and lesser coverts blackish brown with slight gloss; lower back and median coverts rich maroon-red forming a wide crescent; lanceolate rump feathers dark orange-red; below (except a few lanceolate reddish feathers on throat) blackish brown with a slight green gloss not always evident; primaries dark brown edged with buff; secondaries dark brown with exposed outer webs dark cinnamon, mottled near tips; alula and greater coverts blackish brown, the latter with green and purple gloss; tail and its upper coverts black, glossed with green; middle pair of rectrices curved outward and about twice the length of next pair. Top of head decorated with a deeply emarginated, fleshy comb, crimson in color; a wattle on each side of throat also crimson; a round lappet below each ear light bluish; other bare areas of head and neck pale crimson; bill dark brown above, lighter below; legs gray, spurs black, nails dark brown. The length varies greatly, of course, with the development of central rectrices. A male from Mariveles, Bataan measures, 660 in length; wing, flat on rule, 235; tail, 368; bill from front of comb, 17; tarsus, 74; middle toe with claw, 59; spur, 24. A male from Fuga, tail, 508; spur, 28.
“Adult female.—Top of the head rust-red, shading into orange on the neck and pale yellow on the upper mantle, each feather with a wide black stripe down the center; rest of upper parts pale reddish brown, finely mottled with black and with pale shafts; quills blackish brown, the outer half of the outer webs of secondaries mottled with pale reddish brown; fore part of neck chestnut; chest and breast pale light red, shading into pale reddish brown on sides, flanks, and belly, each feather with a pale shaft; under tail-coverts brownish black; tail-feathers like the secondaries, the center pair of feathers mottled on the margins of both webs, and the outer pairs on the outer web, with pale rufous. Soft parts much the same as those of the male; comb very much smaller, and wattles absent. Length, 420; wing, 190; tail, 140; tarsus, 61.
“Immature males have the hackles of the mantle much paler than in the majority of adult birds and mostly with dark shaft-stripes; the chestnut part of the outer webs of the secondaries finely mottled with black nearly to the margins; the feathers underlying the hackles of the mantle dull, brownish black without any green gloss, and the comb and wattles rudimentary.” (Grant.)
Chick.—Below light yellow-buff, palest on chin; throat, upper breast, and sides of neck washed with brownish buff; top and sides of head dark yellow-buff; a band from above angle of mouth backward through eye to side of neck dark cinnamon, bordered above with blackish brown; middle of crown and hind neck with a wide, black-bordered cinnamon patch which becomes diffused on interscapular region, reappears on middle of back and is continued to the tail; the black bordered on each side with light buff followed by dark brown; wings and tail light brown, speckled and vermiculated with darker brown. Iris light brown; bill, legs, and nails flesh. Small chicks were taken in Mariveles, Province of Bataan, March 8, 1902, and at Irisan, Province of Benguet, on April 30, 1903.
Nest.—A slight hollow dug in the earth in the shelter of bushes or grass is the usual nest. The eggs are much smaller than with domestic varieties; four from a nest found February 26, 1904, near Mariveles, Bataan, measure respectively: 47 by 36; 44 by 34; 45 by 35; 46 by 35. In color the eggs are light creamy buff; the shape is similar to that found in eggs from the domestic varieties.
The jungle fowl is found throughout the Philippines and the males are frequently domesticated by the natives and used for their national pastime of cock fighting. In this country at least the wild chickens afford the gunner no sport whatever as they habitually remain within thick tangles of brush where wing-shots are impossible, or, if by chance caught in the open, they scurry to the nearest thicket. There is no great difficulty, however, in securing specimens, if one cares to kill them sitting. Their flesh is usually tender and more savory than that of the domestic birds. The male has a high falsetto voice resembling very much that of a young domestic cock. Delighting in small growth mixed with a tangle of bamboo and rattan, especially if near cultivated fields, this species generally avoids true forest unless there be near-by clearings. The natives are very successful in taking the cocks alive by employing a live decoy which they picket within a small corral of snares.
Bill similar to that of Gallus; feathers of crown forming a long crest; wings short and rounded; rectrices twenty-four in number and greatly graduated; upper tail-coverts lengthened; tarsi covered with transverse plates and each tarsus armed with two or three sharp spurs; tarsus longer than middle toe with claw.
Pavo real, Spanish name.
Palawan (Everett, Whitehead, Platen, Bourns & Worcester, White).
Adult male.—Black; top of head, crest, and hind neck green, changing with the light to purple; a large white patch from base of lower mandible extending over ear-coverts; a narrow superciliary line of white (this line is absent in some specimens; in others wider and confluent on nape); mantle, secondaries, and greater and median wing-coverts green, changing to blue and purple, bases of the feathers black; remainder of wing brown or blackish; back and rump black, thickly marked with small, rusty buff spots; longest coverts and rectrices similar but the spots fewer and lighter and each feather with two large, round or oval spots of peacock-green, surrounded by a black ring and an outer gray ring; longest coverts tipped with a narrow line of pale buff; rectrices tipped with lines of black, gray, white, and gray, the white line narrow and sharply defined; under parts all black, except tail-coverts which are speckled with buff. “Bill black tipped with pale horn-color; eyes chocolate-brown; legs, feet, and nails brown.” (Bourns and Worcester.) A male from Iwahig, Palawan, measures: Wing, 190; tail, 240; exposed culmen, 28; bill from nostril, 15; tarsus, 66; middle toe with claw, 56.
Female.—Top of head and a short crest dark brown; sides of face, chin, and throat white; remainder of the plumage brown, more rusty above and on wings, finely speckled with dark brown and black; tail with the large round metallic spots of the male replaced by black spots having little or no metallic color. A female from Iwahig, Palawan, measures: Wing, 180; tail, 183; exposed culmen, 22; bill from nostril, 13; tarsus, 54; middle toe with claw, 48.
Young.—“An immature male resembles the female, but has tail and greater coverts like those of adult male, though the ocelli are much smaller and absent on inner webs of all the tail-feathers except three middle pairs; one or two feathers of mantle have a metallic bluish green patch in the middle and traces are apparent of black plumage on mantle, wing-coverts, throat, and under parts.” (Grant.)
This beautiful peacock pheasant, the “pavo real” of the Spaniards, is confined to the Island of Palawan. Bourns and Worcester state that the species is extremely shy, all of their specimens, including 18 adults beside young, being taken by natives in snares. They give the following average measurements: Eleven males, length, 519; wing, 180; tail, 222; culmen, 24; tarsus, 61; seven females, length, 420; wing, 166; tail, 150; culmen, 22; tarsus, 55.
Bourns and Worcester have shown that the character upon which P. nehrkornæ was based—i.e., narrow superciliary stripes not confluent on nape—is variable to a great degree and not dependent upon age, so napoleonis is accepted as the correct specific name for the Palawan bird, although originally applied to a specimen supposed to have come from Luzon, an island in which the genus certainly does not exist.
Major John R. White has secured a fine series of these birds at the Iwahig penal colony, and he states that he has seldom seen the birds until snared by the natives.
Culmen curved but not hooked; nostrils opening by a slit beneath a horny scale; tarsi naked, without spurs; hind toe absent; wings short, rounded, and curved to the body; rectrices short, soft, and nearly hidden by the long fluffy coverts.
Size small, the largest Philippine species under 200 mm. in length, the others much smaller. Birds of this family resemble Excalfactoria in general form but may be recognized by their lack of a hind toe. They are usually found in grassy plains. The flight is rapid but of short duration; the birds get up at one’s feet but seldom flush a second time. The nest is placed on the ground beneath a tuft of grass; eggs, three or four, spotted with brown.
Characters same as those given for the Family.
Pu-gong daan, Manila; tic-ti′-co, Calapan, Mindoro.
Calamianes (Bourns & Worcester); Cebu (Everett, Bourns & Worcester); Luzon (Everett, Heriot, Whitehead, McGregor, Mearns); Masbate (Bourns & Worcester); Mindoro (McGregor, Porter); Negros (Steere Exp.); Palawan (Whitehead, Platen, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, White); Panay (Bourns & Worcester); Sibuyan (Bourns & Worcester).
Adult male.—Above blackish brown; feathers of back largely black with white or buff margins; in some specimens the margins largely rufous; chin and throat white; breast and sides light buff with clear-cut, subterminal, black cross-bars; abdomen and belly dirty white; flanks and under tail-coverts washed with buff; quills blackish brown, first three or four narrowly edged with pale buff or white; first alula-quill widely edged with pale buff or white; coverts light buff, more or fewer with strong cross-bars. Bill black, yellow at base; legs pale greenish yellow. Length, 140. Three males measure: Wing, 68 to 76; tail, 23 to 28; culmen, 12 to 13; tarsus, 21 to 22; middle toe with claw, 18 to 19.5.
Adult female.—Like the adult male but larger; chin and throat black; hind neck and sides of neck decorated with a collar of rich chestnut. Iris white; bill yellow, slightly greenish toward tip; legs greenish; nails flesh-colored. Length, 160. Three females measure: Wing, 72 to 81; tail, 29 to 30.5; culmen, 13 to 14; tarsus, 23 to 25; middle toe with claw, 20 to 23.
Young.—Immature birds of both sexes resemble the adult male but the bars of breast are reduced to spots or to irregular V-shaped bars; above more uniform, dull rusty brown and edges of feathers more or less rusty; wing-coverts blackish brown, notched with white.
There is much variation in the color of the upper parts due to wear; birds in fresh plumage (February, Manila) are largely chestnut above and males may have a narrow chestnut collar; the rich color fades and the feathers become abraded very rapidly. A male (March 17, Tarlac) shows scarcely any chestnut and that of a faded hue. The species is easily recognized in any plumage by the black bars (spots in young) on breast.
Eggs.—“The eggs of the Philippine bustard quail are grayish white, densely covered with specks and dots of yellowish brown and small blotches of pale purple. The three examples in the collection [collected by the Steere Expedition in Negros, November 10], are very broad ovals and measure respectively: 28.4 by 21.3; 27 by 21.3; 26 by 21.3.” (Oates.)
A nest believed to belong to this species was found in Mindoro, March 23, 1905. It was made of dry grass and placed on the ground in an old clearing, where it was well hidden by the surrounding grass. The three eggs were slightly incubated; two of them measure 25 by 20 and the third measures 24.6 by 19.8. The ground-color is white, closely speckled with dull greenish brown and occasional small spots of various shades of lilac, the larger end rather thickly marked with blotches of blackish brown. One specimen from Manila, July 30, 1908, measures 23.5 by 18.5.
“Common about old paddy-fields and on grassy plains. It flies but a short distance and then buries itself in the grass, where it runs rapidly and hides so well that one is seldom able to flush a bird the second time.” (Bourns and Worcester MS.)
Pu-gong gu′-bat, Manila.
Luzon (Everett, Heriot, Whitehead, McGregor, Worcester, Mearns).
Adult male.—Above mottled and spotted; head and sides of face black with roundish white spots and some rusty edging to feathers; rest of upper parts with large black centers to feathers whose edges are light buff and tips rusty; a slight trace of a chestnut nuchal collar; chin and middle of throat white; breast uniform rufous-chestnut; middle of belly dirty white; flanks, thighs, and under tail-coverts dirty buff; primaries brown with pale edges; secondaries mottled and with wider, buff edges; coverts and tertials buff, each with a larger, roundish, black spot. “Iris white, upper mandible grayish brown at tip, pale yellow from nostrils back; lower mandible pale yellow, except tip light brown, legs and feet light straw-yellow, except joints and soles light brown; nails gray. Length, 165.” (Worcester.) A specimen from Benguet measures: Wing, 93; tail, 33; culmen, 15; tarsus, 25; middle toe with claw, 24.
Adult female.—Similar to male but larger; throat and chin black; chestnut of breast continued above as a wide nuchal collar. Iris white; bill pale yellow, grayish at tip; legs dull yellow; nails whitish. Length, 180; wing, 115; tail, 37; culmen, 17; tarsus, 29; middle toe with claw, 27.5. These measurements are from a specimen taken near Manila.
Young.—In young males the throat is more or less spotted with black and many of the breast-feathers are subterminally spotted with black. In young females the throat is more or less spotted with white.
This is much the largest of the Philippine button quails and appears to be confined to the Island of Luzon.
Luzon (Whitehead, McGregor).
Adult male.—General color above black, finely vermiculated with gray and dull reddish brown or with dull chestnut; crown mostly black with dull chestnut tips to the feathers; a distinct median line of buff from bill to neck; many feathers on back edged with buff or whitish buff; forehead and whole side of face pale buff, most of the feathers black tipped; chin, upper throat, and abdomen white; breast dark buff; a few black spots on sides of breast; a few feathers on sides, under wings, dull chestnut; quills brown with light edges; long alula-quill edged with white; coverts largely ochraceous-buff or dull chestnut and more or less marked with large black spots; long scapulars broadly edged with ochraceous-buff or pale yellow-buff. Iris white; upper mandible dark horn; lower mandible dull blue; legs and nails flesh-colored. Length, about 120; wing, 56.5 to 61; tail, 16.5 to 28; culmen, 9 to 10; tarsus, 16.5 to 18.
Adult female.—Differs from the adult male in having median crown-line and sides of face pale straw or whitish; a narrow collar of dull chestnut; above generally darker and marked with a greater amount of dull chestnut. Wing, 60 to 64; tail, 18 to 22; culmen, 9.5 to 11.5; tarsus, 17 to 18.
Young.—Immature birds are similar to adults but have the breast white, streaked with dark brown; upper parts more uniformly and less richly colored.
Eggs.—White with numerous, obscure, lilac markings; around the larger end a band of dark sienna; larger end covered to middle of egg with a wash of dark brown; edge of this color-area well-defined and slightly irregular; smaller end of egg with a few small specks and a faint brown wash. Two eggs measure respectively 20 by 16 and 20 by 16.5. Another egg, measuring 20.6 by 16.2, is white, speckled with brown and has nearly one-half the surface, at the larger end, covered with dark vandyke-brown. Eggs are deposited in August so far as known.
The only known specimens of Whitehead’s button quail were purchased in the Quinta Market, Manila. It is said that they are trapped in the vicinity of Parañaque, some 7 kilometers from Manila.
Sulu (Mearns).
“Adult female (type and only specimen).—General color of upper parts walnut-brown, the feathers finely banded and vermiculated with gray and black; top of head clove-brown, the feathers almost imperceptibly edged with gray, divided by a median stripe of isabella-color extending from the base of the bill to the occiput; sides of head and neck buffy white speckled with clove-brown; nape walnut-brown, the feathers edged with gray; mantle walnut-brown, the feathers edged with gray, and vermiculated with black, gray, and traces of very pale cinnamon; lower back, rump, and upper tail-coverts clove-brown, the feathers narrowly edged with gray on the back and upper rump, more broadly with cinnamon on the lower rump and upper tail-coverts; tail grayish drab, the feathers perceptibly cross-banded with wavy lines of dusky, edged with cinnamon on outer webs, with middle pair of feathers extending 7 mm. beyond the next pair; scapulars and humerals conspicuously edged externally with golden buff and cinnamon; primaries grayish drab, the two outer ones edged externally with wood-brown; secondaries darker drab, edged with cinnamon on the outer web; greater wing-coverts cinnamon, drab at base, with a subterminal black spot on the outer web; lesser wing-coverts cinnamon-rufous, edged with buff, with a subterminal black ocellus; chin, upper throat, and malar region, whitish, the last speckled with blackish brown; lower neck and upper breast clay-color, bordered by a chain of oval black spots, the largest 3 mm. in length; lower breast and middle of belly whitish; sides of lower neck, and sides of chest and breast, chestnut mixed with black and clay-color; flanks light clay-color; under tail-coverts darker clay-color; lining of wings pale clay-color and pale grayish drab. Length of skin, 120; wing, 68; tail, 31; culmen, 11.5; depth of bill at angle of gonys, 3.8; tarsus, 19.5.” (Mearns.)
Bohol (McGregor).
Adult male (type and only specimen).—Ground-color of upper parts black; feathers of head narrowly edged with dull buff, paler on forehead; a narrow median line of pale buff from forehead to nape; hind neck, mantle, rump, and tail-coverts with wavy, broken, cross-lines of dark rusty buff, obsolete on neck; lores and side of head light buff with small black tips to feathers; a patch on each side of neck pale vinaceous-buff with narrow black cross-lines; chin and throat white, each feather with narrow buff tips, middle of abdomen white; rest of lower parts rusty buff or clay-color, a trifle lighter than in T. worcesteri; each feather on sides of breast marked with a wide black bar; primaries, secondaries, primary-coverts, and alula drab-gray; first primary and first feather of alula edged exteriorly with ocherous-buff; secondary-coverts and inner secondaries with wide edges of ocherous-buff preceded by large black spots or bars; wing-lining and axillars drab-gray; tail bluish slate and hidden by the long coverts. Length, 130; wing, 65.5; tail, 18.1; exposed culmen, 11.5; depth of bill at angle of gonys, 4; tarsus, 20; middle toe with claw, 18.5.
The only specimen known was taken on a grassy hill near the town of Guindulman, in Bohol, June 22, 1906. It is closely related to T. suluensis.
Luzon (McGregor).
Adult (sexes nearly alike).—General color above black; forehead spotted with white; feathers of crown and nape tipped with pale buff and some edged with white, producing an incomplete white line on middle of head (this line may be perfect in a well made skin); feathers on back and rump barred and tipped with pale buff; tertials and scapulars edged with whitish buff; feathers on sides of face mostly white with black tips; lores white; feathers on sides of neck black, each with a wide, subterminal, white bar; a small black spot behind ear; breast and throat rusty buff or dark clay-color, this color extending up each side of the white chin-area as rusty-buff tips to the feathers and bounded above by the black-tipped white feathers of malar region; flanks, under tail-coverts, and sides of abdomen and breast also rusty buff, but paler; middle of abdomen whitish; a few feathers on sides of abdomen barred with blackish brown; primaries, their coverts, and secondaries drab-gray; four outer primaries narrowly edged with whitish; secondaries barred with whitish on outer webs; secondary-coverts blackish, mottled and edged with pale buff; rectrices blackish, edged with buff. Bill pale bluish; legs flesh-pink, nails slightly darker; iris very pale yellow. A male measures: Length, 120; wing, 65; tail, 27; culmen from base, 10; depth of bill at angle of gonys, 5; tarsus, 17; middle toe with claw, 16. Length of female, 128; wing, 71; tail, 23.5; culmen, 11.4; depth of bill at angle of gonys, 5.8; tarsus, 16.7; middle toe with claw, 18.
Worcester’s quail is known from four specimens which were purchased in Quinta Market, Manila. It resembles T. whiteheadi but differs from that species in having the bill much deeper. Major E. A. Mearns informs me that he is quite sure that he saw a live bird of this species in Manila, in August, 1907.