La-uin′, Manila; ma-na-o′, Calayan, all species of small hawks.

Batan (Edmonds); Calayan (McGregor); Luzon (Heriot, Whitehead); Mindanao (Platen); Mindoro (Everett); Palawan (Whitehead, Everett); Sulu (Guillemard). Eastern Siberia; in winter to China, Indo-Burmese countries, and Malay Archipelago.

Adult male.—Above black, nape and hind neck narrowly streaked with white; feathers of lower back and rump tipped with ashy gray or white; sides of head and ear-coverts black; lower parts white; chin, throat, and breast with bold black shaft-streaks; primaries black, white for basal third; alula, primary-coverts, and secondaries ashy white with blackish shafts; secondary-coverts black, more or less mixed with ashy white; under coverts and axillars white; tail ashy white; upper tail-coverts white. Iris bright yellow; legs dull yellow; cere waxy green; bill and nails black. The above specimen from Tarlac Province, Luzon, measures, 520 in length; wing, 410; tail, 230; culmen from base, 33; tarsus, 92; middle toe with claw, 63.

Younger male.—Color pattern similar; upper parts brown; white streaks on head and neck more numerous; under parts white with wider streaks of reddish brown which are also present on flanks and abdomen; primaries black, some of them barred with ashy white; wing-coverts brown with less white than the adult; primary-coverts and alula ashy white but with blackish brown bars; under wing-coverts white, streaked with blackish brown; axillars white, streaked and barred with reddish brown. Length, 533; wing, 400; tail, 235; culmen from base, 32; tarsus, 80; middle toe with claw, 61.

“Adult female.—Above brown slightly shaded with ashy, the dorsal feathers obsoletely margined with dull rufous; crown and hind neck tawny-buff, paler on the neck, all the feathers mesially streaked with brown; scapulars and wing-coverts margined and barred with tawny or fulvous, the least wing-coverts more conspicuously margined with rufous; quills brown, narrowly tipped with whitish, externally shaded with ashy gray, the secondaries less distinctly, and all barred across with darker brown; under surface of wing white, the dark bars showing very distinctly; lower back and rump brown, the feathers distinctly tipped with pale rufous; upper tail-coverts pure white; tail ashy gray, tipped with fulvous and crossed with five blackish bands, the subterminal one much the broadest, the ashy gray interspaces inclining to or replaced by pale tawny on the outer feathers; lores as well as a distinct eyebrow and ear-coverts buffy white; sides of face and of neck, as well as the facial ruff, rufous-buff streaked with dark brown; under surface of body creamy buff, with central pointed marks of rufous-brown to the feathers, more distinct on the fore neck and under wing- and tail-coverts; flank-feathers and axillars rufous-brown, with large rounded spots of creamy buff on both webs; under wing-coverts and thighs creamy buff, with irregular central streaks of rufous-brown occupying the major part of the greater under wing-coverts. Length, 584; wing, 394; tail, 279; tarsus, 79.” (Sharpe.)

“Adult female.—Brown above, the feathers throughout with pale rufous edges; tail-coverts white and rufous; tail with about six dark cross-bands, which disappear in old individuals; lower parts buff, with broad rufous-brown shaft-stripes. The quills are dark brown but become grayish in old birds.

“Young birds so closely resemble those of C. æruginosus as to be indistinguishable at times. The pale head and neck-feathers are always striated in C. spilonotus, but the body, wings, and tail are uniform brown or variegated with buff on the wing-coverts, back, and breast. Generally, though not invariably, traces of bars will be found on some of the tail-feathers of C. spilonotus, but this occasionally happens in C. æruginosus also.

“Length, of male, 508; tail, 235; wing, 394; tarsus, 89; tail of female, 254; wing, 419; tarsus, 94.” (Blanford.)

Bantayan (McGregor); Basilan (Mearns); Bohol (McGregor); Calayan (McGregor); Guimaras (Steere Exp.); Luzon (Steere Exp., Whitehead); Mindanao (Steere Exp., Celestino); Negros (Bourns & Worcester, Keay); Sibay (McGregor & Worcester); Sulu (Guillemard); Ticao (McGregor). Eastern Siberia and Mongolia; in winter to China, northeastern Indian Peninsula, and Indo-Chinese countries.

“Adult male.—Upper parts glossy black; rump and upper tail-coverts white, the latter with two or three broad cross-bars of black or ashy gray, the former also shaded with gray; wing-coverts silvery gray, margined with white, with a broad band of black feathers extending from the bend of wing parallel with its margin and joining the median coverts, which are also black; primaries black; primary-coverts and secondaries silvery gray, except the innermost, which are black; tail entirely silvery gray, tipped with white, below and on the inner webs white; sides of face and neck, throat, and chest glossy black; rest of under surface, including under wing- and tail-coverts, pure white. Bill and cere black; feet yellow; iris yellow. Length, 457; culmen, 25; wing, 356; tail, 216; tarsus, 76.” (Sharpe.)

“Adult female.—Above dark brown, the feathers of the crown and neck with rufous edges, those of the nape broadly bordered with white; a well-marked ruff of small white or buffy white feathers with brown shaft-stripes; around eyes whitish; cheeks and ear-coverts dirty white or pale rufous with brown streaks; smaller coverts along forearm white (in younger birds rufous) with blackish brown shaft-stripes, median coverts brown with gray or white spots and bars, larger coverts dusky gray with a broad subterminal blackish band and another near the base; primaries outside blackish brown; secondaries gray, with blackish cross-bands, beneath all are grayish or whitish with dark bands; upper tail-coverts white, sometimes with rufous-brown drops or bands; tail gray with dark brown cross-bands; lower parts white, with dark brown shaft-stripes, broad on the throat and breast, narrower and sometimes disappearing on the abdomen.

“Young birds are more uniform brown above than the adult female, and have no gray on the wings or tail, which are brown with darker bands; the ruff is ill-marked at the sides, but there is a large white brown-streaked nuchal patch and another patch of buff-edged brown feathers on the throat; the lower parts generally are rufous-brown, faintly streaked darker.

“For a long time it was supposed that both sexes in this bird were pied and similar, but the true facts were gradually traced out by Mr. Hume. Still one undoubted case is recorded by Mr. Cripps in which a female assumed the pied livery of the adult male, and other probable cases are indicated by the measurements of pied specimens. Length of male, 432; tail, 216; wing, 349; tarsus, 76; length of female, 470; tail, 228; wing, 368; tarsus, 81; bill from gape, 30.” (Blanford.)

The adult male of the pied marsh hawk is a very beautiful and graceful bird; the female and young are dull brown and unattractive. This species is fairly abundant in the lowlands where it frequents open country.

Cagayan Sulu (Mearns); Luzon (Whitehead); Mindoro (Everett). Temperate Europe and Siberia; in winter to northern Africa, Indian Peninsula, and China.

“Adult male.—Head, neck, and breast buff or pale rufous, with dark brown shaft-stripes, broader on the breast; back and most of the wing-coverts dark brown; scapulars still darker, sometimes gray toward the base; smallest coverts along the forearm whitish, with dark brown shafts; outer greater coverts, primary-coverts, and all quills except first six primaries dark silvery gray, remaining coverts and very often the tertiaries dark brown; first six primaries black with the basal portion white; upper tail-coverts white with rufous and brown mixed in various ways; tail gray above, isabelline below; abdomen and lower tail-coverts ferruginous brown, more or less striped darker.

“Females are dark brown except the crown, nape, chin, and more or less of the throat, which are buff with brown stripes. There is sometimes a patch of buff on the breast, the wing-coverts and back have buff edges, and the upper tail-coverts are rufous.

“The young of both sexes resemble the female, except that the buff on the head is sometimes unstreaked and more limited in extent, being confined in some cases to a nuchal patch or even wanting altogether.

“‘Bill black; cere and base of bill greenish yellow; iris yellow, brownish yellow in females and young; legs and feet rich yellow.’ (Hume.)

“Length of males, 533; tail, 241; wing, 406; tarsus, 86; length of females, 572; tail, 248; wing, 419; tarsus, 89.” (Blanford.)

The measurements given by Sharpe are as follows: “Male, length, 571; culmen, 39; wing, 406; tail, 254; tarsus, 86. Female, length, 584; wing, 432; tail, 279; tarsus, 96.”

The young of Circus spilonotus and C. æruginosus are similar in plumage and as the size is also nearly the same it is a matter of some difficulty to distinguish between them. Sharpe identified as C. æruginosus a young female collected in the Philippines by Cuming, but he finally referred it to C. spilonotus. Whitehead obtained an immature male in northern Luzon which according to Grant “is undoubtedly referable to the present species [æruginosus].” Concerning the specimen from Calayan Sulu, collected by Mearns, Dr. Chas. W. Richmond writes that “it may prove to be spilonotus.” Hartert makes no comment on the specimen collected by Everett in Mindoro.

Some of the numerous brown marsh hawks in the Bureau of Science collection may be of this species but they can not be determined at present.

Balabac (Everett); Leyte (Everett); Mindanao (Everett, Steere Exp., Platen, Bourns & Worcester, Celestino, Goodfellow); Palawan (Whitehead, Platen); Samar (Bourns & Worcester, Whitehead). Indian Peninsula, Indo-Malayan Islands, Ceylon, Formosa.

“Adult male.—Above slaty gray, the upper tail-coverts blackish and tipped with white; head and neck clearer slaty gray, including a conspicuous occipital crest, the sides of the neck somewhat tinged with rufous; quills browner than the back, primaries with rufescent shafts, barred above with dark brown, much plainer underneath, where the quills are white at the base of the inner web; tail ashy brown, paler at tip, crossed with four bands of dark brown; throat white, with a distinct black moustachial streak on each side and a broad median line; chest clear tawny-rufous; rest of under surface white, broadly banded with pale rufous, each bar of this color having a conterminous brown bar, the thighs thickly barred with ashy brown without any rufous tinge; under tail-coverts white; under wing-coverts white, spotted with brown or rufous-brown, and the axillars similarly barred. Cere orange-yellow; bill black, lead-color at base; cheeks and orbits orange; feet yellow; iris orange-yellow. Length, 356; culmen, 27; wing, 198; tail, 160; tarsus, 56.

“Adult female.—Similar to the adult male, but much larger. Length, 457; wing, 246; tarsus, 68.

“Young.—Above brown, with a fully developed occipital crest, upper tail-coverts banded with darker brown and tipped with white; quills and tail much as in the adult, the latter with five cross-bands of darker brown; under surface of body white, the throat with the three characteristic streaks like the adult, the breast broadly streaked with pale rufous, inclining to dark brown in the center of the chest, the lower breast and abdomen barred with pale rufous, the bars narrower and darker on the thighs; under tail-coverts white, with a few narrow, nearly obsolete, cross-bars; under wing-coverts buff, spotted and barred with dark brown.” (Sharpe.)

Basilan (McGregor); Cagayancillo (McGregor); Luzon (Whitehead); Mindanao (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Goodfellow). China and Indo-Chinese countries; in winter to Malay Peninsula, Indo-Malayan Islands, and Moluccas.

“Adult.—The adult plumage appears to be gained by a gradual mersion of the rufous stripes on the breast. Above light bluish gray, some of the feathers margined with darker gray; sides of face and neck gray like the head, but a little more dingy; under surface of the body pale buffy vinous, the throat, flanks, and thighs, as well as the under wing- and tail-coverts, white, with a slight grayish shade on the sides of the breast; quills black externally, shaded with ashy gray, under surface white at base of inner web, but having no distinct bars above or below; tail dull bluish gray above, ashy white beneath, with four or five indistinct cross-bands of dark brown, a little plainer underneath, but these not strictly continuous. Cere yellow; gape and orbits yellowish; bill black, lead-color at base; feet yellow; iris yellow. Length, 300; culmen, 19; wing, 200; tail, 137; tarsus, 48.

“Observation.—A specimen from the Philippines, nearly adult in every respect, is much deeper slate-color above, and far more ruddy and vinous below, than the one described.

“Young.—Above brown, with rufous edgings to the feathers, a little broader on the upper tail-coverts, the sides of the neck washed with rufous, the nape mottled with white; crown blackish, an ill-defined eyebrow and fore part of the cheeks white, narrowly lined with blackish brown; the ear-coverts brown, slightly washed with dull rufous; throat buffy white, with a moustachial line on each side and a median streak of brown; rest of under surface buffy white, the chest broadly streaked and the breast and flanks barred with pale rufous; under tail-coverts white; under wing-coverts clear buff, the lowest ones spotted with blackish; quills dark brown, slightly tipped with whitish, very indistinctly barred above with darker brown, underneath buffy white at the base of the inner web, indistinctly barred with dark brown, visible only on the inner webs; tail ashy brown, whitish at tip, crossed with five bars of darker brown, the under surface whitish ashy, the cross-bars more distinct, except on the outer web, where they are almost obsolete.” (Sharpe.)

“Met with only in Mindanao, where it is not at all common.” (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

Male specimen from Cagayancillo: Bill black, bluish at base; iris dark brown; cere and legs buffy yellow; nails black. Length, 285; wing, 190; tail, 131; culmen from base, 20; tarsus, 41.

Cagayancillo (McGregor). China; in winter to the Malay Archipelago.

“Adult.—Above light slaty gray, the margins to the feathers rather darker, the ear-coverts and sides of neck a little paler than the upper surface; lores slightly whitish; under surface of body very pale vinous, somewhat tinged with ashy on sides of breast and throat, the latter being otherwise whitish; lower flanks, abdomen, under tail-coverts, and thighs white; the latter indistinctly dusted with ashy; under wing-coverts and axillars pure white; upper wing-coverts slaty gray like back; quills blackish, shaded above with slaty gray, lower surface of primaries black, all the quills white at base of inner web, more extended on the secondaries, which are ashy gray toward the tips; tail deep slaty gray, nearly uniform above, grayish ash-color below, inclining to white near base of feathers and crossed with five bands of darker brown, the subterminal one broadest. Cere yellow; bill horn-brown; feet yellow, claws black; iris dark brown. Length, 310; culmen, 18; wing, 203; tail, 127; tarsus, 51.” (Sharpe.)

A male specimen from Cagayancillo measures: Length, 300; wing, 190; tail, 136; culmen from base, 20; tarsus, 40. Iris very dark brown; bill black, greenish at base; cere orange; feet light orange; nails black.

Calayan (McGregor); Cebu (McGregor); Fuga (Whitehead); Mindanao (Koch & Schadenberg). Japan, northern China; in winter to Malay Peninsula and Malay Archipelago.

Adult.—Above including wings, blackish slate, the bases of the feathers pure white with a tendency to show on the nape; ear-coverts and sides of neck slaty gray, the feathers edged with rufous; sides of face slate, lined with white; chin and throat white with blackish shaft-lines; breast and sides vinous-chestnut; abdomen and under tail-coverts white; quills blackish, inner webs white basally; secondaries and inner primaries barred with blackish; under wing-coverts and axillars pale ochraceous; tail ashy brown crossed by five bars of blackish brown, seven bars on outermost pair. Male, length, 273; wing, 190; tail, 124; culmen from base, 18; tarsus, 45; middle toe with claw, 33. Female, length, 295; wing, 205; tail, 148; culmen from base, 18; tarsus, 42; middle toe with claw, 34.

Immature.—Upper parts dark brown, most of the feathers edged with rusty or earthy brown; under parts white with wide bars of light rusty brown. This plumage is followed by one in which the under parts are white with wide shaft-streaks of blackish brown. Specimens occur with the fore breast streaked and the hind breast, sides, and flanks barred and with individual feathers both barred and streaked. The acquisition of adult plumage probably takes some time, two or three years.

The preceding descriptions are taken from birds collected in Calayan Island and while none of them shows the complete adult plumage, one specimen has the breast partly chestnut indicating the adult plumage.

Grant characterizes A. gularis as follows:

“Female adult.—Like A. nisus, being barred transversely up to the throat, which is white, with a more or less well-marked dark line down the middle, formed by the very narrow black or grayish-black shaft-stripes to the feathers. Fourth primary quill longest and considerably longer than the fifth.

“Male adult.—Throat white, the line of feathers down the middle with black shafts, forming a very narrow black central line, absent in the most adult examples. The fourth primary quill longest, and considerably longer than the fifth.”

Palawan (Everett). Southern India, Ceylon, Andamans, and Greater Sunda Islands.

“Adult male.—Above deep blackish slate-color, the nape slightly mottled with white, the crown and wing-coverts a little darker; quills dark brown, shaded with slate-color, without any bars above, the under surface paler and more ashy, inclining to pale rufous near the base of inner web, with blackish cross-bars; tail ashy gray above, whitish ashy beneath, paler at tip, and crossed with three bars of slaty black; ear-coverts and sides of neck slaty gray, the latter washed with rufous; fore part of cheeks and throat buffy white, with a few indistinct blackish shaft-lines here and there; rest of under surface bright vinous-chestnut, much paler on the thighs; abdomen and under tail-coverts white; under wing-coverts rich ocherous, the lower ones and the axillars irregularly barred with brownish. Cere yellow; bill black, lead-color at base; feet pale orange-yellow; iris yellow. Length, 279; culmen, 19; wing, 168; tail, 129; tarsus, 48.

“Adult female.—A little larger than the male. Length, 330; wing, 188; tarsus, 56.” (Sharpe.)

Cebu (McGregor); Guimaras (Bourns & Worcester); Leyte (Whitehead); Luzon (Heriot, Whitehead, McGregor); Mindanao (Everett, Bourns & Worcester, Celestino, Goodfellow); Mindoro (Everett, Porter); Negros (Steere).

Adult.—Above brown; head, neck, and mantle with an ashy blue wash, basal portion of feathers white or with one or two large white spots; back, rump, and tail-coverts brown without hidden white spots; sides of head brown; chin and throat white with a narrow median brown line; remainder of under parts rich reddish brown or rusty chestnut, most intense and uniform on breast and sides, each feather barred with dark brown and white, the barred portion hidden, more or less, by the wide reddish brown tips; crissum white; wings brown, primaries barred with gray on distal part of inner webs and with ochraceous on basal part; secondaries barred with ochraceous on inner webs; scapulars with two or more large white spots, all concealed; axillars and wing-lining faint ochraceous, barred with brown; tail brown, crossed by five darker brown bars.

Male from Benguet, Luzon.—Length, 254; wing, 156; tail, 114; culmen from base, 18; tarsus, 48; middle toe with claw, 35.

Female from Benguet, Luzon.—Bill black, bluish at base, cere pea-green; iris and eyelids bright yellow; skin about eye and base of bill dull green; nails very dark brown; legs and feet light yellow. Length, 310; wing, 185; tail, 140; culmen from base, 20; tarsus, 53; middle toe with claw, 45.

Breeding female from Cebu.—Bill horn-blue; cere waxy green; iris and eyelids chrome-yellow; legs greenish yellow; nails blackish. Length, 312; wing, 179; tail, 136; culmen from base, 20; tarsus, 56; middle toe with claw, 44.

Immature male.—Upper parts earthy brown; head and mantle slightly bluish ash; feathers of wings, mantle, rump, and upper tail-coverts edged with rusty brown; median line on throat incomplete; breast and abdomen white with very wide, seal-brown, shaft-stripes; sides and flanks with some reddish brown cross-bars; thighs white, barred with brown; wing-lining ochraceous with large blackish brown spots.

“Accipiter manillensis is, I think, subspecifically distinct from typical A. virgatus, and Mr. Whitehead having, in addition to the Museum series, now obtained three adult females, we have a fair number of skins for comparison.

“Adult female.—Differs from the female of A. virgatus in having the chest, breast, and sides nearly uniform light red in the most adult birds, while in somewhat younger examples the middle of the breast shows distinct cross-bars of reddish brown and white; the under surface on the quills washed with rufous. Wing, 175 to 178; tail, 137 to 139; tarsus, 52 to 53.

“Adult male.—Like the male of A. virgatus. Wing, 152 to 155; tail, 122 to 124; tarsus, 51.” Grant, Ibis, (1896), 109.

I have found considerable difficulty in identifying members of the genus Accipiter from the Philippines and the preceding descriptions will require revision when more specimens shall have been collected. With some hesitation I have placed A. stephensoni as a synonym under A. manillensis instead of under A. gularis.