First and second toes reversed; the other two toes united for two-thirds of their length.
Bill short, strong, and wide; culmen curved; a notch at tip of upper mandible; nostrils covered by well-developed bristles; face partly naked; wings short and curved to the body; first primary about one-half of fifth which is longest; tail long and broad, square at the end; two outer pairs of rectrices short; legs short, tarsus partly feathered; plumage full and soft; skin very thin and tender.
Characters same as those given for the Family.
Basilan (Steere, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Bohol (McGregor); Dinagat (Everett); Leyte (Whitehead); Luzon (Meyer, Möllendorff, Steere Exp., Whitehead, Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Marinduque (Steere Exp.); Mindanao (Peale, Murray, Everett, Koch & Schadenberg, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Goodfellow, Celestino); Samar (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Whitehead).
Adult male.—Above orange-brown, lighter on rump and tail-coverts; lores and forehead black, shading gradually into deep reddish purple on top of head, occiput, nape, and ear-coverts; chin and throat black, shading into pink on the chest; upper breast deep scarlet, shading into lighter scarlet on rest of under parts; wings black; primaries edged with white; secondaries and secondary-coverts barred with narrow lines of white; three outer pairs of tail-feathers white with black bases; next two pairs black; middle pair light coffee-brown with black tips. Bill dark green at base; terminal half bright yellow. A male from Bohol measures: Wing, 145; tail, 181; culmen from base, 24; bill from nostril, 15. A male from Bataan Province, Luzon, measures: Wing, 143; tail, 173; culmen from base, 20; bill from nostril, 14. A male from Basilan measures: Wing, 150; tail, 187; culmen from base, 24; bill from nostril, 17.
Adult female.—Above similar to the male but head, nape, and ear-coverts olive with no trace of vinaceous color; scapulars and back olive-brown; rump and tail-coverts orange-brown as in the male; chin and throat black; rest of under parts light rusty buff, a little paler on abdomen and darker on under tail-coverts; wings similar to those of the male but the fine cross-bars light brown instead of white; tail similar to that of the male but with less white on the outer feathers. A female from Bohol measures: Wing, 135; tail, 176; culmen from base, 24; bill from nostril, 16.
Young.—The young male resembles the adult female but the brown bars on the secondaries are much wider and the black terminal bar of the middle rectrices is lacking. As the bird becomes older the vinaceous of head, and pink and scarlet of under parts, gradually appear.
“Abundant from Luzon to Basilan. Usually found in dark places in the forest. Makes a loud whirr with its wings when it flies. A stupid bird, easily shot. Five males measure, 327 in length; wing, 132; tail, 167; culmen, 21; tarsus, 15; middle toe with claw, 23. Iris dark brown to black; legs and feet olive; nails black; base of bill green, tip yellow; flesh round eye purple.” (Bourns and Worcester MS.)