-------------------+------+----------+---------+-----------+-----------
| | | | Exposed |
SUBSPECIES | No. | Wing | Tail | culmen | Tarsus
-------------------+------+----------+---------+-----------+-----------
| | | | |
_E. t. monachum_ | 10 | 98 | 80 | 21.0 | 23.0
| | 96-103 | 76-83 | 20.0-22.5 | 22.5-24.
| | | | |
_E. t. insperatum_ | 35 | 109 | 86 | 23.0 | 24.0
| | 107-112 | 82-91 | 22.0-24.0 | 23.0-25.0
| | | | |
-------------------+------+----------+---------+-----------+-----------
_Molt._--Molt in this bird appears to take place in the period from
August to December. Most of the specimens taken in August, October,
November and December were in molt. None was taken in other months.
_Food habits._--This bird feeds principally on insects. A female
taken on August 29 had in its stomach about one and a half cc. of
parts of grasshopper. Marshall (1949:212) records both animal and
vegetable matter in the stomach of this bird.
_Remarks._--The Cicada Bird at Palau inhabits the jungles, especially
the marginal areas between the thick jungle and the more open woodlands.
In 1945, the NAMRU2 party observed only two birds, both of which were
obtained. These were found at Peleliu in a small area of undisturbed
woodland at the edge of a mangrove swamp. Each bird was perched
approximately 25 feet above the ground on the outer branches of a
densely foliated tree. The bird is thought not to be so rare as our
records indicate; probably its secretive habits conceal it from man
except as he makes special search for it. Coultas (field notes)
describes the bird as one of the true forest. He found it shy and
retiring and possessing a very weak voice.
It may be noted that Delacour (1946:2) does not accept the genus
_Edolisoma_ but places birds which are currently assigned to it in the
genus _Coracina_.
=Edolisoma tenuirostre nesiotis= (Hartlaub and Finsch)