Elanus hypoleucus Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1859), 127; Sharpe,
Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1874), 1, 338; Hand-List (1899), 1, 269;
Oates, Cat. Birds' Eggs (1902), 2, 291, pl. 13, figs. 3; McGregor
and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 44.
Bantayan (McGregor); Basilan (Everett); Bohol (McGregor); Bongao
(Everett); Calamianes (Bourns & Worcester); Cebu (Everett, Bourns
& Worcester); Guimaras (Steere Exp.); Luzon (Jagor, Steere Exp.,
Whitehead, McGregor); Mindanao (Everett, Goodfellow); Mindoro
(Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Everett, Whitehead, Porter);
Negros (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Keay); Samar (Whitehead);
Sibuyan (McGregor); Sulu (Burbidge, Bourns & Worcester); Tawi Tawi
(Bourns & Worcester). Celebes; Greater Sunda Islands.
Adult.--Above pearl-gray, paler on head and fading to pure white above
eyes, on forehead, and sides of neck; lores and a narrow line above
eye black; entire lower parts including under surface of wings and
tail white; median and lesser coverts black but a few of the inner
lesser coverts white; a few small black feathers near edge of wing;
primaries and secondaries tipped with white and largely white on inner
webs, primary-shafts black; tail-feathers white, except central pair
which are gray above.
Male from Bantayan.--Length, 330; wing, 300; tail, 143; culmen from
base, 25; tarsus, 36.
Female from Manila.--Bill and nails black; iris carmine; cere, gape,
and legs chrome-yellow. Length, 355; wing, 300; tail, 138; culmen
from base, 25; tarsus, 34.
An immature female from Bohol is like the adult but the wing-feathers,
including the black coverts, are widely tipped with white, and the
feathers of crown and nape are edged with white and a little buff
giving the head a streaked appearance. Iris light yellow; bill and
nails black; cere waxy yellow; feet bright chrome-yellow.
"Female, not quite adult (type).--Above ashy gray, scapulars and quills
plainly tipped with white, and washed with rusty brown, especially
on the interscapular region; crown white, the hinder part inclining
to ashy gray, plainly streaked with rusty brown; wing ashy gray,
primaries darker, all the quills, as well as the coverts tipped with
white, the lesser and median coverts black, forming a conspicuous
shoulder patch; tail white, shaded with ashy toward the tip, the two
center feathers entirely ashy gray; under surface of body entirely
white, including the under wing-coverts; under surface of quills deep
ashy gray toward the tip, whitish at base. Cere yellow; bill black;
feet yellow; iris red. Length, 368; culmen, 28; wing, 305; tail, 157;
tarsus, 38." (Sharpe.)
"Quite abundant about the open fields, but difficult to shoot. Iris
bright red; legs and feet yellow; nails black; bill black, except
cere and gape which are bright yellow." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)
"The sole egg of the Philippine black-winged kite in the collection
is a blunt oval, smooth, and devoid of gloss. It is white, thickly
smeared especially at the large end, with two shades of brown. It
measures: 41.9 by 31.7 mm." (Oates.)
The egg described above was collected by Everett in Mindoro,
December 14.
Genus PERNIS Cuvier, 1817.
Bill small, elongate, the cutting edge regular or slightly sinuate;
nostril a narrow slit; side of head covered with short close-set
feathers; no bristles nor hairs about base of bill; wings long,
primaries obliquely cut on inner webs; tail composed of long wide
feathers; tarsus feathered in front for its upper half, its remaining
surface covered with small scales.