Cuculus merulinus Scopoli, Del. Flor. et Faun. Insubr. (1786),
2, 89.
Cacomantis merulinus Shelley, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1891), 19,
268; Sharpe, Hand-List (1900), 2, 159; McGregor and Worcester,
Hand-List (1906), 62.
Ma-sa-kit', Manila.
Balabac (Everett); Bantayan (McGregor); Basilan (Steere, Everett,
Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Bohol (Everett,
McGregor); Bongao (Everett); Cagayancillo (McGregor); Calamianes
(Bourns & Worcester); Caluya (Porter); Catanduanes (Whitehead);
Cebu (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Leyte (Steere
Exp.); Lubang (McGregor); Luzon (Cuming, Gevers, Everett, Heriot,
Steere Exp., Whitehead, Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Masbate
(Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester); Mindanao (Everett, Steere
Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Goodfellow); Mindoro (McGregor, Porter);
Negros (Steere Exp., Whitehead, Bourns & Worcester, Keay); Palawan
(Everett, Whitehead, Platen, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester,
White); Panay (Sonnerat, Steere, Steere Exp.); Samar (Steere
Exp.); Semirara (Porter); Sibay (Porter); Siquijor (Celestino);
Sulu (Platen, Bourns & Worcester); Tablas (Bourns & Worcester);
Tawi Tawi (Bourns & Worcester, Everett); Ticao (McGregor). Malay
Peninsula, Burmese Provinces, eastern Himalayas, northeastern
Bengal, central India, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Celebes, Ternate.
"Adult male.--Upper half of the head and back of the neck leaden
gray, passing gradually into brown, with an olive gloss on the back
and wings; feathers of the pinion-joint white, forming a patch; upper
tail-coverts gray like the crown; tail slaty black with white ends, the
outer webs of the feathers notched with white, the inner webs regularly
barred with white, most strongly so on the outer feathers; sides of the
head, chin, throat, and front of chest uniform gray, slightly paler
than the crown; remainder of the body and under tail-coverts and the
under wing-coverts uniform rufous-buff; under surface of the quills
dusky brown, with a diagonal bar of white formed by the white on the
inner webs near the base of the quills. 'Bill black, base of lower
mandible reddish. Iris light red; feet and legs waxy naples-yellow,
nails black.' (Everett.) Length, 208; culmen, 16; wing, 109; tail,
109; tarsus, 16.
"Immature.--Above rufous, nearly equally barred throughout with olive,
shaded black; primaries alone more uniform brown; under parts buff,
narrowly barred throughout with dusky black; under wing-coverts like
the chest; pale portion of the quills more rufous than in the adult
and indicating partial bars. 'Bill dusky black, yellowish at the gape
and base of lower mandible; iris yellowish white, legs and feet dingy
grayish yellow.' (Hume.) Length, 231; culmen, 18; wing, 109; tail,
127; tarsus, 18." (Shelley.)
Nestling.--Upper parts including wings and tail dark brown, the
feathers barred and edged with cinnamon-rufous; tip of tail and edge
of wing white; below white, barred, more regularly than above, with
blackish brown.
"Very common. It is quite a sweet singer. Legs and feet dirty yellow;
nails black; upper mandible black, lower light brown. Four males
measure, 241 in length; wing, 118; tail, 132; culmen, 21; tarsus,
16; middle toe with claw, 21." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)
Genus CHALCOCOCCYX Cabanis, 1862.
Length, about 165 mm.; tail short and rounded; wings long and pointed,
when folded reaching nearly to tip of tail; plumage metallic bronze
or violet; breast, abdomen, and sides barred with white.
Species.
a1. Bill bright yellow; upper parts deep metallic
violet. ... xanthorhynchus (p. 376)
a2. Bill not yellow; upper parts metallic bronze, green, and
purple. ... malayanus (p. 377)