Centropus melanops Lesson, Traité (1831), 137; Cassin,
Ornith. Wilkes Exped. (1858), 249, atlas pl. 22, fig. 1; Shelley,
Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1891), 19, 365; Sharpe, Hand-List (1900),
2, 168; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 64.
Basilan (Steere, Everett, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester,
McGregor); Bohol (McGregor); Leyte (Whitehead); Mindanao (Peale,
Everett, Koch & Schadenberg, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester,
Celestino, Goodfellow); Nipa (Everett); Samar (Steere Exp.,
Whitehead).
Adult (sexes similar).--Head, neck, mantle, and lower parts to middle
of breast buff, lighter on crown and chin; forehead, lores, cheeks,
and eyebrow black forming a mask; wings and scapulars bright chestnut;
tips of primaries dark brown; remainder of back, tail, and under parts
black, glossed with bluish green; under wing-coverts blackish. Iris
red; bill, legs, and claws black. Length of a male from Basilan, 406;
wing, 165; tail, 230; culmen from base, 38; tarsus, 40. A male from
Bohol measures: Wing, 170; tail, 235; culmen from base, 40; tarsus, 43.
"Frequents thick tangles of vines in deep woods. Very common in
Mindanao. Much rarer in Samar.
"Four males measure, 412 in length; wing, 149; tail, 209; culmen,
35; tarsus, 38; middle toe with claw, 41. Four females, length, 441;
wing, 155: tail, 236; culmen, 36; tarsus, 41; middle toe with claw, 42.
"The above specimens are from Mindanao. Birds from Samar average
slightly larger. Eyes dull red; legs and feet blue-black to black;
bill and nails black." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)