Picus pulverulentus Temminck, Pl. Col. (1826), 389.
Hemilophus pulverulentus Hargitt, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1890),
18, 494.
Alophonerpes pulverulentus Sharpe, Hand-List (1900), 2, 230.
Mulleripicus pulverulentus McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List
(1906), 66.
Balabac (Everett); Palawan (Whitehead, Platen, Steere Exp.,
Bourns & Worcester, Celestino, White). Sumatra, Cochin China,
Malay Peninsula, Burmese provinces, northwestern India, Java,
Borneo, Himalayas.
Adult male.--Blackish slate, abdomen and crissum lighter; feathers
of crown, occiput, neck, sides of neck, and breast with small gray
tips producing a spotted appearance, most pronounced on occiput and
neck; on malar region below each eye a large patch of light crimson;
chin and throat saffron-yellow, washed with pink or light red on the
posterior part. Length of a male from Palawan, 465; wing, 235; tail,
165; culmen from base, 65; tarsus, 38.
Adult female.--Differs from the male in having no red on cheeks
and but a slight wash of pink on the throat. Wing, 235; tail, 180;
culmen from base, 64; tarsus, 35.
"Young male.--Differs from the adult male in having the entire malar
region, forehead, and greater part of the crown washed with pale
crimson, this color being very faint upon the crown; the head darker
slaty gray and the tips of the feathers less white; upper parts rather
browner; the under surface of the body unspotted; abdomen, sides of
the body, and under tail-coverts more of a dusky brown, but assuming
the dark slaty-gray plumage; chin, throat, and fore neck light buff,
the latter washed with pale red. It has also a pale crimson stripe,
rather than a spot, and the hinder part of the malar region, as in
the adult." (Hargitt.)
"Quite abundant in some parts of Palawan. Shot on dead trees
in clearings, and in low scrub. We failed to find it in the
Calamianes. Two males average, 467 in length; wing, 227; tail, 147;
culmen, 59; tarsus, 34; middle toe with claw, 41. A female, length,
457; wing, 220; tail, 140; culmen, 59; tarsus, 31; middle toe with
claw, 44. Iris very dark brown; legs and feet dull leaden, nails nearly
black; upper mandible black except along gape and at base where it
is gray; lower mandible light gray." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)
Genus THRIPONAX Cabanis and Heine, 1863.
Culmen nearly straight; nasal ridges well developed; nostrils scantily
covered; plumage mostly black, abdomen white; both sexes with a full
scarlet crest; length, from 380 to 410 mm.
Species.
a1. Breast black, without light edges to the feathers.
b1. Rump black. ... javensis (p. 406)
b2. Rump with a white band.
c1. White spot at base of primaries smaller; bill stouter, width
at anterior border of nostrils, 14 to 16 mm.; lower mandible
dirty ivory-yellow. ... hargitti (p. 409)
c2. White spot at base of primaries larger; bill more slender,
width at anterior border of nostrils, 12 to 14 mm.; lower mandible
blackish. ... mindorensis (p. 408)
a2. Breast, throat, and chin black mixed with white and buff.
b1. Light buff or whitish edges of breast-feathers very wide,
giving the breast a mottled appearance. ... pectoralis (p. 407)
b2. Light buff edges of breast-feathers narrow, forming numerous
crescentic markings. ... multilunatus (p. 408)