Dendrobiastes basilanica Sharpe, Trans. Linn. Soc. 2d
ser. Zool. (1877), 1, 332.
Muscicapula basilanica Sharpe, Hand-List (1901), 3, 224; McGregor
and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 72.
Muscicapula mindanensis Blasius, Jour. für Ornith. (1890), 147.
Basilan (Steere, Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Mindanao (Platen,
Bourns & Worcester, Celestino).
Adult male.--Above, including sides of head and of neck, dark
slate-gray; upper tail-coverts nearly black; wings and tail dark
brown; secondaries and wing-coverts edged with slate-gray; a partly
concealed white patch or band on each side of nape; under parts white;
breast, sides, flanks, and thighs washed with slate-gray. A male
from Basilan measures: Wing, 69; tail, 43; culmen from base, 13.5;
bill from nostril, 9.5; tarsus, 21.
Adult female.--Above, including sides of head and of neck, rich
rusty brown, shading into bright chestnut on tail-coverts, tail,
and edges of secondaries; wings and tail dark brown; exposed edges
of primaries rusty brown; under parts white; breast, sides, flanks,
and thighs washed with rusty brown. A female from Basilan measures:
Wing, 66; tail, 43; culmen from base, 14; tarsus, 21.
The female of this species resembles very closely the female of
Rhinomyias ruficauda, but differs in having a shorter tail and
longer tarsus.
"We obtained a series of eight specimens from Basilan, and a single
bird from Mindanao. Not one of the Basilan birds shows a trace of
'yellowish white' on the tail-feathers; otherwise, they agree with
Blasius's description. As the Mindanao bird collected by us also lacks
all trace of any lighter color on the tail-feathers, we do not feel
like separating the birds from the two islands.
"The Basilan flycatcher is found on the ground in the forest and is
fairly common in Mindanao and Basilan. Eight males from the latter
island average: Length, 127; wing, 68; tail, 43; culmen, 16; tarsus,
21; middle toe with claw, 19. Iris black; anterior surface of legs and
upper surface of feet pale leaden; back surface of legs and bottoms
of feet white; bill black." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)