Terpsiphone nigra McGregor, Phil. Jour. Sci. (1907), 2, sec. A,
340, pls. 1 to 3.
Ti-uay-uay, Batan.
Batan (McGregor).
Adult male (type).--Black, with a slight purplish blue gloss; middle
of abdomen white; under tail-coverts black with white bases and
with traces of clay-brown along the edges; wings and tail black with
some purplish blue gloss on exposed margins. Iris brown; bill, legs,
and wide fleshy eye-wattle bright blue; nails paler blue; inside of
mouth pale green. Length in flesh, 383; wing, 91; central rectrices,
282; second pair of rectrices, 131; outermost and shortest pair of
rectrices, 65; culmen from base, 19; bill from nostril, 13; tarsus,
15; middle toe with claw, 15; longest crest-feathers, 15.
Nearly adult male.--Similar to the adult, but some feathers of
lower back and a few of the inner remiges edged with chestnut;
middle of lower breast, axillars, and wing-lining mottled with white;
abdomen white; under tail-coverts terra-cotta yellow with small dusky
patches. Length, 376; wing, 90; tail-feathers: longest, 267; second,
127; shortest, 80; culmen from base, 19; bill from nostril, 13;
tarsus, 16.5; middle toe with claw, 16.5; longest crest-feathers, 16.
Male, first year.--Head, neck, throat, and breast glossy black;
mantle, back, and rump bright chestnut; upper tail-coverts chestnut
and glossy black (mixed plumage); lower breast gray; abdomen white;
flanks dull chestnut; under tail-coverts white washed with terra
cotta; alula, primaries and primary-coverts blackish brown; primaries
and secondary-coverts edged with chestnut; secondaries edged with
rusty brown; rectrices dark brown, slightly chestnut, the outer
pair minutely tipped with white. Length, 190; wing, 85; tail, 85;
outermost rectrices, 71; culmen from base, 18.5; bill from nostril, 13.
Adult female.--Differs from the adult male, first year, in having
mantle, back, tail-coverts, and secondary-coverts reddish brown instead
of chestnut. Length, 190; wing, 85; tail, 81; outermost rectrices,
74; culmen from base, 20; bill from nostril, 13. Another female is
duller, having the mantle, back, and rump decidedly grayer. Length,
189; wing, 85; tail, 88; culmen from base, 17; bill from nostril, 12.
First plumage.--Above dull brown; top of head, back, and tail dull
reddish brown; post ocular band dull ocherous; chin, throat, and breast
gray, the latter crossed by an ocherous band; lower breast, abdomen,
and under tail-coverts white, slightly washed with ocherous; wings
blackish, primaries edged with dull reddish brown; primary-coverts
blackish; secondaries and their coverts edged with dull rusty ocherous
taking the form of terminal spots on median coverts. Bill dull brown;
legs pale blue; nails white.
Apparently this species breeds in its second year but does not reach
its most perfect plumage until its fourth year.
A nest taken in Batan Island, May 29, 1907, was saddled securely in
the fork of a small branch. The single egg was heavily incubated and
measured 15.4 by 20.3. The egg was dull white, sparsely spotted with
dark umber-brown.
The black paradise flycatcher is abundant in Batan. Its flight is
easy and graceful but rather slow. The call is harsh and cat-like;
the song is simple and of limited range, consisting of several clear
notes uttered in rapid succession.
The short-tailed black males of this flycatcher agree with the
description of Callaeops periopthalmica, but the identity of the two
species has not been established.
Genus RHINOMYIAS Sharpe, 1879.
Tip of bill overhanging, with a notch near the tip; bill depressed
at nostril; rictal bristles moderate; first primary little more
than one-half of second which is less than third, fourth longest;
tarsus slender, equal to less than one-third the length of tail;
bill from nostril more than one-half the length of tarsus.