Pericrocotus cinereus Lafresneye, Rev. Zool. (1845), 8, 94;
Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1879), 4, 83; Hand-List (1901),
3, 302; Whitehead, Ibis (1899), 103 (migrant); Oates and Reid,
Cat. Birds' Eggs (1903), 3, 298, pl. 9, fig. 19; McGregor and
Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 77.
Basilan (McGregor); Calayan (McGregor); Luzon (Leclancher, Heriot,
Whitehead, McGregor); Mindoro (Everett, McGregor); Palawan
(Lempriere, Whitehead, Bourns & Worcester, White). China and
eastern Siberia; in winter to Pegu, Borneo, and Malay Peninsula.
Male.--Nasal plumes, lores, crown, and nape black; forehead white;
cheeks and ear-coverts white, the latter tipped with black; rest
of upper parts ashy gray; under parts entirely white; thighs gray;
wings blackish brown; secondaries with a narrow white bar across
the middle of their length and some of their edges gray; primaries
with white patches near middle of inner webs, and some with a white
spot on outer web; rectrices black, all but the middle pair with long
white tips. Length, about 200; wing, 98; tail, 95; culmen from base,
14; bill from nostril, 9.5; tarsus, 16.
Female.--Similar to the male but crown, nape, and post-ocular area
gray like the back; sides of breast mottled or obsoletely barred with
gray. Wing, 97; tail, 98; culmen from base, 14; bill from nostril,
9; tarsus, 15.
This plain-colored species appears in the Philippines during migration
only and is, as a rule, very rare. At times, however, it is found in
considerable numbers.
"We shot a single specimen in Palawan. Length, 190; wing, 96; tail,
100; tarsus, 17; middle toe with claw, 15. Bill, legs, feet, and
nails black." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)
Genus LALAGE Boie, 1826.
Bill moderate in length and rather slender, as deep as wide at nostril;
wing decidedly longer than tail; rectrices moderately broad; tarsus
strong. Plumage black, white, and gray; tail black, tipped with white;
wing black with a large white patch on secondaries and on greater
and median coverts.
Species.
a1. Forehead black; no white band over eye; larger; length, about
200 mm.
b1. Larger; wing, about 120 mm.; tail, 86 ... melanoleuca (p. 494)
b2. Smaller; wing, about 105 mm.; tail, 82 ... minor (p. 495)
a2. Forehead and a wide band over eye white; length, about 180
mm. ... niger (p. 495)