Brachypus cinereifrons Tweeddale, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1878), 617.
Pycnonotus cinereifrons Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1881), 6,
153; Hand-List (1901), 3, 332; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List
(1906), 80.
Calamianes (Bourns & Worcester); Palawan (Everett, Whitehead,
Platen, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, McGregor, Celestino,
White).
Adult (sexes alike).--Above dull olive-green; feathers on top of head
with dark centers and gray edges; ear-coverts brown with distinct
whitish shaft-lines; cheeks brown, streaked with gray; chin and throat
whitish; breast and sides ashy brown, slightly washed with olivaceous;
abdomen buffy white; flanks brown; thighs and crissum buff; wings
and tail brown, most of the feathers edged with dull olive-green;
wing-coverts entirely olive-green; axillars and wing-lining light
yellow. Length, about 190. A male measures: Wing, 84; tail, 76; culmen
from base, 16; bill from nostril, 11; tarsus, 19. A female, wing,
80; tail, 73; culmen from base, 18; bill from nostril, 11; tarsus, 20.
"Four males from Calamianes average: Length, 190; wing, 86; tail,
78; culmen, 22; tarsus, 19; middle toe with claw, 20. Three females,
length, 189; wing, 83; tail, 79; culmen, 20; tarsus, 19; middle toe
with claw, 20. Both males and females from Palawan average slightly
less in length; other measurements are about the same. Bill nearly
black; iris, legs, feet, and nails brown." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)
Family TIMELIIDÆ.
Bill slender, rarely decidedly strong, never broad; culmen more or
less ridged, curved at tip; a slight notch near tip of upper mandible;
gonys slightly to somewhat strongly curved; culmen from base less than
tarsus; nostril opening covered by a flat scale or partly closed by
a membrane; rictal bristles evident, but seldom greatly developed;
wings short, rounded, and curved to the body; first, second, and
third primaries very unequal and much shorter than longest quill;
tarsus and toes long; tarsus booted or with obsolete divisions.
Subfamilies.
a1. Male and female similar in colors; plumage, especially of back
and rump, lax and decomposed; tarsus stouter. ... Timeliinæ (p. 518)
a2. Male and female very unlike in colors; plumage not noticeably
decomposed; tarsus more slender. ... Brachypteryginæ (p. 538)
Subfamily TIMELIINÆ.
Tarsus rather stout; plumage of back, rump, and flanks lax and
decomposed, the feathers of the back often lengthened and overhanging
the rump and tail-coverts.
Genera.
a1. Tail much longer than wing; rectrices pointed, their shafts stiff,
and their webs decomposed. ... Pseudotharrhaleus (p. 518)
a2. Tail shorter than wing; rectrices usually not pointed, their
shafts not very stiff, and their webs not decomposed.
b1. Tail very short, only one-half to two-thirds as long as wing;
tarsus long, the outstretched feet reaching beyond the end of tail.
c1. Tail but little longer than tarsus; wing twice the
tarsus. ... Anuropsis (p. 525)
c2. Tail equal to tarsus and middle toe without claw; wing one
and one-half times the tarsus. ... Ptilocichla (p. 522)
b2. Tail not very short, more than three-fourths as long as wing;
outstretched feet not reaching end of tail.
c1. Bill very much deeper and stronger, the tip decidedly
hooked; rictal bristles well developed, longer than bill from
nostril. ... Turdinus (p. 521)
c2. Bill more slender, the tip but slightly hooked; rictal
bristles shorter.
d1. A tuft of lengthened feathers above each
eye. ... Dasycrotapha (p. 526)
d2. No lengthened feathers above eye; plumage soft and more or
less decomposed.
e1. Feathers of back not greatly lengthened; nostril with an
overhanging membrane ... Zosterornis (p. 527)
e2. Feathers of back greatly lengthened, decomposed, and
overhanging the tail-coverts; nostril opening without an
overhanging membrane.
f1. Long feathers of back without greatly stiffened
shafts. ... Mixornis [70] (p. 533)
f2. Long feathers of the back with shafts conspicuously
stiffened. ... Macronous (p. 534)
Genus PSEUDOTHARRHALEUS Grant, 1895.
Bill slender, rictal bristles short and weak; wing very short,
rounded, and curved to the body; fifth to eighth primaries nearly
equal and longest; tarsus and feet strong; tarsus one and one-half
times the culmen from base; hind toe with claw about equal to culmen;
tail long; rectrices graduated, pointed, and with stiff shafts and
decomposed webs.
Species.
a1. Smaller; wing, 61 to 63 mm.; tail, 70 to 80.
b1. Chin and throat gray.
c1. Tail longer, about 88 mm. ... caudatus (p. 519)
c2. Tail shorter, about 70 mm. ... griseipectus (p. 519)
b2. Chin and throat light brown tinged with buff; tail, about 75
mm. ... unicolor (p. 519)
a2. Larger; wing, 66 mm.; tail, 90; feathers of chest heavily marked
with black centers. ... malindangensis (p. 520)