Brachypteryx malindangensis Mearns, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. (1909),
36, 441.
Mindanao (Mearns).
"Characters.--Most closely related to Brachypteryx brunneiceps Grant
and B. mindanensis Mearns. Smaller than brunneiceps, about equaling
mindanensis; coloration very dark; russet of front of head intensified
to almost a burnt umber, and not extending backward beyond the eyes;
edge and lining of wings, slate-color, instead of rusty.
"Adult male * * *.--Uniformly slate-black, becoming practically black
on the whole head, except a minute and wholly concealed supraorbital
white spot. Iris dark reddish brown; bill all jet-black; feet and
claws plumbeous-black (from fresh specimen).
"Adult female (type).--Front of the head back to the eyes rusty
burnt umber, with eye-ring of same color; hind half of head, neck
all round, and all of body except abdomen, blackish slate; abdomen
washed with brownish gray; wings and tail brownish black, washed with
slate-color; edge and lining of wings slate-color, not russet. The
colors of the iris, bill, and feet were noted as exactly like those
of the male topotype.
"Measurements.--Adult male * * *: Total length, 160; alar expanse, 222;
wing, 70; tail, 60; culmen (chord), 14.5; bill from nostril, 9; tarsus,
32; middle toe with claw, 24. Adult female (type): Total length, 148;
alar expanse, 213; wing, 66; tail, 53; culmen (chord), 13; bill from
nostril, 8.5; tarsus, 34; middle toe with claw, 24.5." (Mearns.)
Family TURDIDÆ.
Bill slender; moderate to small in size; culmen curved near the tip;
a slight notch in the cutting edge of bill; bristles about the bill
usually reduced; wing flat and pointed; first primary not more than
one-half of second, and often much less; tarsi and feet moderate to
large, the former entire in front except for the lower part; young
in first plumage spotted. [73]
Subfamilies.
a1. Much larger; wing, 100 mm. or more; tail square or slightly
rounded. ... Turdinæ (p. 541)
a2. Much smaller; wing, 95 mm. or less, usually much less; tail
rounded, or rectrices slightly graduated.
b1. Upper tail-coverts black, brown, or gray. ... Ruticillinæ
(p. 556)
b2. Upper tail-coverts white. ... Saxicolinæ (p. 564)
Subfamily TURDINÆ.
Birds of this subfamily are nearly all much larger than any of the
Ruticillinæ or Saxicolinæ. The wing is long, pointed, and flat,
the first primary very short; tail nearly square; plumage uniform,
spotted, or bicolored; habits either arboreal or terrestrial.
Genera.
a1. Without blue anywhere in the plumage.
b1. Axillars and wing-lining uniform in color; bill more slender.
c1. Plumage black and dark brown; four primaries with outer webs
emarginate. ... Planesticus (p. 542)
c2. Plumage of under parts white, and chestnut or gray, never
black; three primaries with outer webs emarginate. ... Turdus
(p. 547)
b2. Axillars and under wing-coverts of two colors, the arrangement
of colors on one reversed on the other; bill stouter.
c1. Bill moderate in length; rictal bristles not greatly developed,
few and lateral.
d1. Under parts marked with crescent-shaped black
bands. ... Oreocincla (p. 553)
d2. Under parts marked with fan-shaped spots. ... Geokichla
(p. 550)
c2. Bill long and strongly curved near the tip; rictal bristles
numerous and long, the anterior ones extending over the nostrils
as in the flycatchers; throat, breast, and flanks with fan-shaped
spots. ... Zoothera (p. 552)
a2. With more or less blue in the plumage; axillars and wing-lining
nearly uniform chestnut, or else ocherous barred with black; feathers
of under parts usually fringed with gray or black. ... Petrophila
(p. 554)
Genus PLANESTICUS Bonaparte, 1854.
Four primaries, third to sixth, with the outer webs emarginate;
bill somewhat stouter than in Turdus; otherwise the two genera are
very similar in structure. The Philippine members of Planesticus
are resident, mountain species, and may be easily recognized by the
colors, smoky brown and blackish slate, with no white on the breast
and abdomen.