Certhia jugularis Linnæus, Syst. Nat. ed. 12 (1766), 1, 185.
Cinnyris jugularis Shelley, Monogr. Nectarin. pt. 3 (1877), 151,
pt. 6 (1878), pl. 48; Gadow, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1884), 9,
84; Grant and Whitehead, Ibis (1898), 243 (eggs); Whitehead, Ibis
(1899), 230 (habits); McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 99.
Cinnyris obscurior Grant, Bull. Brit. Orn. Club (1894), 3, 1;
(1895), 451.
Cyrtostomus dinagatensis Mearns, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. (1905),
18, 5.
Cyrtostomus jugularis mindanensis Mearns,
Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. (1909), 36, 443. [90]
Cyrtostomus jugularis woodi Mearns, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. (1909),
36, 444. [91]
Tam-si, Bohol; pú-si-u, Ticao and Masbate; pi-pít pú-go, Manila.
Bantayan (McGregor); Basiao, off Samar (Bartsch); Basilan
(Everett, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Bohol
(Everett, McGregor); Bongao (Everett); Caluya (Porter); Camiguin
S. (Murray); Catanduanes (Whitehead); Cebu (Meyer, Everett, Steere
Exp., Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Dinagat (Everett); Guimaras
(Meyer, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester); Leyte (Everett, Steere
Exp., Whitehead); Lubang (McGregor); Luzon (Everett, Steere Exp.,
Bourns & Worcester, Whitehead, McGregor, Bartsch); Maestre de
Campo (McGregor & Worcester); Marinduque (Steere Exp.); Masbate
(Bourns & Worcester, McGregor, Bartsch); Mindanao (Steere, Everett,
Koch & Schadenberg, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Celestino,
Goodfellow); Mindoro (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, McGregor);
Negros (Meyer, Steere, Everett, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester,
Keay); Panay (Steere, Murray, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester);
Polillo (McGregor); Romblon (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor);
Samar (Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester); Semirara (Worcester);
Sibay (McGregor & Worcester); Sibutu (Everett); Sibuyan (Bourns &
Worcester, McGregor); Siquijor (Bourns & Worcester, Celestino);
Sulu (Guillemard, Bourns & Worcester); Tablas (Bourns & Worcester);
Tawi Tawi (Bourns & Worcester); Ticao (McGregor); Verde (McGregor).
Male.--Above olive-green, brightest on the rump; chin, throat, and
chest glossy blue-black washed with dark aster-purple; remainder of
under parts gamboge-yellow, darkest next to the black chest-patch;
wing-feathers dark brown, outer webs edged with olive-green, inner webs
edged with white; rectrices black, two or three outer pairs tipped with
white. Bill, legs, and nails black. A male from Bohol measures: Wing,
55; tail, 38; culmen from base, 19; bill from nostril, 15; tarsus, 15.
Female.--Above similar to the male; below gamboge- or lemon-yellow,
whitish on the chin, and with obscure dusky mottlings on the throat,
brightest yellow on middle of breast and abdomen. A female from
Siquijor measures: Wing, 50; tail, 33; culmen from base, 19; bill
from nostril, 15; tarsus, 15.
The young male resembles the female and from this plumage gradually
acquires the black throat and chest. In many specimens (very
old males?) there is more or less orange next to the black chest,
while the forehead and a small area above the eye often develop a
few metallic blue feathers.
"This sunbird shows great variability in the color of the breast,
some specimens having an amount of orange approximating, but never
quite equaling, that displayed by C. aurora. Ten males average: Length,
119; wing, 56; tail, 40; culmen, 21; tarsus, 14; middle toe with claw,
14. Ten females, length, 114; wing, 52; tail, 36; culmen, 20; middle
toe with claw, 14; tarsus, 14. Bill, legs, feet, and nails black;
iris very dark brown. Breeds in February and March." (Bourns and
Worcester MS.)
Three eggs of the yellow-breasted sunbird from Marinduque, May
17, 1888, collected by Steere, are described as follows: "Shape
ovate. Ground-color whitish partially obscured by the mottled gray
under markings, which cover the greater part of the shell; over
markings pale brown, with a few spots and irregular marks of a deep
brown. Measurements 16 mm. by 12 mm.
"The nest is a neatly woven pocket-shaped structure, with a roofed
entrance at the side. It is composed of fiber, dead grasses, and other
forest débris bound together with spiders' webs and lined with cotton
and fine grass." (Grant and Whitehead.)