Motacilla philippensis Forster, Ind. Zool. (1781), 41.
Motacilla violacea Boddaert, Tabl. Pl. Enl. (1783), 11.
Sturnia violacea Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1890), 13, 70.
Sturnia philippensis McGregor, Bur. Govt. Laboratories, Manila
(1905), 25, 30; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 108.
Bi-lit' chí-na, Calayan.
Calayan (McGregor); Luzon (Heriot, McGregor); Mindanao (Steere);
Mindoro (Bourns & Worcester); Negros (Steere); Palawan (Platen,
Bourns & Worcester, White); Tawi Tawi (Bourns & Worcester). Japan;
in winter to Borneo, Celebes, and the Moluccas.
Adult male (Calayan Island, October).--Forehead, crown, lores, chin,
middle of throat, and area about eye white, dingy on top of head;
neck, scapulars, and back black, glossed with purple; rump and
upper tail-coverts white; chest, sides of neck, and ear-coverts
vinous-chestnut or bay, extending as a narrow band onto each side
of hind neck and forming a nearly complete collar; sides of breast,
sides of body, and flanks ash-gray; middle of breast, abdomen, thighs,
and crissum white; wings black, glossed with green; outer primaries
edged with white; some of the secondaries edged with white toward the
base; middle and lesser secondary-coverts, edge of wing, axillars,
and wing-lining white; tail black, glossed with green; outermost
pair of rectrices with outer webs white except near tips. Bill black,
base of lower mandible white; iris brown; legs and feet dark green;
nails brown. Length, 180; wing, 105; tail, 50; culmen from base, 18;
bill from nostril, 12; tarsus, 24.
Adult female (Calayan, October).--Resembles somewhat the female
of Sturnia sinensis. Upper parts dingy brown with no gloss except
on wings and tail; head, rump, and tail-coverts dirty whitish;
under parts white, sides of breast and of abdomen faintly gray;
ear-coverts and sides of neck washed with chestnut-brown; primaries
and primary-coverts black, glossed with green on the outer edges;
second, third, and fourth primaries edged with white or whitish on
outer webs; secondaries glossy brown, the three outer ones widely
edged with white except at tips; secondary-coverts brown, the median
coverts with broad white tips; alula quills black, edged with white;
tail glossy blackish, outermost rectrices with whitish edges. Wing,
105; tail, 48; culmen from base, 18; tarsus, 24.
Immature (Calayan, October).--Resembles the adult female, but the
upper parts more earthy brown; secondary-coverts all brown, the median
series with whitish tips; under parts whitish, ashy on the sides;
throat and chest streaked with dull earthy brown.
The violet-backed starling, like the next preceding species, is of
irregular occurrence in these Islands. A very large flock was observed
on Calayan Island in October, 1903.
"A winter migrant occasionally met with in small flocks. Three males
from Tawi Tawi average: Length, 180; wing, 100; tail, 52; culmen,
17.5; tarsus, 23; middle toe with claw, 25. Two females, length, 178;
wing, 103; tail, 51; culmen, 17; tarsus, 23; middle toe with claw,
27. Iris black; legs and feet dark olive; upper mandible black,
lower black at tip, gray at base." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)
Genus SPODIOPSAR Sharpe, 1889.
Similar to Sturnia, but bill longer and more slender; feathers of
occiput and nape lanceolate, forming a short broad crest.
Species.
a1. Wing shorter; outer webs of primary-coverts white; bases of
primaries white. ... sericeus (p. 713)
a2. Wing longer; outer webs of primary-coverts seal-brown; bases of
primaries brown ... cineraceus (p. 714)