56 BULLETIN 17 2, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Robinson and Kloss ^ found it common in the ricefields bordering the 

 upper reaches of the Pakchan Estuary and say that in winter it is 

 fairly abundant in suitable open spaces as far south as Kuala Lumpur. 



SPILORNIS CHEELA MALAYENSIS Swann 



Spilornis cheela malayensis Swann, A synoptical list of the Accipitres, pt. 3, p. 83, 

 1920 (Raub, Pahang). 



One female, Kao Soi Dao, Trang, January 9, 1934; one male, Koh 

 Lak, June 15, 1933. 



The following specimens collected by Dr. W. L. Abbott are in the 

 United States National Museum: Three males and three females, 

 Trang (Prahmon, April 2-3, 1896; Tycliing, May 26, 1896; Lay Song 

 Hong, August 31 and September 3, 1896; Trang, January 13, 1897); 

 one female, Pulo Terutau, Langkawi Group, November 9, 1903; one 

 male, Endau River, east coast of Johore, June 28, 1901; one immature 

 female, Sungei Bahk, Tenasserim, November 29, 1900. 



Dr. Abbott's notes follow: Iris bright yellow; bill horny blue at 

 base, tip black; cere and naked skin about lores and orbits bright 

 amber; feet yellow, claws black. Weight of a female taken at Prah- 

 mon, Trang, 2 pounds; the stomach of the same bird contained the 

 remains of snakes. 



The male taken by Dr. Smith at Koh Lak is considerably paler below 

 than the Trang female that he took. It is molting, and the new 

 feathers coming in are much darker. The paler bird is regarded as an 

 earlier stage of plumage. Two of Dr. Abbott's Trang male specimens 

 are also pale beneath; also the male from Johore. 



The wings of four males from Siam measure 400, 355, 392, and 

 393 mm; the single male from Johore 345 mm; the wings of five females 

 from Siam 390, 395, 405, 370, and 390 mm; the wings of five males 

 from Sumatra measure 325, 330, 341, 350, and 365 mm; three females 

 from Sumatra 340, 360, and 363 mm. 



These measurements indicate that the Sumatran bird averages 

 smaller than that of the mainland. It appears to be also slightly 

 paler, but not constantly so. The small male from Johore may really 

 belong with the Sumatran form, and the bird of the southern Malay 

 States may be the same as that of Sumatra. The name of this form 

 as restricted by Oberholser ® is Spilornis cheela bassus (J. R. Forster). 



The range of S. cheela malayensis extends from southwestern Siam 

 and southern Tenasserim through Peninsuhir Siam to the Malay 

 States. It has been recorded from the Malay Peninsula under 

 various names such as Spilornis pallidus, bacha, and rutherjordi. The 

 small pale bird from Johore docs resemble S. pallidus, but this form is 

 confined to the lowlands of west and north Borneo and the Natuna 



• Journ. Nat. Hist. Soc. Siam, voJ. 5, p. 103, 1923. 



• U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 159, p. 20, 1932. 



