338 BULLETIN 17 2, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



MALACORNIS MAGNIROSTRIS MAGNIROSTRIS (Moore) 



Alcippe magnirostris Moore, Proc. Zool. See. London, 1854, p. 277, 1855 

 (Malacca). 



One male, Patalung, July 8, 1929; three males and two females, 

 Sichol, Bandon, August 29, 1929, and May 22-28, 1930; three males, 

 Kao Luang, Nakon Sritamarat, July 16, 1928 and October 7, 1930; 

 three males, Kao Soi Dao, Trang, September 1, December 22 and 

 26, 1933. 



Dr. W. L. Abbott collected the following specimens in the Malay 

 Peninsula: Eight males and nine females in Trang (Prahmon, April 

 8, 9, 1896; Lay Song Hong, September 15-November 20, 1896; 

 Trang, February 3-27, 1897; Kao Nok Kam, 2,000 feet, January 10, 

 1899; Kao Soi Dao, 1,000-2,000 feet, February 2-20, 1899); one male 

 and one female, Singapore Island, May 17, 26, 1899; one male Tanjong 

 Laboha, Trengganu, September 29, 1900; and one male, Rumpin 

 River, Pahang, July 3, 1902. He describes the soft parts as: Iris 

 brown, yellowish brown, red, brownish red, or dark red; upper man- 

 dible dark brown, dull black, or dark leaden; lower mandible pale 

 horny blue or pale leaden; feet leaden, pale lavender, or bluish fleshy. 



A female shot by Dr. Abbott at Kao Soi Dao, Trang, Februarj^ 2, 

 contained well-developed eggs. 



In the above series a male from Kao Chong, Trang (no. 333941) 

 September 1 ; two males from Kao Luang, Nakon Sritamarat, July 

 16 and October 7 (nos. 311091 and 333558); and one female, wSichol, 

 Bandon, August 29 (no. 324351) are somewhat different from the 

 remainder of the series. Above they do not differ from the other 

 specimens appreciably, but below they lack the dusky streaks on 

 the foreneck and chest. The principal difference, however, is in the 

 color of the feet and bill. In the normal adult (in the skin) the bill 

 is black above, slaty horn below, and the feet slaty. In the four 

 specimens mentioned above, the bill is brown above, yellowish horn 

 below, and the feet yellowish horn. I rather think these birds repre- 

 sent immature birds just before acquiring the adult plumage. In 

 all four specimens the extreme tip of the tail is a lighter hazel and in 

 two of the specimens two of the inner secondaries are hazel, standing 

 out from the dresdcn brown of the other flight feathers. 



A female shot by Dr. Abbott at Prahmon, Trang, April 9, had the 

 iris olive and the lower mandible yellowish. It is a subadult specimen 

 with the inner secondaries of the immature still retained. This 

 accounts, it seem to me, for the great variation in the color of the 

 soft parts as recorded by Dr. Abbott. A plumage approximating 

 that of the adult is assumed before the adult color of the eye is at- 

 tained. 



The form extends from the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula 

 north through Peninsular Siam to southern Tenasserim. 



