CENTROPUS. 381 



343. CENTROPUS MINDORENSIS (Steere). 

 MINDORO COUCAL. 



Centrococcyx niindorcnsis Steere, List Birds & Mams. Steere Exped. 

 (1900), 12. 



Centropus mindorensis Shelley, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1891), 19, 339; 

 Sharpe, Hand-List (1900), 2, 166; Grant, Ibis, (1896), 475; Mc- 

 Gregor, Bur. Govt. Labs. (1905), 34, 17; McGregor and Worcester. 

 Hand-List (1906), 63. 



Mindoro (Steere Exp., Everett, Platen, Hchmacker, Bourns & Worcester, White- 

 head, McGregor, Porter); Semirara [Worcester) . 



Adult {sexes similar). — Entire plumage black, heavily glossed with oil- 

 green; most of the feathers with glossy black shafts; in some specimens 

 the alula and primary-coverts edged with rufous. Iris dark red; bill, 

 legs, and nails black. Length of a male, 460; wing, 155; tail, 270; 

 culmen from base, 29 ; depth of bill at front of nostril, 13. 



Young. — A young male taken May 11 is blackish brown; head and 

 neck glossed with green ; chin, throat, and breast mottled with gray ; wings 

 faintly glossed with green ; primaries and secondaries slightly tipped with 

 dull rufous; alula and all upper wing-coverts barred with dull rufous; 

 tail black strongly glossed with green. Wing, 160; tail, 180; culmen 

 from base, 29. 



Grant gives the following description of an immature male : 



"The immature feathers in the upper parts are dull brownish black, 

 devoid of any gloss- the immature tail- and flight-feathers are similarly 

 colored, but slightly glossed, and the latter are indistinctly barred with 

 pale rufous on both webs. The throat, breast, and belly are brownish 

 black, indistinctly marked with buff; the rest of the plumage is similar 

 to that of the adult." 



''Frequents bushes in open fields like C. viridis. Very common in 

 Mindoro. Four males average, 445 in length; wing, 167; tail, 268; 

 culmen, 37; tarsus, 35; middle toe with claw, 40. A female measures, 

 476 in length; wing, 176; tail, 279; culmen, 32; tarsus, 42; middle toe 

 with claw, 42. Iris red; bill, legs, and feet black. Food insects." 

 {Bourns and Worcester MS.) 



The Mindoro coucal builds a l)ulky globular nest of grass, with an 

 entrance on one side. A nest found in April was situated in a thick bed 

 of giant grass. The two eggs are dull white and covered with a thin 

 layer of a white, chalky substance; their measurements are 27.4 by 21.8 

 and 24.3 by 21. 



