450 MANUAL OF PHILIPPINE BIRDS. 



Genus CYANOPTILA Blyth, 1847. 



The genus Cyanoptila is not easily distinguished from ZantJiopygia. 

 In the former genus the colors of the male are blue, black, and white; 

 the wing formula is the same as that of Zanthopygla; tail equal to nearly 

 three-fourths of wing: tarsus one and one-half times the length of bill 

 from nostril. 



412. CYANOPTILA BELLA (Hay). 



JAPANESE BLUE FLYCATCHER. 



Muscicapa bella Hay, Madr. Journ. ( 1845 ) , pt. 2, .158. 



Xanthopi/gia cyanomeloena Shaepe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1879), 4, 251. 



Cyanoplila bella Stejneger, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. Wash. (1892), 15, 328; 

 Sharpe, Hand-List (1901), 3, 238; Gates and Reid, Cat. Birds' Eggs 

 (1903), 3, 269; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 73. 



Cyanoptila cyanomeloena Everett, Ibis (1895), 24. 



Balabac [Everett); Palawan?* .Japan, China, Indo-Chinese countries, north- 

 western Borneo. 



"Adult male. — General color above blue, the greater coverts uniform 

 with the back, the lesser and median coverts brighter and more cobalt- 

 blue, forming a shoulder patch; head still brighter and more lazuline 

 blue, richest on the forehead; a narrow frontal line, lores, eyelid, sides 

 of face, and entire throat and chest black; rest of under surface of body 

 pure white, the flanks ashy; thighs black; under wing-coverts dusky 

 brown, broadly edged with blue, the edge of the wing bright blue; 

 primary-coverts and quills dusky brown, externally greenish blue ; middle 

 tail-feathers dark blue, the remainder blue on the outer web, black on 

 the inner, with conspicuous white bases to the feathers. 'Bill black; legs 

 brown; iris black.' {David.) Length, 140; culmen, 14; wing, 86; tail, 

 61; tarsus, 15. 



"Observation. — A male bird from Japan, in the Leiden Museum, 

 marked Cyanoptila cyanothorax, is a little different from the full- 

 plumaged male, being of a greener cobalt above, and has the throat 

 washed with greenish blue. The blue color on the head is different 

 being brighter cobalt. Specimens from Borneo do not differ from the 

 Japanese bird described in any important particulars; one has a gloss 

 of blue on the throat and chest, another is more greenish blue above, 

 while a Tingchow male has the back gi-eenish blue, with distinct black 

 shaft-streaks. 



"Adult female. — Different from the male. Ashy brown above, washed 

 with pale verditer-blue on the scapulars, lower back, and upper tail- 

 coverts; least wing-coverts bright blue as in adult male, the rest and 

 the quills externally verditer-blue, the outermost of the greater series 

 dull brown, edged with ashy brown and narrowly tipped with whitish; 



* Sharpe, Hand-List, gives the locality "Palawan [winter)" for this flycatcher; 

 I have not found that it is recorded from Palawan. 



