456 MANUAL OF PHILIPPINE BIRDS. 



Genus EHIPIDURA Vigors and Horsfield, 1826. 



Eictal bristles long and conspicuous, equal to culinen from base or 

 longer; bill wide, depressed for most of its length, slightly compressed 

 near tip; wing shorter than tail; first primary more than one-half of 

 second and less than one-half of third; fourth, fifth, and sixth nearly 

 equal, fifth longest; tail-feathers graduated, the difference between outer- 

 most and middle rectrices equal to or greater than culmen; plumage 

 soft, that of head neither scale-like nor pile-like; colors various. 



I can see no good reason why Hypothymis superciliaris Sharpe and 

 H. samarensis Steere should not be placed in the genus Ehipidura; their 

 long graduated tail-feathers, long stiff oral bristles, and lax plumage, as 

 well as the similarity in the coloration of the sexes, certainly unite them 

 with the members of Ehipidura* 



Species. 



o'. Head, throat, and fore-breast blue or blue-gray. 

 6' Entire upper parts blue. 



c'. Blue of upper parts lighter, especially on crown ; silvery cobalt of forehead 



more conspicuous superciliaris (p. 456) 



c^. Blue of upper parts darker, crown nearly black; less silvery cobalt on 



forehead samarensis (p. 457) 



6^. Back, wings, and tail largely chestnut or cinnamon. 



c\ Abdomen and flanks white albiventris (p. 457) 



c^. Abdomen and flanks brown. 



d}. Smaller; crown lighter; abdomen and flanks cinnamon-brown. 



cyaniceps (p. 458) 

 d^. Larger: crown darker; abdomen and flanks light chestnut-brown. 



sauli (p. 458) 

 a'. Top and sides of head blade. 

 V. Chin and throat black. 



c'. Fore breast cinnamon-brown like the rest of breast and abdomen. 



nigrocinnamomea (p. 459) 



c^. Fore breast white hutchinsoni (p. 4G0) 



V. Chin and throat white with a black pectoral band nigritorquis (p. 460) 



416. RHIPIDURA SUPERCILIARIS (Sharpe). 



MINDANAO BLUE FANTAIL. 



Hypothymis superciliaris Sharpe, Trans. Linn. Soc. Zool. 2d. ser. (1877), 

 1, 236; Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1879), 4, 278; Hand-List (1901), 3, 

 248; McGbegob and Wokcesteb, Hand-List (1906), 73. 



Basilan (Steere, Everett, Steere Exp., Bourns d Worcester, McOregor) ; Min- 

 danao (Steere Exp., Platen, Bourns cf- Worcester, Goodfellow, Gelestino). 



Male. — Above dark verditer-blue, top of head darker; forehead and 

 a line over each eye silvery cobalt; wings and tail black, the exposed 

 portions of webs mostly bright cobalt; chin, throat, breast, and thighs 

 dull smoky blue; lower breast and abdomen white, washed with blue- 

 gray. Bill, legs, and nails black; iris brown. Length, about 165; wing, 

 78; tail, 78; culmen from base, 15; bill from nostril, 9; tarsus, 14.5. 



• See also Whitehead, Ibis (1899), 107. 



