CINNYRIS. 657 



Bourns d- Worcester, Celestino, Goodfelloio) ; Mindoro (Steere Exp., Bourns & 

 Worcester, McGregor) ; Negros {Meyer, Steere, Everett, Steere Exp., Bourns & 

 Worcester, Keay) ; Panay (Steere, Murray, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester) ; 

 Polillo (McGregor) ; Romblon (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Samar (Steere 

 Exp., Bourns & M^orcester) ; Semirara (Worcester) ; Sibay (McGregor & Worces- 

 ter) ; Sibutu (Everett) ; Sibuyan (Bourns d Worcester, McGregor) ; Siquijor 

 (Bourns d Worcester, Celestino); Sulu (Guillemard, Bourns & Worcester); 

 Tablas (Bourns cG Worcester) ; Tawi Tawi (Bourns & Worcester) ; Ticao (Mc- 

 Gregor ) ; Verde ( McGregor ) . 



Male. — Above olive-green, brightest on the rump; chin, throat, and 

 chest glossy blue-black washed with dark aster-purple; remainder of 

 under parts gamboge-)"ellow, darkest next to the black chest-patch ; wing- 

 featliers dark brown, outer webs edged with olive-green, inner webs edged 

 with white; rectrices black, two or three outer pairs tipped with white. 

 Bill, legs, and nails black. A male from Bohol measures : Wing, 55 ; 

 tail. 38; culmen from base, 19; l)ill from nostril, 15; tarsus, 15. 



Female. — Above similar to the male ; below gamboge- or lemon-yellow, 

 whitish on the chin, and with obscure dnsky mottlings on the throat, 

 brightest yellow on middle of breast and abdomen. A female from 

 Siquijor measures : Wing, 50 ; tail, 33 ; culmen from base, 19 ; bill from 

 nostril, 15 ; tarsus, 15. 



The young male resembles the female and from this plumage gradually 

 acquires the black throat and chest. In many specimens (very old 

 males?) there is more or less orange next to the black chest, while the 

 forehead and a small area above the eye often develop a few metallic blue 

 feathers. 



"This sunbird shows great variability in the color of the breast, some 

 specimens having an amount of orange approximating, but never quite 

 equaling, that displayed by C. aurora. Ten males average: Length, 

 119; wing, 56; tail, 40; culmen, 21; tarsus, 14; middle toe with claw, 

 14. Ten females, length, 114; wing, 53; tail, 36; culmen, 20; middle 

 toe with claw, 14; tarsus, 14. Bill, legs, feet, and nails black; iris very 

 dark brown. Breeds in February and March." (Bourns and Wor- 

 cester MS.) 



Three eggs of the yellow-breasted sunbird from Marinduque, May 

 17, 1888, collected by Steere, are described as follows: "Shape ovate. 

 Ground-color whitish partially obscured by the mottled gray under mark- 

 ings, which cover the greater part of the shell ; over markings pale brown, 

 with 1 few spots and irregular marks of a deep brown. Measurements 

 16 mm. by 12 mm. 



"The nest is a neatly woven pocket-shaped structure, with a roofed 

 entrance at the side. It is composed of fiber, dead grasses, and other 

 f 01 est debris bound together with spiders' webs and lined with cotton 

 and fine grass." {Grant and Whitehead.) 



