a a i 
DICRURUS. 2 703 
Species. 
a’. Lower breast, abdomen, and crissum black, glossed with green or blue. 
b*. Back strongly glossed with greem.........2.....-.-.c--c-sscsscsensee: balicassius ( P, 703) 
 B’. Back velvety black with little or no gloss. 
c’. Smaller; wing, 130 to 135 mm.; tail, 112 to 115............ striatus (p. 704) 
ce. Larger; wing, 145 to 155 mm.; tail, 133 to 136................ suluensis (p. 704) 
a*, Lower breast, abdomen, and crissum white..........2......2.-j-0------ mirabilis (p. 705) 
716. DICRURUS BALICASSIUS (Linneus). 
NORTHERN DRONGO, 
Corvus balicassius LINN&US, Syst. Nat. ed. 12 (1766), 1, 157. 
Dicrurus balicassius TWEEDDALE, Trans. Zool. Soe. (1875), 9, 180, pl. 31, 
fig. 1; SHarper, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1877), 3, 230; WHITEHEAD, Ibis 
(1899), 101 (song) ; McGrrecor and WorcrstER, Hand-List (1906), 107. 
Dicrurus balicassius mindorensis MmArNsS, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. (1909), 
36, 447.* | 
Ba-li-ca-si-ao, Filipino name. 
Lubang (McGregor) ; Luzon (Meyer, Everett, Bourns & Worcester, Whitehead, 
McGregor, Bartsch) ; Marinduque (Steere Exp.) ; Mindoro; (Steere Exp., Schmac- 
ker, Bourns & Worcester, Whitehead, McGregor, Mearns); Polillo (McGregor) ; 
Verde (McG@regor.) 
Adult (sexes alike).—Black, the exposed edges of the feathers glossed 
with steel-green which changes to dark purple in some lights; lores 
velvety black; feathers of throat and chest somewhat lanceolate; feathers 
of sides and flanks white or light gray basally; wing-lining and axillars 
glossy steel-blue. A male from Lubang Island measures: Length, 267; 
wing, 145; tail, 126; bill from nostril, 20; depth of bill at nostril, 10; 
tarsus, 23. A female from Bataan Province, Luzon, measures: Wing, 
141; tail, 118; bill from nostril, 21; depth of bill at nostril, 11; tarsus, 
24, 
“The Philippine representatives of this genus are all bold, impudent 
birds, and invariably appear when there is any disturbance in the woods. 
If picked up when wounded they bite and scratch viciously. They all 
feed exclusively on insects so far as our observation goes. Three male 
birds from Mindoro measure as follows: Wing, 138; tail, 113; culmen, 
32; tarsus, 23; middle toe with claw, 24. Three females from Luzon, 
wing, 131; tail, 116.5; culmen, 31; tarsus, 23; middle toe with claw, 24. 
Bill, legs, feet, and nails black. Found breeding on the 25th of April-” 
(Bourns and Worcester MS.) 
* “Characters.—Slightly larger than Dicrurus balicassius from Luzon Island; 
also differing in having the metallic reflections of the upper parts and breast 
greenish blue instead of bluish green. 
“Measurements of type (adult male).—Wing, 148; tail, 130; culmen, 27; 
tarsus, 25.” (Mearns.) 
. + Wrongly given as ‘““Mindanao” in McGregor and Worcester’s Hand-List, p. 107. 
