220 Mr. W. R. Ogilvie Grant on the 



Mr. Whitehead Avas informed by a native that a specimen 

 had been obtained in Luzon. 



Pithecnphaga jefferyi, perhaps the most remarkable bird 

 which has been discovered in the Philippines, has been named 

 at our friend's wish in honour of his father, Mr. Jeffery 

 Whitehead. 



6. MiCROHIERAX MERIDIONALIS, Sp. U. 



All the examples of Microhierax hitherto recorded from the 

 Philippine Islands have been identified with M. erythrogenys 

 (Vigors). The type of this species, which was described from 

 the island of Luzon, is preserved in the British Museum. 

 By referring to the ' Ibis/ 1894, p. 407, it will be seen that 

 we have already pointed out a well-marked sexual distinc- 

 tion in the plumage of the Luzon Pigmy Falcon, which 

 had apparently been overlooked in previous descriptions of 

 M. erythrogenys. The males of this species have the inner 

 webs of the primary-quills barred with white, while in the 

 females these parts are uniform black. 



The Samar collection contains a male and two females of 

 a Microhierax, which at the first glance seemed difl'erent from 

 typical M. erythrogenys, both on account of their larger size 

 and the absence of the white wing-bars in the male. From 

 a more carefiil examination of these three specimens and the 

 series in the British Museum, it seems certain that two 

 species occur in the Philippines, but have been confounded 

 with one another. The Luzon birds seem to be quite dis- 

 tinct from the larger species found in the more southern 

 islands of Samar, Cebu, and Mindanao, for which the name 

 of Microhierax meridionalis is proposed. 



The new species may be characterized as follows : — 



Adult male. Similar to the male of M. erythrogenys, but 

 considerably larger ; the under wing-coverts and inner webs 

 of the primaries uniform black ; and the belly, vent, and under 

 tail-coverts washed with pale fulvous. Total length 6'5 

 inches, culmen (from cere to tip) 0*5 1, wing 4-45, tail 2'6, 

 tarsus 085. 



The type of the male is from Zamboauga, Southern 

 Mindanao. 



