Land-Birds in the Philippines. 417 



Whenever the birds of two sections of one of the genera 

 named above differ greatly in size, the species of the section 

 of larger longer-winged birds are more widely distributed 

 than the smaller birds of the other, one of the larger species 

 being able to extend itself over the areas of several of the 

 smaller forms. The genus Ninox is an example of this. 

 Ninox luyubris, a large, long- winged, long-tailed form, seems 

 to be distributed over the whole archipelago ; while the other 

 section of smaller short-tailed birds, of which Ninox philip- 

 pensis is an example, contains at least three species — one 

 found in the south, one in the central islands, and the other 

 in Luzon. The genus of Ground-Pigeons, Phabotreron, is 

 another example of this method of distribution, the larger 

 Phabotreron amethystina apparently extending all over the 

 areas of the other five smaller species. 



The distinct conditions under which these subgenera exist 

 together were frequently apparent even in our hurried visit. 

 The species of Bee-birds, Merops, were very closely observed. 

 The two species M. bicolor and M. philippinus probably exist 

 together on every island of the group. M. bicolor is social, 

 hundreds sometimes feeding together, in groves and forests, 

 at a height of fifty to a hundred or more feet from the ground. 

 They appear to be closely limited to honey-bees as food. They 

 were found nesting semi-socially in dry nearly level ground, 

 into Avhich they burrowed several feet. This was in the island 

 of Marinduque in jNlay 1888. M. philippinus is solitary in 

 habit, and feeds near the ground in open country, where it 

 perches on posts and on bushes. Its food, so far as observed, 

 was wasps and dragonflies. It was not found nesting. 



The species of the genus Ceyx were found to vary greatly 

 in their localities. There were the woodland Ceyxes, Ceyx 

 melanura and its allies, always found away from the streams 

 and in the forests, and the river Ceyxes, C. cyanopectus and 

 C. argentata, as universally found along the streams. 



Three species of so-called Halcyon were found generally 

 distributed over the islands together. These were : — H. gu- 

 laris [Entomobia) ; H. coromanda {Callialcyon) ; and H. 

 chloris [Sauropatis) . None of these frequented the water: 



