182 MANUAL OF PHILIPPINE BIRDS. 



stead of ocherous. 'Bill bright yellow, tinged with green ; culmen black ; 

 feet yellowish green; iris golden yellow.' (Everett.)" (Sharpe.) 



"A single specimen secured by us while with the Steere Expedition has 

 been identified by Grant as Ardetta eurythma." (Bourns and Wor- 

 cester MS.) 



Genus DUPETOR Heine and Reichenbach, 1890. 



This genus appears to be very near Ixobrychus but it may be recognized 

 by the blackish or slate-colored upper parts. 



152. DUPETOR FLAVICOLLIS (Latham). 

 BLACK BITTEKN. 



Ardea flavicollis LATHAM, Index Ornith. (1790), 2, 701. 



Dupetor flavicollis SHABPE, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1898), 26, 247; Hand- 

 List (1899), 1, 203; OATES, Cat. Birds' Eggs (1902), 2, 133; MCGREGOR 

 and WORCESTER, Hand-List (1906), 36. 



Cebu (Bourns d Worcester); Luzon (Heriot) ; Marinduque (Steere Exp.) ; 

 Mindanao (Everett, Steere Exp., Goodfeltow) ; Negros (Keay). Celebes, Ceylon, 

 Malay and Indian Peninsulas, Indo-Chinese countries, Greater Sunda Islands, 

 southern and central China. 



"Adult male. Above dark slaty gray, feathers of back and scapulars 

 somewhat pointed and with a slight hoary gloss ; wings and tail blackish, 

 glossed with slate-color on the coverts, and with green on some of the 

 latter and on the quills; crown and crest-plumes slaty gray; sides of face 

 and cheeks black, the latter slightly mottled with rufous; from the 

 hinder part of the cheeks a band of golden straw-color runs down the 

 sides of the neck, the lower feathers being elongated; throat and fore 

 neck prettily variegated with chestnut, black, and white, the chestnut 

 predominating on the outer webs of the feathers and the white on the 

 inner webs, with a longitudinal streak of black at the end of the latter, 

 the long overlapping feathers on the sides of the chest being slaty gray 

 with white margins, so that the general appearance of the throat and 

 chest is streaked ; remainder of under surface of body slaty gray, includ- 

 ing the under wing-coverts, axillars, and quill-lining. 'Bill dusky red- 

 dish brown, lighter below; facial skin purplish brown; eyelids bluish; 

 feet dark brown; claws dark horn-color; iris golden brown or pale red.' 

 (Oates). Length, 508; culmen, 84; wing, 203; tail, 63; tarsus, 67, 

 middle toe with claw, 76. 



"Adult female. Does not differ from the male. Length, 508 ; culmen, 

 31; wing, 203; tail, 68; tarsus, 66; middle toe with claw, 74. 



"The slaty gray shade in the plumage appears to be a sign of the breed- 

 ing season, as some of the winter specimens are black with a greenish 

 gloss on the upper surface. 



