434 Birds of Celebes: Artamidae. 



-^ * 167. ARTAMUS MONACHUS Bp. 



WMte-backed Swallow-shrike. 



■-^ Artamus monachus (!) Bp., Consp. 1850, I, 34^ (ex Temm., Mus. Lugd.); {2} Schl., Handl 



' Dierk. 1857, 293; (3) Wall., Ibis 1860, 141; (4) id., P. Z. S. 1862, 340; {5) Finscb, 



Neu-Guinea 1865, 171; {6} Gray, HL. 1869, I, 289, Nr. 4272; (VII) Walden, 

 Tr. Z. S. 1872, YDI, 67, 113, pi. VI, fig. 1; {8] Briigg., Abh. Yer. Bremen 1876, 

 V, 69; (9) Sclater, P. Z. S. 1877, 101; (X) Gould, B. New Guinea IV, pi. 21 (1878); 

 {11) Sharpe, Rowley's Orn, Misc. m, 1878, 189; (12) Rosenb., Malay. Ai-cbip. 

 1878, 272; (13) Meyer, Ibis 1879, 129; {14} Salvad., Orn. Pap. H, 1881, 172; 

 {15} W. Bias., J. f. 0. 1883, 137; {16} Guillem., P. Z. S. 1885, 553; {11} W. Bias., 

 Ztscbr. ges. Orn. 1886, 196; {18} Sbarpe, Cat. B. XTH, 1890, 10; {19} M. & Wg., 

 Abb. Mus. Dresd. 1895, Nr. 8, p. 10; {20} iid., ib. 1896, Nr. 2, p. 15; {21} Hart., 

 Nov. Zool. 1896, 154; {22} id., ib. 1897, 157. 



a. Artamus spectabilis {1} Briigg., Ann. and Mag. N. H. 1878, (5) I, 349. 



"Maspas utan" (utan = forest), Minabassa, Meyer 13. 



"Maspas kaoonerang intalung", Nat. Coll. 



"Sosolat ise ise" (^ also A. leucogaster), E. Celebes, Nat. Coll. 



"Manu sagu", Banggai (= also A. leucogaster), iid. 



Figures and descriptions. Walden VII; Gould X; Scblegel 2\ Wallace 4; Sbarpe 18. 



Adult. Entire bead, including throat, cheeks, ear-coverts and nape, drab, darkest 

 on the forehead and crown; loral region and upper corner of chin blackish; 

 wings and tail blackish grey, the wing-coverts washed with drab; entire body 

 above and below pure white; quills and rectrices below smoke-grey; towards 

 their bases, and under wing-coverts, white (Near Manado, Aug. — Sept. 1892, 

 Nat. Coll.: C 10881). Bill pale blue; feet lead-coloui- (Wall. 4). 



Sexes. No sexual differences of j^himage are known, and do not appear to exist. 



Young. Like the adult, but the remiges and wing-coverts tipped with white; a little white 

 at the tip of the tail; the brown feathers of the head and neck with very narrow 

 wliitisb edgings ; the throat greyer, with whitish tips to the feathers ( $ juv. Tomobon, 

 N. Cel., 30. V. 94: Sarasin Coll.). 



Eggs, etc. Unrecorded. 



Measurements (9 specimens). Wing 152 — 164 mm; tail c. 70—78; bill fi-om nostril c. 19—20; 

 tarsus c. 20. 



Distribution. Celebes and the Sula Islands: — Minabassa (Wallace 3, Meyer 13, etc.); 

 Lembeh Id. (Nat. Coll.); Banggai Id. (Nat. Coll.); Sula Mangoh, or Sula Besi, or 

 both (Allen 4)\ Indrulaman, S. Celebes (Everett 21). 



Until very recently, on the mainland of Celebes this W^ood-swallow or 

 Swallow-shrike had been definitely recorded only from the Minabassa, where 

 Wallace, Meyer and the Sarasins met with it in the highlands of the country; 

 but in 1895 it was found by Everett on the foot-hills of Mt. Bonthain, and 

 there also in 1S9() by Doherty at 6000 feet. Its nearest affinities are with 

 Artamus insignis Sclat. of the New Britain group, the only other known species 

 of Artamus which has a white back. This bird may be distinguished from the 

 Celebes form by its black head, wings and tail (see: Gould, B. New Guinea, 

 IV, pi. 20). Bonaparte, who can only have seen the bird without taking it out 



