440 Birds of Celebes: Dicaeidae. 



Measurements. Seven adults from Peling and Banggai have the whig 150 — 164 mm. 

 Distribution. Sula Islands (Allen 1, a 1); Peling and Banggai (8^*^)\ Obi major (Bruijn b 2). 



The Sula Drongo is one of a closely interrelated group of red-eyed species 

 consisting of itself, B. horneensis (Sharp e) from Borneo and Sooloo, B. palawan- 

 ensis Tweedd. from Palawan, B. laemostictus Sclat. from New Britain, B. pro- 

 pinqttm (Tristr.i, D'Entrecasteaux Islands, B. hracteatus Gould, Australia, S. New 

 Guinea and the Tenimber Group, B. atrocaerukus Gr. of Halmahera and Batjan 

 — wrongly recorded also by Gray and copied by Rosenberg as from Celebes 

 (HL. I, 285; Mai. Arch. 272) — and B. carbonarius Bp. of Papuasia. To these 

 B.biwaensis Bp.of Lombok, Sumbawa, Sumba and Flores — also wrongly recorded 

 by Gray and copied by Rosenberg as from Celebes — and B. swnatramis 

 R. G. AV. Rams, of Sumatra again stand very near. This is one of those cases 

 where names have been given and the birds of certain places marked off in a 

 manner not calculated to advance knowledge in ornithology; it is only after 

 looking up the matter with considerable loss of time that the student becomes 

 aware what an intricately interconnected set of local races these numerous specific 

 names really represent. In most cases we may presuppose that some differences 

 really exist, but whether these have always been correctly discriminated by the 

 authors the future must show. The green and blue tints and the size of the 

 metallic spots on the breast undoubtedly vary, as already mentioned, with age. 

 Most of the forms may be expected, as subspecies, to fall into the ranks of one 

 species, B. carhonaria Bp. In plumage there seems to be no difference between 

 the Peling and Banggai birds and those of Celebes (B. leucops) and, in labelling 

 the specimens from E. Celebes B. leucops and those of Peling, B. pectoralis, we 

 are compelled to act from mere guess-work, for all that can be said is that it 

 is probable that the latter will follow the rule and have the iris of the same 

 colour as the Sula birds, and not as in the adult Celebes birds. 



FAMILY DICAEIDAE. 



The Flower-peckers are among the smallest birds occurring in Celebes. 

 Gates has stated that they may be separated at once from all other Passeres, 

 except the Nectanmidae, by the serrated edges of both mandibles.') In the Bicac- 

 idae the bill is as long as the head or less, in the Nectariniidae it is longer 

 than the head, slender, and decurved. The nostril of the Bicaeidae is long and 

 narrow, with an imperfect coriaceous operculum above ; the tail is short, about 

 half as long as the wing ; in some cases there are nine primaries only, the 

 outermost one being nearly as long as the longest, in other genera a small 

 tenth primary is still present. The more typical genera are Indo-Australian. 



1) The tomia are roughly serrated in many of the Meliphagidae, 



