ORDER PAS SERES (continued). 



FAMILY LANIIDAE. 



A clear line of demarkation between the Shrikes and the Flycatchers has 

 not yet been discovered. The true Shrikes are easily recognised by their strong 

 semi-raptorial bill, armed with a hooked tip and a tooth. The young of these 

 wear a barred plumage. On the other hand it is hard to distinguish Pachy- 

 cephala from a Flycatcher, such as Siphia, though the bill of the former is 

 stronger, the culmen being a trifle higher at the base, and the young do not 

 wear a squamose plumage. Dr. Gadow (1883) divides |this ill-deflned family 

 into five subfamilies, of which two, the Laminae and Pachycephalinae, occur in 

 Celebes. The best mark of distinction between these two groups seems to be 

 afforded by the nostril: in the Laniinae it is "round and completely ossified"; 

 in the Pachycephalinae it is "in a coriaceous groove, with an imperfect oper- 

 culum"; in the former pure no tints of either red, blue, nor yellow occur; in the 

 latter neither red nor blue, but pure yellow is frequent on the under surface. 



Of late years a number of species of the family have been added to the 

 Celebes Province. The Pachycephalae , of which there are in the Celebes area 

 six species, have most likely been distributed by flight. The genus is found in 

 the Indian and Australian regions as far as Central Polynesia, and Papuasia 

 possesses one-half of the species, whilst only one, if indeed it is a Pachycephala, 

 is found as far as Burmah and Bengal. At the same time the Great Sunda 

 Islands and Philippines furnish, a large propoi'tion of the less specialized forms 

 (see H. sulfuriventer). The two Lanii of Celebes are migratory species from 

 E. Asia. The Colhirincla of Great Sangi belongs to an Australasian genus which 

 appears to have spread its range by flight. 



GENUS PACHYCEPHALA vig. Horsf. 



Bill stronger than in the Muscicapidae , but less strong than in Lanius, 

 measured across the anterior end of the nostril about as high as it is broad; 

 nostril oval, formed posteriorly of a coriaceous membrane, a few frontal hairs 

 or plumes reaching over it; a few long rictal bristles; tail square, shorter than 

 the wing; y^ — 6"" quills longest; tarsus and toes moderately large, tarsus scutel- 

 lated, as long or longer than the middle toe and claw. The sexes in many 

 forms dissimilar. Young generally more or less like adult female. The genus is 

 pre-eminently Australian, but a few species are known from the Oriental Region. 



Meyer & Wiglesworth. Birds of Celebes (Nov. 4iii, 18971. 50 



