ART. 12 



BIRDS FROM ISLANDS NEAR BORNEO RILEY 



12. BUTORroES JAVANICUS, JAVANICUS (Horsfield) 



Ardea javanica Horsfie!LD, Trans. Linn. Soc. London, vol. 13, 1821, p. 190 



(Java). 

 Butorides javanicus caroinophonus Oberholser, Journ. Washington Acad. Sci., 



vol. 14, 1924, p. 294 (Pulo Alanga, eastern Borneo). 



One female, Pulo Alanga, Maratua, May 12. 



The above specimen is the type of Butorides javanicus carcino- 

 phonus (quoted above). It is subadult: the sides of the neck hair 

 brown and the wing coverts edged with cinnamon buff. There is 

 a slightly younger specimen in the United States National Museum 

 (No. 181669) from east Borneo that matches it in the color of the 

 sides of the neck, and another from Palawan (No. 160977). I 

 believe this indicates that the Maratua bird is not fully adult. 



There is not enough material of this species in the National Museum 

 at present to work out the forms. There is a fair series from the 

 Philippines, but from the rest of the range the material is deficient. 

 Two specimens from Java, marked male and female, but both prob- 

 ably females, agree in size and color with a small series of five males 

 and one female from Celebes. The series from the Philippines 

 agrees with that of Celebes in size. The Philippine bird has been 

 separated as Butorides javandcus carcinophilus^^ but it seems to me, 

 without examining more material than at present available, that the 

 grounds for its separation are not sufficient. 



Four adult males and one female from south China (Shanghai, 

 Nanking, and N. W. Yunnan) are considerably larger than any from 

 the Philippines, Celebes, or Java and, if this difference would hold 

 in a larger series, should probably be recognized as a good race. 



While there are no specimens in the National Museum that match 

 the type of B. j. carcinophonus, I believe this is due to the paucity 

 of the material rather than to a real difference ; otherwise the form 

 would have another one occurring on three sides and almost 

 surrounding it, a possibility hardly probable in this class of birds. 



The various series measure as follows: 



Wing 



Culmen 



4 males, South China. 



8 males, Philippines... 



5 males, Celebes 



1 female, South China 



1 female, Tonking 



2 females, Java 



9 females, Philippines. 

 1 female, Maratua 



183 



-198 (188. 5) 



61- 



■ 67. 



5 (64. 9) 



164 



-174 (165. 6) 



60- 



- 63 



(61. 9) 



170 



-176 (173. 8) 

 187. 5 

 181 



57 



-63 

 63 

 66 



(59. 6) 



163 



-163 



62. 



5-63 





162. 



5-175 (167. 7) 

 168. 5 



57. 



5-63 

 65 



(61) 



' Oberholser. Joum. Washington Acad. Sci., vol. 14, 1924, p. 294. 

 2597—30 2 



