HAINAN SILVER KALEEGE 



Gennaeus whiteheadi Grant 



Names. — Specific: whiteheadi, after John Whitehead, who lost his life in the expedition on which he 

 discovered this species. English : Hainan or Whitehead's Silver Kaleege. 



Brief Description. — Male : Most nearly allied to nycthemerus. Nape and upper mantle pure white • 

 remainder of upper plumage with two or usually a single, arrow-shaped submarginal black band, increasing in width 

 toward the tail ; wing markings are strong black lines, few in number ; central tail-feathers usually white or with 

 a few isolated black lines ; these increase in width and number toward the outer pairs, which are predominately 

 black. Female: Resembles more closely the female oilineatus than that of nycthemerus. Crown and nape mottled 

 brown ; neck and mantle black with wide white shaft-streaks ; under parts with the white dominant, the black 

 reduced to a wide margin ; lateral tail-feathers chestnut. 



Types. — In British Museum of Natural History. 



Range. — The Island of Hainan. 



GENERAL ACCOUNT 



In the year 1899 John Whitehead, an English collector, visited Hainan, and 

 discovered the present species of kaleege. Less than eight weeks after securing it he 

 died of fever. The following extracts from his journal give us all that we know in 

 regard to the haunts of this splendid bird — 



'' March 25th. Started for the mountains again to-day, arriving at 5 p.m. at a small 

 village, where we camped for the night. Saw a few birds, a henicurus in the river, and 

 a number of pericrocoti, also a few Palceornis javanicus. I see neither the white crow 

 nor the magpie so far inland. Francolins are still abundant. We meet every day 

 Chinese carrying bundles of skins of deer, monkeys, and pangolins, so I am sure we are 

 not far from some large forests. 



'' 26th. Our Chinese porters refuse to go any further to-day ; they say they have 

 no rice, but the truth is they are done up and want to rest. The Mandarin sent two 

 soldiers with us, so that we should be looked after ; they have proved most useful. 

 Some Chinese wanted to prevent our going through their village yesterday: one of 

 them was, I think, drunk, and nearly had a row with us. The country is slightly less 

 barren, but still a miserable place for collecting in. Rain all night. The hills have been 

 so enveloped in clouds that I have not yet been able to see the mountain-tops. I hope 

 to reach our destination some time to-morrow. 



"27lh. Instead of reaching our destination to-day, the Chinese have taken us a 

 day's journey away from the mountains, as they say there is no road this (the north) side, 

 so we have had to tramp over bare hills in a broiling sun. My old trouble, dysentery, is 

 a great worry to me. The Lois, or Lu, as the Chinese call them, are, so far as the men 

 go, nearly like the Chinese. The hair is at times a pigtail tied in a knob, but more often 

 a knob of hair tied in front, which looks like a unicorn's horn. Their villages are small, 

 the houses of grass and sloped like an arch, and they live on the ground. The women 



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