12 



The Philippine Journal of Science 



1918 



In this species the female is somewhat smaller than the male, 

 and the bill and the legs are very noticeably shorter, as shown 

 in the table of measurements. 



Table III. — Measurements of Plegadis autumnalis. 



Bureau 



of 



Science 



No. 



Locality. 



Date. 



Sex. 



Wing. 



Tail. 



Bill 

 from 

 frontal 

 feath- 

 ers. 



Tarsus. 



Middle 



toe 



with 



claw. 



12930 

 13278 

 13279 





Sept. 14, 1909. 

 Nov. 15,1911. 

 Mar. 24, 1913. 



? 



mm. 

 260 

 260 

 278 



mm. 

 92 

 98 

 96 



mm. 

 109 

 134 

 188 



mm. 



85 



101 



103 



mm. 

 70 

 82 

 82 



Lairuna de Bay, Luzon 





Fregata arid (Gould). 



Frcgata ariel Whitehead, Ibis (1899), 500 (Cape Engano, Luzon); 

 McGregor, Man. Phil. Bds. (1909), 207. 



A female man-of-war bird was secured at Malabon, near Ma- 

 nila, on August 21, 1917. This specimen was taken shortly 

 after a storm and was mounted for the owner. The stomach 

 contained about twenty small round worms, which Prof. L. D. 

 Wharton tells me belong to the family Heterakidse. The fol- 

 lowing color notes were taken from the specimen the day after 

 it was killed: Skin ai'ound eye dark carmine; bill parula blue, 

 nail pale blue, skin between rami light bluish violet mottled 

 with dark carmine; legs pale dull blue slightly mottled with 

 pomegranate purple, nails light drab. 



Whitehead's statement concerning this species, "Not uncom- 

 mon in the Philippines," does not express the results of my ex- 

 perience. I have seldom seen either this or the larger species. 



Anhinga melanogaster Pennant. Plate II. 



In June, 1917, Dr. Alvin J, Cox, director of the Bureau of 

 Science, brought from Mindoro Island a living specimen of the 

 Indian darter. This bird had been slightly wounded by a single 

 small shot, which had entered near the base of the bill. The 

 bird was placed in a cage and in a few days had completely 

 recovered. 



There has never been any trouble in feeding this bird, except 

 to get enough fish to satisfy it. The bird has always eaten 

 readily and has never shown any fear of man. At first the 

 fishes were placed in a pan of water in the cage, and the bird 

 picked them up one by one, tossed them into the air, and caught 

 them head first. When its hunger became partially appeased, 



*f 



