340 The Philippine Journal of Science i9is 



CUCULID^ 

 Cacomantis merulinus (Scopoli). 



The rufous-bellied cuckoo was quite rare in the localities 

 visited. A single female was seen and collected at Brooke's 

 Point on March 14. 



Chalcococcyx xanthorhynchus (Horsfield). 



The beautiful little violet cuckoo was not common. I found it 

 only thrice. All three birds were rather high up in tall trees 

 in the forest at Brooke's Point, one at such a height that when 

 I collected it I did not know what I had taken until it reached 

 the ground. All three birds were males. 



Eudynamys mindanensis (Linnaeus). 



Koels were heard not uncommonly in the forest, but owing 

 to their secretive habits they were seldom seen, and then usually 

 as they were slipping out of sight into some tangle of vines and 

 creepers. Their song, if such it may be called, was a weird per- 

 formance, especially if heard at the dead of night in the heart 

 of the jungle. Beginning with a measured "ba-how', ba-how', 

 ba-how'," the syllables would be repeated in a crescendo of 

 rising pitch and acceleration until the last notes were given in a 

 frantic "how-how-how-how" that was broken off abruptly, leav- 

 ing a silence which seemed the more intense because of the 

 preceding clamor. 



Two species, E. honorata and the present form, have been 

 recorded from Palawan but two specimens, male and female, which 

 I secured at Brooke's Point are both referable to E. minda- 

 nensis. I noted koels, whichever form they may have been, at 

 Brooke's Point, Tagbariri, Candauaga, Calatugas, and Puerto 

 Princesa. 



Centxopus javanicus (Dumont). 



Coucals were seen at Brooke's Point, Bonabona, and Canda- 

 uaga in the areas of tall grass. They were not rare, but like 

 the koels they were heard more often than they were seen. I 

 saw only C. javanicus, although C. sinensis is recorded from the 

 island. 



Dryococcyx harringtoni Sharpe. 



Harrington's cuckoo was found in the more jungly parts of 

 the forest, usually skulking amongst the foliage of the lower 

 growths and the vine-tangled thickets. In spite of its bright 

 colors it is not a conspicuous bird. I found it in the lowland 

 forest as well as on the wooded mountain ridges. Records and 



