342 The Philippine Journal of Science lais 



Brooke's Point. It would have been overlooked entirely had it 

 not taken flight, for it was silent and well hidden in a partic- 

 ularly dense thicket not in my line of travel. The specimen was 

 collected and proved to be a male. 



Pitta atricapilla Lesson. 



The black-headed pitta was occasionally seen and frequently 

 heard in the forest, especially in those parts overgrown with 

 underbrush. I found it at Brooke's Point, Sarong, Candauaga, 

 Balabac, and along the trail across the mountains between the 

 east and west coasts. Specimens were taken at Brooke's Point 

 and Balabac. 



Most of the pittas, of this and related species, which I have 

 found have been on the ground or at most a few feet above it, on 

 fallen tree trunks and the like. One of the present species that 

 I saw at Brooke's Point, however, proved an exception to the 

 general rule. I heard this bird distinctly and had no difficulty 

 in reaching its approximate neighborhood. Once there, how- 

 ever, I was puzzled to get the bird in sight, although it continued 

 its explosive "wow ha'" apparently only a few yards away. 

 Since the ground was more or less open thereabouts I was able 

 to scan carefully every bit of it. but without result until I hap- 

 pened to glance upwards when, to my suprise, I saw the pitta 

 on a projecting limb of a tree twenty feet above ground. 



HIRUNDINID^ 



Hinindo javanica Sparrman. 



The Asiatic swallow was the onlj^ member of its family that I 

 noted in Palawan. I saw it at all points visited, where it was 

 present in small numbers, usually near the settlements. 



MUSCICAPID^ 



Hemichelidon griseosticta Swinhoe. 



Two gray-spotted flycatchers were seen in Palawan, one at 

 Candauaga and the other at Brooke's Point, and both were se- 

 cured. The Candauaga specimen diff"ers somewhat from the 

 other and from all other specimens of the species that I possess. 

 The brown streaks on the breast and sides occupy the major 

 portions of their respective feathers, the white of the under- 

 parts is tinged with buff, the edging of the tertials and greater 

 wing coverts is deep buff, while the under wdng coverts are 

 more tawny than is usual. The base of the bill is yellowish, and 

 the entire appearance suggests the description of H. sibirica, 



