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Birds of Celebes: Meropidae. 
From the Philippine Islands Lord Tweeddale {15), Meyer (16), Dr. Sharpe 
(38) and Dr. Steere (35) record dates sufficient to show that it occurs there all 
the year round; in all probability, however, its numbers fluctuate with the season. 
This species appears to be much rarer in Celebes than M. ornatus. Large 
numbers of the latter have been sent to the Dresden Museum in two collections 
formed by native hunters in April— May and August — September, but not one 
of M. philippinus was. among them; neither does it seem to have been obtained 
there by Wallace, Forsten, S. Muller, v. Rosenberg, Fischer, Everett, 
or Doherty. The Celebes form was separated in 1885 by W. Blasius as 
var. celebensis, on the ground that it differs in wanting a sharp boundary be- 
tween the red-brown throat on the remaining underparts, and by having a 
darker, much more olive-brown back and head, and the blue colour of the 
body much less' developed (el). Four specimens from South Celebes before 
us (two of them already discussed 1. c. by Prof. W. Blasius) bear out these 
conclusions; but four others from North Celebes do not, but are like ones from 
the Philippines and elsewhere, though the North Celebes birds before him were 
included under var. celehensis by Blasius, and an adult female from S. W. Celebes 
in the Sarasin Collection does not seem to differ from a specimen from Luzon. 
The validity of the subspecies is not found admissible by Dresser (XXIX) or 
by Sharpe (38); and, in view of the migratory habits of the species as a whole, 
and the evidence of the specimens before us, we think it hardly possible that 
the differences pointed out can be of a racial description. 
Birds of the year, as already remarked, have the central rectrices but little 
longer than the lateral ones; but, as Legge says, after arriving in Ceylon in 
September they quickly acquire the adult tail (11). The narrowed feathers 
grow out of the sheath perfectly formed from the first, but in this species they 
never appear to attain to the same length and bareness often found in M. or- 
natus , and, as compared with that species , are in a less advanced state of 
development. This may have to do with the circumstance that M. philippinus 
makes a larger, though usually much deeper nesting-hole; it is described as 
being 2 to 2 V 2 in. in diameter, or as large as that of a rat, while that of 
M. ornatus is said by Gould to be like a mouse-hole. “The egg-chamber”, 
says Major Bingham (XXIX) “is proportionally larger than that of the smaller 
species \M. viridis\ and is, unlike theirs, sometimes lined with a little grass, a 
few feathers, or the wings of white ants.” 
Perhaps its greatest known breeding-quarters are the banks of the Irra- 
waddy. We do not know of any record of its nesting in the East Indies, 
though it occurs in the Philippines and perhaps in Celebes and elsewhere all 
the year round. 
M. philippinus preys, according to Jer don on wasps, bees, dragon-flies, bugs, 
and even on butterflies (XXIX), which it captures on the wing. All observers 
seem to have been struck by its rapid, soaring, flight, whence its name in North 
Celebes, “Burong langir” — the bird which hies up very high. 
