516 
Birds of Celebes: Sylviidae. 
■23; (6) Sliarpe, Ibis 1888, 201; (7) Everett, P. Z. S. 1880 224; fSJ id., J. Str. 
Br. E. A. S. 1889, 102; f.9J Hartert, J. f. O. 1889, 349; (10) Whitehead, Ibis 
1890, 51; (11) Seeb., B. Japan. Emp. 1890, 77; (IP'^) Steere, List Coll. B. & M. 
Phihpp. Is. 1890, 20; (12) Hartert, Kat. Vog. Slg. Senckenb. Mns. 1891, 17; (13) Styan, 
Ibis 1891, 317, 320, 335; (14) Biittik., Hotcs Leyd. Mus. 1892, 197; (15) De La 
Touche, Ibis 1892, 417; (16) Seek, Ibis 1893, 48; (17) Styan, t. c. 428; (18) 
Grant, Ibis 1894, 505; (W) Bourns & Worces., B. Menage Exp. 1894, 39; (20) 
Hart., Nov. Zook 1896, 151, 557, 566, 574, 580, 593; (21) id., ib. 1897, 155. 
f. Cisticola oryziola (S. Milll?); (1) Meyer, Isis, Dresden 1884, 46. 
For synonymy and further references see Sharpe e 2. 
Figures and descriptions. Dresser II’, Gould c /; Legge 6’, David & Oustalet d 1’, 
Vorderman 77; Oates el, 77; Sharpe e 2. 
Adult. Eulvous- or wood-brown, the middles of the feathers on head above blackish, on 
hind neck paler and more obscure; mantle and inner quills more drab -brown 
with blackish centres; rump and iipper tail-coverts and exposed edges of the 
other quills and wing-coverts cinnamon; tail olive-brown with narrow obsolete 
bars, an obscm-e broad subterminal bar black, tip brownish white; ear-coverts ful- 
vous brown, lores and superciliary stripe buff white; under-parts wliite, washed 
with rufous buff on sides of throat, breast, and under wing-coverts, becoming dee25 
rufous buff on sides, flanks and thighs, rather paler on under tail-coverts; tail be- 
low pale brown crossed by a broad subterminal bar of blackish, tip wliitish (Java: 
V. Schierbrand — 0 9166). Wing 53 mm; tail 44; tarsus 20; bill from nostril 7.5. 
Young, “The young are more rufous than the adults, the black stripes on the upper plumage 
being naiTower and the rufous edgings broader” (Oates f 1). 
Eggs. Marked most densely towards the large end with red, reddish-purple and pale purple 
specks on a white, faint pearly or greenish white ground (India). The average mea- 
surements of Indian specimens recorded by Hume (16) are 15 X 11-7 mm, and the 
usual number laid is five. 
Nest. The nest is described as a deep narrow piuse about 3 inches in depth, I inch in 
diameter at top, and 1.5 inch at the broadest part below, internally closely felted with 
silky down, externally of grasses, cobAvebs and fine vegetable fibres, with which it is 
Avorked into a patch of fine-stemmed grass of 1 '/j — 2 feet high, at a height of about 
6 — 8 inches from the ground (Hume 16). See also nests from Java (Meyer f 1), 
some of which are also felted with silky down. 
Distribution. S. Europe; Africa; Asia Minor; Palestine (Tristram 77); India (Hume etc. 
16)', Oeylon (Legge etc. 6‘); Burmah and Tenasserim (Oates el, Davison 5); Nico- 
bars (Wimberley e 2, Hume 77); Central and Southern China (David d 1, Styan 
e 13, De La Touche e 15)’, Southern Japan (Pryer etc. e 77); Loochoo Islands 
(fide Seebohm e 11, e 16); Eonnosa and Hainan (Swinhoe 77); Philipiunes — Luzon 
(Maitland-Heriot 12, Steere 677*"'®), North Bohol (Everett 4), PalaAvan (Whitehead 
e 6, e 10), Mindanao (Bourns & Worcester e 19); Malay Peninsula (Hume 5, 
Oates e 7); Singapore (Hume o, Kelham <S*"'«); Smnatra (Hartert e 5); Billiton 
(Vorderman 19, 20); JaAm (v. Schierbrand e 1, Vorderman 77); Lombok (Doherty 
and Everett e 20); Sumbawa (Doherty e 20); Sumba (ten Kate e 14); Elores 
(Wallace e 2); Timor (Wall, e 2); Celebes — Macassar (Wall. 7, e 2, Everett e 20); 
Mount. Bonthain (Doherty e 21); Lake Posso (P. & E. Sarasin 22); Peling Id. 
*Nat. Coll. 23). 
In keeping the birds of the above broad area under one name vve follow 
Dresser, Legge, Sharpe, and Oates This appears to be the wisest course. 
