Birds of Celebes: Caculidae. 
215 
Hartert, Kov. Zool. 1895, 475; (8) id., ib, 1896, 552, 562, 572, 575, 586, 595; 
(9) Grant, 11ns 1896, 474. 
X. Centropus bengalensis lepidus (1) Hartert, Kat. Mus. Senckenb. 1891, 150 (Java); (2) 
id., Ornis 1891, 122. 
“Burong kussu-kussu” (Bird of the high grass), Manado, Mej^er k 3; Nat. Coll, Dresd. Mus. 
“ Totombarang”, inland name, Minaliassa, Meyer k 3. 
“Kuluket”, Guillem, k Cl or “Koloket”, Nat. Coll., Dresd. M., inland name near Manado. 
“Kalnkku”, Maros, S. Celebes. Platen p 8. 
“Arooa'’ or “Aeroota”, Talaut, Nat. Coll. 
“Karoko”, Balante, E. Celebes, iid. 
For further synonymy and references see Salvad. p 3, q 2; Cab. & Heine >7, k 1, 1 1, ml, 
1 ) 7; Shelley e 8, w 1. 
Descriptions. Hume & Davison e 5; David & Oustalet e 2\ A. Miiller / 7(7; Oates I 77; 
Salvadori (j 2; W. Blasius p <S; Shelley e 8, ic 1] Blanford e 12. 
Adult male. Head, neck, mantle and all the under parts black, glossed uith greenish 
on the upper parts and chest, more sooty on the lower under parts; the shafts of 
all the feathers sjhnous and stiff, jet black; wings cinnamon-rufous, the ends of the 
primaries, the inner secondaries and scapulars brown with a slight gloss; back sooty; 
upper tail-coverts and tail black glossed with bronze-green; (quills beloAV purer 
rufous than above; under wing-coverts cinnamon-rufous, slightly varied with brown 
(N. Celebes, C 3579). “Iris dark broAvn; bill black; feet slate-grey” (Platen p 8). 
Nearly adult male. Differs in having the gloss on head, neck and chest blue-black; mantle, 
like inner (piills, deep reddish brown contrasting with the neck, shafts whitish; back 
and rump black, barred with Avood-brOAvn; upper tail-coverts glossed with bluish, tail 
with bronze-gi'ecn, terminally fringed with ruforrs and an imperfect bar of the same 
on some of the lateral feathei’s (Maros, S. Celebes, 16. H. 1878, C 12081). 
Adult female. Like the adult male, but much larger, the gloss on the head and neck possibly 
a shade bluer (S. Celebes, Feb., C 12082). 
Nearly adult female. Like the nearly adult male, but not quite so far advanced in coloration: 
many of the feathers in the black plumage of head, neck, and underparts with some 
part of the shaft white (usually the tip, sometimes the middle); under parts black 
varied Avith i)ale faAvn-colour alongside the Avhite jjortion of the shaft (Nr. 7093). 
Younger female. Head and hind-neck black as the last, but most of the feathers Avith part 
of the shafts and the adjacent jjart of feather fulvous white, forming a narroAV streak; 
Ijelow pale cinnamon-taAvny Avith pale shafts, barred Avith dusky on the sides and thighs, 
and varied Avith some black feathers barred Arttb taAAmy; AAungs and tail still much as 
in adult; upper tail-coverts barred Avith taAvny broAA’ii. (Near Manado, C 10873.) Bill 
blackish horn-colour, paler at the base.') 
First plumage [male and female]^). Head and neck taAAUiy-cinnamon, the sides and bases of 
the feathers black, giving a streaked appearance; on mantle, back and wings the black 
ij Tins specimen does not uphold Prof. W. Blasius’ Anew (p 8, p. 270) that the change of coloration 
in this species verj' likely takes place on the head and hody — not wings and tail — AAnthout moulting, as 
it is obviously moulting, but the former specimen (Nr. 7093) with the same particoloured appearance below 
docs not shoAA' any trace of moulting. We, however, take this simply for the ordinary second plumage. A 
nestling of C. sinensia in the possession of Mr. D e La Tone he, bought 26tt August, 1886, assumed the adult 
plumage in the folloAAung summer ; it began to show in patches in the early spring, but unfortunately Mr. D e 
La Touche does not say whether the feathers were moulted or not (Ibis 1892, 480). 
2, Mr. Oates makes the unexpected statement that the adults in winter plumage are clothed like young 
birds in first plmnagc (I 9, I II}. We haA’e specimens in the ordin ary adult dress from Celebes, Talaut, Saugi, 
Tagulandang aud Ceram dated January, February, hlarch, April, May, June, July, August, October, NoA-emher. 
