] 26GeneralNotes
GENERAL

FAukL Jan.

NOTES

The Button Quails and Tree Sparrows of the Riu Kiu Islands.--In comparing certain specimenstaken on the island of Okinawa in the summerof 1945, I
have reachedconclusionssomewhatat variance with cuerenttreatment of two species.
I am indebted to the authorities of the American Museum of Natural History a•dof the United States National Museum for making possiblethese studies.
The Button Quails (Turnix suscitator)of the Riu Kiu Islands are generallyreferredto blakistonlof southern China, despitethe existenceof another race (rostrata)in theintervening island of Formosa. It is true that Formosanbirds are much darker andgrayer above than either Chinese or Riu I•iu specimens;but the latter are not
identical with blakistoni, and evidently represent an unclescribedrace, which may
be knownasTurnix suscitator okinavensis, subsp. nov.

Type: AmericanMuseumof Natural History, no. 544507;male; island of Okinawa,Riu Kiu Islands, April 27, 1904; from the collectionof Alan Owston.
Subspecificcharacters:
ResemblesT. s. blakistoni,but bill distinctlyheavier,about
as in the birds of central Siam (Deignan, MS.). A relatively brown bird above, butpaler than other racesexamined;I have not, however,seenthe pale Indian races(ta•goor,isabellinus).
Range: Southern and central Riu I•iu Islands.

Specimensfrom Okinawaappearto be moretypical than thosefrom Miyako andsouth, which showa slight approachto rostratain their larger bills and slightly grayer
color above; in color they resembleblakiston•closely,but are perhapsa trifle paler.
The Tree Sparrow (.Passermontanus)of the Riu Kiu Islandswas long ago named
saturatuson the basisof a mounted bird taken by Stimpson. Accordingto Deignan's

studies,Stimpson'scollectingwasdoneon Okinawa;the type agreeswell in bill sizewith recently taken Okinawa birds, and its darknessis probably due to its having
been mounted. Bill size seems to reach a m•nimum on Okinawa; Japanese birds(especiallythosefrom Hokkaido) are larger-billed,as are also the birds of Miyako
and south, which I cannot distinguishfrom ta•vanensisin any way. Small bills areagain found in northern China.
Asidefrom the bill, there appearsto be no geographicvariation in size,unlessper-hapsthe tail averagesrelatively longerin Chinesebirds. The difference,if any, isslight. My studiesdo not confirmthe claim that Formosanbirds are any smalleror shorter-tailed than Japanese.

In color, Okinawan and Formosan birds are paler and grayer (almost purplish)
brown on the crown, and also paler on the back and wings, than Japanesebirds; thewing-barsare whiter (lessbuffy), and the edgingsof the greater wing-covertsare
lessruddy. The sides,flanks, crissum,and rump, on the other hand, are a deeperand more reddishbrown than in either Japaneseor Chinesebirds.
Chinesebirds are pale and gray above, agreeingwell in colorwith taivanensis
andsaturatusexceptfor their paler and grayer rumps, sides,flanks, etc. Birds from
Weihsien seem especially gray.

Specimensfrom southernJapan (Tanegashima)showsomeapproachto saturatus,

averagingpaleraboveand browneron the flanksthan Hokkaidobirds. They areclosestto the latter, however. But I cannot agree that Japanesebirds are saturatus;

if Formosanbirdsare separatedsolelyon bill size,then surelyJapanesebi•ds, differingin bill sizeand in color,must be separated. I have seenno specimensfrom the Seven

Islandsof Izu, and do not.know the propernamesfor the Japaneseand Chinesebirds.

Those of the Riu KJu Islands should stand as:

Vol.
64]
1947 .1

GeneralNotes

127(1) _Passermontlz,us saturatusStejneger. KJkaigashima, and probably AmamiOshima, south to Okinawa.

A•(2) Passermon•nus taiv•n•nsisH•t.
Miyakojima and Ishi•ki to Formosa.•
R. Pam•zPs, Museumof Nortk•n AHzo•, F•gs•ff, Arizo•.

Notes on PhyHoseopuseoronatus iiimae.•T•eeof theselittle-known W•owW•bl•s were taken in the southernp•t of Okinawa Shims, Riu KM Islands, in thefall of 1945. Unfortunately, two w•e lost subsequently,but in view of the bkd'sr•ty, it seemsworth w•e to place on record the notes that w•e made on them intheMy •st spedmen,a young bkd s•ed doubtfMly as a female, was shot by O. F.
Au•stson at Iwa, n• the south end of the island, Au•st 10. It was feeding wi•
Zosteropsin a tree by a native hour. In south•n O•nawa, •ees •ow oMy in su•
compounds. On pic•ng it up, Au•stson tom me that he had shot a simil• bkd
at "Bolo Point," the w•tern tip of eentrM Okinawa opposite the KatcMn Hantop•insMa, M •uly (or at least after his •ivM on •une 4). It is u•tunate
thatthis w• not pressred, as •My. woMd seem to be exceptionallye•ly for any
loscopuson OkMawa. I saw no others of this genusunt• late Septemb•.
From •ptemb•
26 to e•ly Octob•, w•bl•s of this genusw•e quite common

about Momobaru, a •Iv•age south of Kadena. A young ijimae (not sexed)andan adult male borealisw•e taken on $eptemb•

26, and two more ad•t rome borealis

on the 28•.
By Octob• 13 they w•e sc•c•, but a fine adult rome iji•e wast••at day, and a Crowned W•low Warbl• was alsoseenbut not sec•ed. Thelatt• had a dist•ct median •own-streak, but l•s conspicuousthan its superciliary,
and the sides of the crown app•ed •e•ish rather than d•k brown, so I judged
it to be ijimae. Th•t•a few Phyllosco•s were seenuntil Octob• 22, apparently
MI boredis.

It seemsa bit strangethat no P. b. •nt•odryas were sec•ed on south•n Okinawa.
Perhaps they pref• the more hea•y forested areas f•th•north.
The t•ee adult rome borealistaken w•e, on the basis of color and m•ements,

P. b. borealis. The two Septemb• •d Oetob• iji•e were combed with theseand found to d•er by (1) •eener upp• parts, with •own •d nape •ayer (l•sbrownish olive), and •white und• p•s with yeHow• •i•um and und•wing-covets; (2) mandible yellowish, without the dark tip of b•eal&, and b•lperhaps a bit broads; (3) t•si horn-color, darker than the feet, rather than bothlight horn, • M borealis;(4) ninth [next to out,most] prim•short• than fifth;and (5) post-nuptiM molt complete, with the remiges and reckices of the adultfresh, in s•gcontrast to the wo• condition of borealis.
The adMt romed•ered fr• the •sexed immat•es in l•g• size (fiatt•ed wing
about 66-67 min., rath• than 5•61), and •pechlly in broader remigesand rectrices.
In addition, the Septemb• •mat•e
had the ninth primary sh•ter than fourth,eighth short• than s•th, fifth slightly emigrate on outer web, and tall not em•gihate; but the Au•st iramatte, now M the co•ection of the Areerich •useum ofNat•al Histo•, a•ees M all thee respectswith the adMt.
P•ylloscopuscorottin Oi•e is now •own as a mi•ant on Okinawa in lateM•(K•a,Toil 5:85, 1926), Au•st 10, and late September to mM-Octob•,
and h• probably •c•ed
casu•y • e•ly as •uly. I know of no breeding or mid•nt•
records.•A•ANR. Pm•zPs, Museum of Northern A•:ona, F•gsMff,