Psamathia annaeHartlaub and Finsch

Merula obscuraWiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 39 (Pelew).Turdus obscuras obscurasHand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 177 (Koror); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 197 (Koror); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 302 (Palau).Geographic range.—Breeds in northeastern Asia. Winters south to Malaysia. In Micronesia: Palau Islands—Koror.Remarks.—The Dusky Thrush is considered to be a casual winter visitor to the Palau Islands. It was first taken there by Captain Heinsohn, according to Hartlaub and Finsch (1872:96).Psamathia annaeHartlaub and FinschPalau Bush-warblerPsamathia annaeHartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1868, p. 5, pl. 2. (Type locality, Pelew Islands.)Psamathia annaeHartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1868, pp. 116, 118 (Pelew);idem, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, pp. 89, 94 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. 5, 22 (Palau); Nehrkorn, Journ. f. Ornith., 1879, pp. 399, 404 (Palau); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, p. 407 (Palau); Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 7, 1883, p. 101 (Pelew); Tristram, Cat. Birds, 1889, p. 155 (Pelew); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 40 (Pelew); Bolau, Mitteil. Naturhist. Mus. Hamburg, 1898, p. 57 (Palau); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 112 (Palau); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 2, 1914, p. 536 (Palau); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 54 (Pelew); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 67 (Pelew); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 629 (Pelew); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 177 (Palau); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 196 (Babelthuap, Koror, Peleliu); Delacour, Ibis, 84, 1942, p. 514 (Palau); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 294 (Palau); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 197 (Peleliu, Ngabad).Calamodyta annaeGray, Hand-list Birds, 1, 1869, p. 208 (Pelew).Geographic range.—Micronesia: Palau Islands—Babelthuap, Koror, Garakayo, Peleliu, Ngabad.Characters.—Adult: A medium-sized warbler with a rather long bill and tail; upper parts near "buff olive," slightly lighter on head; lores olive-gray to olive-green; supraloral stripe and orbital ring pale yellow-buff; auriculars yellow-brown; underparts lighter and more olive-yellow than back, especially in midsection; chin paler; sides, tibia and under tail-coverts darker and more olivaceus; wings and tail dark brown with outer edges olive; under wing-coverts light yellow; axillaries more whitish; upper mandible horn-colored, darker at base; lower mandible yellowish, darker at base; legs and feet light yellowish-brown; iris grayish-brown. Adult female resembles adult male but is slightly smaller. Immature: Resembles adult but forehead and crown slightly lighter and more yellowish; back and rump more brownish.Measurements.—Measurements are listed intable 36.Table 36. Measurements ofPsamathia annaeSexNo.WingTailExposedculmenTarsusAdult males7746421.028.5(72-77)(62-68)(19.5-22.5)(27.0-30.0)Adult females11695821.026.5(65-74)(55-61)(19.5-22.0)(25.0-29.0)Specimens examined.—Total number, 23 (9 males, 14 females), as follows: Palau Islands, USNM—Koror, 5 (Nov. 7, 9, 11, 18, 19)—Peleliu, 4 (Aug. 29, 30, Sept. 4, Dec. 5)—Ngabad, 1 (Sept. 11); AMNH—exact locality not given, 13 (Nov., Dec.).Nesting.—Nehrkorn (1879:399, 404) records the egg ofPsamathiafrom Palau. The NAMRU2 party obtained no evidence of nesting of this bird in August and September, 1945. In 1931, Coultas secured birds in November and December, which had enlarged gonads. Marshall (1949:219) records breeding in November and December.Molt.—Most of the skins taken from August to December have worn or molting feathers. Apparently there is a high point in the molting process in autumn and early winter.Food habits.—Stomachs obtained from birds taken by the NAMRU2 party in August and September contained parts of insects and small seeds. One stomach contained about one-half cc. of parts of insects. Coultas (field notes) found the bird scratching "on the ground for seeds as well as working in the low trees and bushes." Marshall (1949:212) records insects and snails as food items.Remarks.—Psamathiahas the habit of a typical bushwarbler, occurring in jungle undergrowth and along woodland margins. In 1945, specimens were obtained by the NAMRU2 party in the scrub vegetation which was growing over the devastated battle areas of Peleliu. The bird was not common in this habitat, nor was it very numerous on the smaller offshore islands. Coultas (field notes) found the bird to be rather tame and frequently to live close to human habitation. Its call, as noted by Coultas, is a loud whistle that breaks off into a beautiful song. The bird is quick in its movements; one seen by the writer at Ngabad was constantly moving about in low, second-growth vegetation and was making a low, whistling call. The resemblance ofPsamathiatoRukia palauensisis noteworthy. These two unrelated birds live together in jungle areas, althoughPsamathiais perhaps confined more to the forested undergrowth and is more solitary in its habits. Aside from its longer legs and bill,Psamathiaclosely resemblesRukiain shape and coloration. They appear to have developed along somewhat similar evolutionary lines with regard to structure, color and ecologic requirements.The Palau Warbler was first discovered by Captain Tetens and described as belonging to a new genus by Hartlaub and Finsch (1868a:5). In the original description the authors remark that, "The generic position of this new form is in theCalamoherpegroup; the feet are the same as inCalamoherpe; but the beak is weaker and slenderer, and the wings are very different.Calamoherpehas the first quill quite spurious, the third is the longest, and the second and sixth are subequal. InCalamoherpethere are twelve tail-feathers; inPsamathiaI can find only ten.Tatareis a very different form, with a scutellated tarsi, a very different structure of the plumage, a much more elongated beak, and a twelve-feathered tail.Tatare syrinxis a typical Calamoherpe. In the structure of the wing ofPsamathia, there seems to be a great resemblance to the genusArundinaxof Blyth, a form with which it is not in my power to compare." The generaCalamoherpeandTatareare now included inAcrocephalus; the describers were comparing the Palau Warbler with the reed-warblers of Micronesia and Polynesia.Sharpe (1883:93) writes that the Palau Bush-warblers are "Aberrant reed warblers, and should, in my opinion, be placed in future classifications of the Cichlomorphae near the generaCettiaandAcrocephalus, from which they are separated by their larger first primary only. ThroughMegalurusandSphenoeacusthey approach the grass-warblers and Cisticolae especially."Mayr (1941b:203) citesPsamathiaas an example of "restricted endemism" and points out that the nearest relative occurs in the Philippines. Delacour (1942:514), in a discussion of the bush-warblers of the generaCettia,Bradypterusand related forms, says, "Psamathia annae, from Palau Islands, is related toCettia, differing mainly in its much longer bill and legs."Psamathiais a specialized bush-warbler and has followed a pattern of evolution which characterizes some of the other island birds in that the bill and legs are long and the wing is rather short and rounded.Psamathiaresembles many of the bush-warblers, as well as the reed-warblers {Acrocephalus); in general, body coloring being paler below and darker above. It differs fromAcrocephalusby having a longer tenth primary, smaller second and third primaries, only ten tail feathers, a more rounded wing, differently shaped nostrils, and by much softer plumage (the latter character is found also inCollurcincla tenebrosusandCleptornis marcheiof Micronesia). Rather than being related to the reed-warblers, as was supposed by Hartlaub and Finsch,Psamathiaseems closest toCettia, especially toCettia(Horeites)diphone seebohmiof the Philippine Islands.Psamathiahas a longer bill than this bird, but the general appearance and structure of the feet, tail, wing, body and bill are the same.

Merula obscuraWiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 39 (Pelew).

Turdus obscuras obscurasHand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 177 (Koror); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 197 (Koror); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 302 (Palau).

Geographic range.—Breeds in northeastern Asia. Winters south to Malaysia. In Micronesia: Palau Islands—Koror.

Remarks.—The Dusky Thrush is considered to be a casual winter visitor to the Palau Islands. It was first taken there by Captain Heinsohn, according to Hartlaub and Finsch (1872:96).

Psamathia annaeHartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1868, p. 5, pl. 2. (Type locality, Pelew Islands.)

Psamathia annaeHartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1868, pp. 116, 118 (Pelew);idem, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, pp. 89, 94 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. 5, 22 (Palau); Nehrkorn, Journ. f. Ornith., 1879, pp. 399, 404 (Palau); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, p. 407 (Palau); Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 7, 1883, p. 101 (Pelew); Tristram, Cat. Birds, 1889, p. 155 (Pelew); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 40 (Pelew); Bolau, Mitteil. Naturhist. Mus. Hamburg, 1898, p. 57 (Palau); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 112 (Palau); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 2, 1914, p. 536 (Palau); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 54 (Pelew); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 67 (Pelew); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 629 (Pelew); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 177 (Palau); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 196 (Babelthuap, Koror, Peleliu); Delacour, Ibis, 84, 1942, p. 514 (Palau); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 294 (Palau); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 197 (Peleliu, Ngabad).

Calamodyta annaeGray, Hand-list Birds, 1, 1869, p. 208 (Pelew).

Geographic range.—Micronesia: Palau Islands—Babelthuap, Koror, Garakayo, Peleliu, Ngabad.

Characters.—Adult: A medium-sized warbler with a rather long bill and tail; upper parts near "buff olive," slightly lighter on head; lores olive-gray to olive-green; supraloral stripe and orbital ring pale yellow-buff; auriculars yellow-brown; underparts lighter and more olive-yellow than back, especially in midsection; chin paler; sides, tibia and under tail-coverts darker and more olivaceus; wings and tail dark brown with outer edges olive; under wing-coverts light yellow; axillaries more whitish; upper mandible horn-colored, darker at base; lower mandible yellowish, darker at base; legs and feet light yellowish-brown; iris grayish-brown. Adult female resembles adult male but is slightly smaller. Immature: Resembles adult but forehead and crown slightly lighter and more yellowish; back and rump more brownish.

Measurements.—Measurements are listed intable 36.

Table 36. Measurements ofPsamathia annae

Specimens examined.—Total number, 23 (9 males, 14 females), as follows: Palau Islands, USNM—Koror, 5 (Nov. 7, 9, 11, 18, 19)—Peleliu, 4 (Aug. 29, 30, Sept. 4, Dec. 5)—Ngabad, 1 (Sept. 11); AMNH—exact locality not given, 13 (Nov., Dec.).

Nesting.—Nehrkorn (1879:399, 404) records the egg ofPsamathiafrom Palau. The NAMRU2 party obtained no evidence of nesting of this bird in August and September, 1945. In 1931, Coultas secured birds in November and December, which had enlarged gonads. Marshall (1949:219) records breeding in November and December.

Molt.—Most of the skins taken from August to December have worn or molting feathers. Apparently there is a high point in the molting process in autumn and early winter.

Food habits.—Stomachs obtained from birds taken by the NAMRU2 party in August and September contained parts of insects and small seeds. One stomach contained about one-half cc. of parts of insects. Coultas (field notes) found the bird scratching "on the ground for seeds as well as working in the low trees and bushes." Marshall (1949:212) records insects and snails as food items.

Remarks.—Psamathiahas the habit of a typical bushwarbler, occurring in jungle undergrowth and along woodland margins. In 1945, specimens were obtained by the NAMRU2 party in the scrub vegetation which was growing over the devastated battle areas of Peleliu. The bird was not common in this habitat, nor was it very numerous on the smaller offshore islands. Coultas (field notes) found the bird to be rather tame and frequently to live close to human habitation. Its call, as noted by Coultas, is a loud whistle that breaks off into a beautiful song. The bird is quick in its movements; one seen by the writer at Ngabad was constantly moving about in low, second-growth vegetation and was making a low, whistling call. The resemblance ofPsamathiatoRukia palauensisis noteworthy. These two unrelated birds live together in jungle areas, althoughPsamathiais perhaps confined more to the forested undergrowth and is more solitary in its habits. Aside from its longer legs and bill,Psamathiaclosely resemblesRukiain shape and coloration. They appear to have developed along somewhat similar evolutionary lines with regard to structure, color and ecologic requirements.

The Palau Warbler was first discovered by Captain Tetens and described as belonging to a new genus by Hartlaub and Finsch (1868a:5). In the original description the authors remark that, "The generic position of this new form is in theCalamoherpegroup; the feet are the same as inCalamoherpe; but the beak is weaker and slenderer, and the wings are very different.Calamoherpehas the first quill quite spurious, the third is the longest, and the second and sixth are subequal. InCalamoherpethere are twelve tail-feathers; inPsamathiaI can find only ten.Tatareis a very different form, with a scutellated tarsi, a very different structure of the plumage, a much more elongated beak, and a twelve-feathered tail.Tatare syrinxis a typical Calamoherpe. In the structure of the wing ofPsamathia, there seems to be a great resemblance to the genusArundinaxof Blyth, a form with which it is not in my power to compare." The generaCalamoherpeandTatareare now included inAcrocephalus; the describers were comparing the Palau Warbler with the reed-warblers of Micronesia and Polynesia.

Sharpe (1883:93) writes that the Palau Bush-warblers are "Aberrant reed warblers, and should, in my opinion, be placed in future classifications of the Cichlomorphae near the generaCettiaandAcrocephalus, from which they are separated by their larger first primary only. ThroughMegalurusandSphenoeacusthey approach the grass-warblers and Cisticolae especially."

Mayr (1941b:203) citesPsamathiaas an example of "restricted endemism" and points out that the nearest relative occurs in the Philippines. Delacour (1942:514), in a discussion of the bush-warblers of the generaCettia,Bradypterusand related forms, says, "Psamathia annae, from Palau Islands, is related toCettia, differing mainly in its much longer bill and legs."

Psamathiais a specialized bush-warbler and has followed a pattern of evolution which characterizes some of the other island birds in that the bill and legs are long and the wing is rather short and rounded.Psamathiaresembles many of the bush-warblers, as well as the reed-warblers {Acrocephalus); in general, body coloring being paler below and darker above. It differs fromAcrocephalusby having a longer tenth primary, smaller second and third primaries, only ten tail feathers, a more rounded wing, differently shaped nostrils, and by much softer plumage (the latter character is found also inCollurcincla tenebrosusandCleptornis marcheiof Micronesia). Rather than being related to the reed-warblers, as was supposed by Hartlaub and Finsch,Psamathiaseems closest toCettia, especially toCettia(Horeites)diphone seebohmiof the Philippine Islands.Psamathiahas a longer bill than this bird, but the general appearance and structure of the feet, tail, wing, body and bill are the same.

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