lA L C Y O 'N S E N E G ^ L O ID E S. (jl&le)
(.Aves.PlaXe: 63) '
A ves.—P late LXIII.—Mal e .
H. capite fusco-griseo; corpore supra coeruleo-beryllino, subtus albido; remigibus tricoloratis,—coeruleo-
beryllino, alboque brunneo; caudd dorsoque concoloribus; rostro rubro; pedibus purpureo-rubris.
Longitudo ab apice rostri ad basin caudse 6 unc. 6 lin. ; caudae 2 unc. 10 lin.
Halcyon Senegaloides, Smith.—South African Quarterly Journal, second
series, vol. i. p. 143; 1834.
C olour.—The upper surface of the head and the back of the neck dusky
smoke-grey, tinted with dull verdigris-green; the feathers of the top of the
head variegated with narrow, light, reddish brown bars. The interscapulars
verdigris-green, the colour changing in certain lights to light azure-blue ; the
back and a few of the feathers at the tips of the shoulders bright cobalt-blue.
The shoulders, lesser wing-coverts, and secondary quill-coverts velvet-black;
the primary quill coverts greenish blue tipt with brownish red, the shafts and
a portion of each inner vane towards the quill the latter colour. The basal
half of the outer vane of each primary quill feather intermediate between verdigris
green and ultra-marine blue, the corresponding portions of inner vanes
white with a satin lustre, the last half of each feather deep liver-brown ; the
secondary and tertiary quill feathers exhibit the same colours, only the blue
occupies most if not all of the outer vanes, while the white exists only towards
the base of each inner vane, and the liver-brown towards the point. Tail
feathers greenish blue like the outer vanes of wing feathers, the shafts
brownish red. The chin, the throat, the belly, the vent, and the under tail
coverts reddish white, the breast and flanks greenish white finely freckled
with dusky-brown. The feathers between the eyes and the base of the bill
as well as the lower eyelids black, and between the nostril and the eye there
is a narrow whitish stripe, from the feathers in that situation being white towards
their base. Bill scarlet-red. Eyes dark brown. Legs, toes and claws
dull purplish red.
F orm, &c.—Figure robust. Head large ; bill strong and quadrangular, the
upper mandible considerably longer than the lower, pointed at the tip, and
channelled internally. Nostrils small, suboval, and extending parallel to the
feathers at the base of the bill and nearly in contact with them. The feathers
in front of eyes scanty, short, and wiry. Wings short and rounded, the