TANY SI PTE R A MICRORH YNCHA, Sharpe.
Port-Moresby Racket-tailed Kingfisher.
Tanysiptera galatea, var. minor, Salvad. et d’Albert. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov, vii. p. 815 (1875).—Salvad. op. cit.
is. p. 21 (1876).—Id. Proc. Zool. Soc. 1876, p. 752.—D’Albert. & Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov,
xiv. p. 49 (1879).—Ramsay, Proc. Linn. Soc. N. S. Wales, iv. p. 90 (1879).
Tanysiptera microrhyncha, Sharpe, Proc. Linn. Soc. xiii. pp. 311, 493 (1878), xiv. pp. 629, 686 (1879).
Tanysiptera galatea, pt., Salvad. Orn. Papuasia e delle Molucche, i. p. 439 (1880).—Finsch, Vogel der Sudsee,
p. 24 (1884).
T he Racket-tailed Kingfisher from South-eastern New Guinea is closely allied to the ordinary T. galatea
of the north-western portion of the island, but it is decidedly smaller, and has the back black with less
blue. Whether the latter is a good character remains to be proved, as we find th at it varies somewhat,
a specimen collected by Mr. Broadbent having the hack strongly washed with purplish blue, contrasting
with the head and wing-spot, which were rich silvery cohalt. I t is probable that this is the very old
male bird, but the full changes of plumage in the species require to be worked out.
In South-eastern and Southern New Guinea the present species seems to have a wide range.
Mr. Hunstein met with it a t E a st Cape, and the Rev. W. G. Lawes at Walter Bay. I t also occurs
in' the interior portions o f the P o rt Moresby district, as Dr. Finsch records it from the Goldie and
Laloki Rivers, Mr. Goldie in the Morocco district, and Mr. H. O. Forbes in the Sogeri district o f the
Astrolabe Mountains. Signor D’Albertis procured specimens a t Naiabui, Yule Island, Mount Epa, and
Hall B a y ; he also met with the species on the Fly River.
The following description is a copy o f the one originally given by us (/. c*):—
Adult female. Crown o f head aud nape cobalt-blue, a little brighter round the edge of the crown and
on the nape, and slightly dashed with silvery cobalt over the eye, the forehead rather duller blue; lores,
feathers below the eye, and the ear-coverts black, slightly washed with deep blue, as also are the sides of
neck, mantle, back, and scapulars, on which, however, the blue shade is not so ap p aren t; wings black, the
wing-coverts and secondaries externally deep purplish blue, the innermost o f the greater and median
coverts bright cohalt, forming a shoulder-pateh; lower back, rump, and upper tail-coverts pure white,
the latter with an indistinct narrow fringe o f dark blue ; tail white, the outer feathers more o r less
edged with blue towards the tip, the two long centre feathers blue, with a long white spatula, the base of
these two plumes irregularly white in the centre and along the inner edge, the next two feathers with
remains o f blue near the base o f the sh a ft; moustache and entire under surface o f body pure white, the
sides o f the upper breast black ; under wing-coverts white, the lesser plumes on the upper band o f the wing
blue-black, shading into brighter blue on the edge o f the wing itself; bill r e d ; feet dusky. Total length
15*5 inches, culmen 1*3, wing 4, tail 3 ‘9, centre feathers 9 '7, tarsus 0 6.
The specimen figured in the Plate represents an adult bird procured by Mr. H. O. Forbes in the Sogeri
district in South-eastern New Guinea.
[R. B. S.]