HALCYON TRISTRAMI, Layard.
Tristram’s Kingfisher.
Halycon tristrami, Layard, Ibis, 1880, pp. 299, 460, pi. xvi.—Ramsay, Proc. Linn. Soc. N. S. W. vi. p. 834
(1882).—Tristr. Ibis, 1882, p. 609.
Sauropatis tristrami, Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov, xviii. p. 420 (1882).—Id. Orn. Papuasia e delle Molucche,
iii. App. p. 524 (1882).
C o n s id e r in g that scarcely five years have elapsed since this species was discovered, its history has already
been sufficiently complicated. The first mention o f the bird is in ‘The I b is ' for 1 880; and Mr. E. L.
Layard th ere states th a t l ie has a specimen o f a Kingfisher from the Solomon Islands, which he proposes
to name H. tristrami, but he does not describe it. Later on, however, in the same year he refers to
this bird as being probably from Makira Harbour, and compares it with H vagans o f New Zealand.
In his list o f the birds o f the Solomon Islands, published in ‘The Ib is ’ for 1882 (pp. 141-146), Canon
Tristram omits all mention o f the species as an inhabitant o f the g ro u p ; but in the meantime Mr. Ramsay
makes some remarks upon the species, and calls attention to the absence o f the nape-patch in the plate
and description given by Mr. Layard (/. c .). Canon Tristram, noticing this paper in ‘ The Ib is ’ for 1882
(p. 609), gives the dimensions o f H. tristrami for the first time, and states th at he considers it to be
“ further removed from H. vagans than from any other of the group.” He likewise states that it has no
occipital patch whatever, and that he “ possesses the type specimens.” No wonder, then, th at Count
Salvadori finds that he has been a little puzzled with regard to the history o f the species.
First o f all, there cannot be more than one type specimen o f H. tristrami, which must be the supposed
Solomon-Islatid specimen first mentioned by M r. L ay a rd ; and with regard to the want of the occipital patch,
it is clearly visible on a close examination in the specimen described by us below, and therefore its absence-
in Canon Tristram’s specimen must be purely accidental. The British Museum possesses a nestling which
has it plainly developed.
Lastly, we cannot quite understand why Canon Tristram should object to the close resemblance of
H. tristrami to H vagans, as in our opinion it is only distinguished from the latter species by its larger
size, more vivid coloration, and by the deep cinnamon-buff colour o f the underparts.
I t is possible that there is some error respecting the occurrence o f this bird in th e Solomon Islands, for
Mr. Layard does not appear to have been very certain about the origin of his type specimen. Three examples
which have fallen under our notice have been from New Britain ; but in all probability it is likewise found in
Duke o f York Island, as Mr. L. C. Layard does not mention particularly th at it is confined to the former of
the two (see ‘ Ibis,’ 1880, p. 2 9 4 ). He states th at it was “ only got in the thick parts about the mountain-
slopes; we never observed it mixing among its smaller brethren (_ff. sanctus) on the open shore. Their
habitats being so different, their food was different also. The large one ate beetles, locusts, and small
lizards, and the lesser one contented himself with fish and sea-worms. Native name for both ‘ A kiki.’ ”
Adult male. General colour ahove dark green, with more o r less o f a bluish tin g e ; the whole o f the back,
rump, and upper tail-coverts brighter cobalt, leaving the mantle and scapulars dull g re e n ; wing-coverts
greenish cobalt, brighter blue on the greater series, and deepening into ultramarine on the outer aspect of
the quills, which are otherwise b la c k ; the innermost secondaries above g reen ish ; tail-feathers deep blue,
the shafts below, as well as the edge o f the inner web, blackish ; crown of head green, slightly washed
with blue ; a loral spot o f ochreous buff; feathers in front o f and round the eye black, with a half-concealed
white spot below the la tte r; on the sides o f the crown above the eye a few small whitish streaks ; sides of
the crown brighter blue, meeting on the n a p e ; a concealed occipital patch o f ochreous buff; a streak from
below the gape joining the feathers below the eye and the ear-coverts bluish green, the hindermost o f the latter
black, joining a collar which surrounds the nape and separates the head from a very broad band o f ochreous
buff, which runs round the hind neck and joins the b r e a s t; this ochreous-buff band is separated from the
mantle hy a narrow shade o f blackish ; cheeks ochreous buff; throat w h iter; fore neck and breast ochreous
buff, deepening into cinnamon-buff on the lower breast, sides o f body, and under tail-coverts; under wing-
coverts and axillaries also deep cinnamon-buff; quills blackish below, yellowish buff along the edge o f the
inner web : “ bill black ; legs ash-coloured ; iris brown ” (L . C. Layard'). Total length 9 -3 inches, culmen
2 ’05, wing 4 -3, tail 2 -8, tarsus 0 ‘55.
The specimen described and figured is a male, obtained in Blanche Bay, New Britain, by Captain Richards
on the 2nd o f July, 1879.
[R. B. S.]