CLASSmCATION.
motionless watching for th e ir prey, to d a rt a fte r it and seize it on the wing and to retu rn to
th e ir original position to swallow it. T h e groups which possess these peculiarities in the
g reate st perfection ai-e th e Trogons and th e Kingfishers.” To this excellent definition I
may add th a t th e Alcedinidoe nest in holes and lay white eggs. I t is, however, to be remarked
th at, in accordance with a modification o f th e hahits o f th e various genera, a corresponding
modification has tak en place in th e mode of nidification, th e piscivorous section of
th e family n esting for th e most p a rt in holes in th e banks o f streams, while th e insectivorous
section o f the family generally nest in the holes of trees, not necessarily in th e vicinity of
water. My friend M. Ju le s Verreaux, who has had in Africa opportunities o f observing the
breeding-habits o f th e Wood Kingfishers (Halcyon, IsjyiMna, &c.), tells me th a t these birds
nest in holes already formed in th e trees, or in ro tten wood. Sometimes they enlarge the
hole and eject th e deb ris; this, however, is often left to form a platform for the eggs.
They do not, as a rule, lay as many eggs as th e tru e Kingfishers, two or th re e being the
average number.
I propose to divide th e family Alcedinidoe into two subfamilies, v'hich present recognizable
stru c tu ra l peculiarities. Natm-ally they m ig h t be divided into three, viz. :—
1. Alcedininoe {sc. Piscivores)—^being those Kingfishers w hich ÎQQà. p rinc ipally on fish, and
seldom or never touch insects &c.
2. Ilalcyoninoe {sc. Omnivores)— being those Kingfishers whose food is of a mixed charac
ter, and which, subsisting p artly on fish, also devour great quantities o f insect food,
beside Crustacea, Lizards, &c. The Halcyons, ndiich are the most typical representatives
o f th is subfamily, are most p lentiful in th e ^Ethiopian region, and J l. Ju le s Verreaux again
favours me with a note concerning th e ir habits as observed by him in Africa:—
“ AVood Kingfishers {Halcyones) generally feed on insects in mimosa trees and dry forests;
b u t when th e supply is scanty, they tu rn th e ir a ttention to lizards. Should this food also
fail, they will frequent the water and fish lik e a tru e Alcedo. Sometimes they will hover, as
i f to inspect th e water bene ath them, remaining in the air for some time, b u t not so long as
a tru e iKingfisIier, and then, retu rn in g to th e ir perch, they w ill sit for hours scarcely moving,
till a passing fish is secured by an active plunge. A curious fact also is, th at when they are
in th e bush th ere are generally seven or eig h t in close proximity, b u t when they go to the
water they keep separate, each by itself. These Kingfishers, when they frequent the water
or the sea-shoro, e a t crustácea or small shell-fish, which they hold between th eir feet, and
breaking the shell by repe ated blows o f th e ir bill, throw th e la tte r away and devour the
animal.”
0. Daceloninoe {sc. Eeptilivores)—being those Kingfishers whose food consists for th e most
p a rt of Reptiles, Crustacea, &c., and which seldom or never touch fish.
I find, however, th a t th ough the n a tu ra l relation of these three subfamilies to one another
is tolerably well defined, yet tangible characters for th e separation o f the two la tte r are
wan tin g ; and from the n atu re of th e principles which I have always endeavoured to set
before me (namely, o f only recognizing s tructura l and definable characters) I am compelled
to merge these two subfamilies into one, for which I prefer to retain the name Daceloninoe.
Nor will this arrangement be found unsatisfactory, as th e links o f the two subfamilies
{Monachalcyon and Tanysiptera) are so closely allied th a t th e chain o f connexion seems
almost unbroken.
I have tak en the genus Alcedo as my starting-point, as i t is th e most usually accepted
type of the fam ily ; and thence I have traced th e progression o f th e genera towards Melidora,
which I consider to be th e extreme development of Reptilivorous Kingfisher. T h a t the
n a tu ral sequence in th e evolution o f th e genera has been from Melidora to Alcedo I endeavour
to show in a subsequent page.
The family Alcedinidce may be divided into two subfamilies, as follows:—
a. Rostro compresso, culmine distincte c a r in a to ..............................................!• AlcedinhuB.
b. Rostro plus minusve deprcsso; culmine Isevi, rotundato vel sulcato . . 2. Daceloninis.
These two subfamilies appear to contain 125 species, belonging to 19 genera, as follows,
n ame ly:—
A l c e d i n i n a ............................................................................... 5 genera . . . . 41 species.
D ac elonitK B............................................................................. 14 genera . . . . 84' species.
I have been unable to distinguish several species, all o f which are enumerated in my
notices of th e different works in th e chapter on “ L ite ra tu re .”
Subfamily I. ALCEDiNiNiB.
Conspectus generum Alcedininarum.
a. Caudd breriore quam rosti’o, vel huic aiquante.
a!. Digitis quatuor.
a". Caput ci’istatum, plumis pilei antici ad occiput hand extcndontibus 1. Alcedo.
b”. Caput cristatum, plumis pilei antici post occiput exteudentibus . . 2. Corythornis.
b' Digitis t r i b u s ........................................................ •................................................... 3. Alcyone.
b. Cauda rosti-um multo supcrante.
a'. Gonydc versus basin l a t a .....................................................................................4. Ceryle.
b'. Gonyde acuta, ralde comprcssfi ....................................................................5. Pelargopsis.
A reference to the p late o f generic characters is sufficient to show the difference in the
shape o f the crest in Alcedo and Corythornis (P la te I . figs. 1 & 2), th e form of th e crest-
feather in th e latter genus being elongated and broadened out towards the apex. Again,
although Alcedo and Alcyone, in th e foi-m o f b ill and wing, are almost identical, yet the
absence o f a toe in th e la tte r genus, in addition to th e generally uniform n a tu re of the
upper plumage, presents, in my opinion, sufficient gi'ound for generic sepai'ation (figs. l a
& 3). On the o th er hand, however, Ceryle and Pelargcypsis ai*e exceedingly difficult to
sep ara te ; b u t a character can be found in th e skulls, where i t will b e seen th a t th a t of
Ceryle (fig. 11) has the lachiymal bones as in tru e Alcedo, whereas Pelargopsis has tlicse
bones developed into a backward process (fig. 12). There is also a difference in the acuteness
o f the ridge o f the gonys, which is th e character adduced in ray diagnostic table.