th e g rea t difference is to be found in th e ir habits ; for Aloyone is a fish-eater and partakes
o f th e characteristics o f tru e Alcedo— \hsX, is to say, has a long, th in , pointed bill, much
compressed, and strongly carinated : Ceyx, on th e o th er hand, is a forest-loving genus, living
away from th e water, feeding ç u insects, and bearing affinity towards Halcycm ; th e b ill is
inclined to be depressed, h as no strongly m arked keel ; and th e genus could n o t be compared
with Aloyone, were i t n o t for the intermediate links to be found in th e Pliilip p in e species
above mentioned. A full knowledge o f th e h abits and, still more, o f th e osteology o f these
two species is to be desired ; for i t is possible th a t, as in th e case o f Ceryle and Pelargopsis,
where a difficulty is met with in finding a tangible and definable character for distinction, a
good osteological chara cter can be adduced for genexic separation.
W e have now to consider the long-tailed section o f th e subfamily Alcedininoe, in which
only two genera, Ceryle and Pelargopsis, are included. In th e former o f these two genera a
dacelonine pe culia rity is fii-st observed in the difference o f th e sexes, b u t not, as in most of
th e genera, in a perfect dissimilarity, or a difference in colour o f th e tail, b u t by th e presence
or absence o f a pectoral band. This subject can be b e tte r discussed afte r the sections of
th e genus have been pointed out.
Genus 4. Ceryle.
Type.
Ceryle, Boie, Isis, 1828, p. 3 1 6 .................................................................................C. rudis.
Ispida, Swains. Classif. o f B. ii. p. 326 ( 1 8 3 7 ) ....................................................C. alcyon.
Megaceryle, Kaup, Fam. Eisv. p. 8 (1 8 1 8 )...............................................................C. guttata.
Chloroceryle, Kaup, Fam. Eisv. p. 8 ( 1 8 4 8 ) ......................................................... C. superciliosa.
Amazonis, Reich. Handb. Alced. p. 28 (1851)......................................................... C. ;
Streptoceryle, Bonap. Consp. Vol. Anis. p. 10 ( 1 8 5 4 ) ........................................C. i
Ichtlnjnomus, Cab. & Heine, Mus. Hein. Th. ii. p. 150 (I860) . . . . C. maxima.
T h a t most o f th e above genera are founded upon differences o f plumage rath e r th an upon
stru c tu ra l peculiarities, will be shown by the following:—
Clavis specierum.
a. Sexibus similibus.
a'. Dorso fusco, nigro et albo conspicue transfasciato.
a". M ajo r; rostro magis c o m p r e s s o 1. lugubris.
b". Minor : rostro ad basin pauUo d i l a t a t o 2. guttata.
b. Sexibus dissimilibus.
a'. Dorso albo, nigro m a c u la to ................................................................................3. rudis.
b'. Dorso scbistaeeo-uigro : mas torque pectorali rufo distingucndus.
a". Abdomine medio a lb o 4. maxima.
h". Abdomine nigro, albo t r a n s f a s c i a to 5. sharpii.
é . Dorso d a re scbistaceo.
a'^ Abdomine rufo, torque pectorali maris absente.
a'". Major: dorso im m a c u l a to ............................................................... twqvrtta.
b'". Minor : dorso albo s t e l l a t o 7. stellata.
b". Abdomine a l b o ................................................................................................. 8.
d'. Dorso æneo-viridi.
a". Gulà albà.
a'". Major: alis extus immaculatis...................................................9. amazonia.
ò'". Media : rostro robustiore : macuHs alai'ibus distinctioribus . . 10. cabanisi.
c'". Minor: rosti-o tenuiorc: maculis alaribus minus distinctis . . 11. americana,
b". Gulà rufescente.
d"’. Major: abdomine toto crissoque intense eastaneis, pectore
c o n c o lo ri................................................................................. 12 . inda.
e'". Minor: abdomine medio crissoque purè albis*: pectore castaneo 13. superciliosa.
The genus Ceryle, in generai appearance and shape of bill, would be more tru ly an Alcedi-
nine form th an its near ally Pelargopsis, h u t for the curious difference in sex already noticed.
Although a casual observer would fail to perceive the I’eason why th e P ied Kingfishers should
be placed in separate sections, the habits o f the two Idnds are different, in the first place ; hut,
most o f all, the ground-colour o f the plumage is qu ite different, th e pied appearance being
produced by an opposite combination o f colours in each case. Then, again, in the first
section of the genus th e sexes do not differ; and here must be th e connecting link with
Pelargopsis. I think th a t I did wrong in separating in th e ‘M o n o g rap h ’ the Japanese form
of Ceryle guttata as a distinct species under Temminck’s name C. lugubris ; i t is nothing
more th an a slightly larger race. A ll th e other species o f the genus Ceryle have th e sexes
different, the distinction being always exhibited in the foi-m o f a band. T hus in the Pied
Kingfisher {Ceryle rudis) the male is characterized by a double band across th e breast. The
next section of th e genus has th e male distinguished by a beautiful rufous band across the
chest, the belly being white, while in th e female it is rufous. T h e th ird division consists of
those species with slaty-blue backs, o f which th ere ax’e three. In the large species where
the belly is red, the female takes the band across th e chest, this character being absent in
the m ale; whereas in the small species (C. alcyon), which has th e belly white, th e male is
distinguished by a broad pectoral band, while th e female has two, th e lower one being very
naiTow. All the other species o f Ceryle have brouzy-greon backs; and in th e first subdivision,
which contains th ree species, th e belly is white, and th e male is characterized by a
b lig h t rufous pectoral band, this being replaced in th e female by green and white feathers ;
while in the last subdivision, which contains only two species, with rufous bellies, th e male
is rufous underneath, while th e /em a /e has a green pectoral band.
The last genus o f th e subfamily Alcedininoe is Pelargopsis, which has generally been
included in Halcyon, b u t which fr-om its habits is closely allied to Ceryle, to which genus in
form it also closely assimilates.
Genus 5. P eLìVrgopsis.
Type.
Pelargopsis, Gloger, Handb. d. Natnrg. p. 338 (1 8 4 2 )................................... ?
Rhamphalcyon, Reich. Handb. Alced. p. 16 ( 1 8 5 1 ) ...........................................P. gurial.
Hylcaon, Reich. Handb. Alced. p. 18 ( 1 8 5 1 ) P. melanorhyncha.
* Owing to a stain on the plumage of the specimen figured, the belly has in some of the plates of C. superciliosa
been represented as yellowish.
b