‘i î i
bird,_ viz., Ah ed o capensis o f Linnæus, inasmuch as this name is founded on th e "Isp id a
capitis bonæ spei” o f Brisson, and if perp e tu a ted could only len d additional confusion as to
th e correct lo cality o f th e species.
The p resen t b ird is n e a rly allied to th e Bornean P . leucocephala; b u t this la tte r species,
so far as I can a t p resen t dete rmine, n ev er p u ts on a cap, which is always more o r less d istin
c t in th e J a v a n bird. I n ad d itio n to th is character, P . fra s e n is always m uch m ore green
m tin t.
_ I t is v ery seldom th a t we m eet with a specimen o f P . Fraseii with anytliing like a
distinct cap. Mr. Wallace’s collection, however, contains a specimen obtained b y himself
in E a s te rn J a v a which has th e cap v e ry distinct, like th e b ird figured by Professor
Reichenbach (/. c .). T h e species, however, differs from P . hwnnanica by always hav in g an
a dm ix tu re o f ochre, sometimes v e ry stro n g ly marked in th e feathers o f the head.
T he following account o f th e b ird ’s haliits is from th e pen o f th e Vicomte de Bocarmè
and is published b y Professor Schlegel (Mus. Pays Bas, Alced., p. 1 3 ) : —
“ The J a v a n chiefs have ordinarily, with in th e limits o f th e ir principal residence,
ponds filled with divers species o f choice fish, to which ai-e throw n daily ne sts full o f the
chrysalides o f ants. These ne sts are combs o f a lig h t paste which swim on th e to p of the
wa te r and offer to the fish a very delicate morsel. T h ey come immediately these are
th row n in, and b y th e means o f suction th ey v e ry soon e x tra c t the chrysalides and larvæ
which th e holes contain. Th is g re a t Kingfisher does n o t forget to v isit these ponds, which
he succeeds in depopula ting en tirely . He creates much moré te rro r th an th e O tter {Lutra
lepionyx), for a dog on guard keeps th e la tte r away, b u t the b ird appears each time th a t
Motyheus holds his reig n , th a t is to say v e ry often. H e also frequents rivers and marshes.
Besides fish, h e devours g reed ily the heaps of eggs th a t th e fishermen lay in an oval lump
o f e ig h t o r ten lines in diameter, su rro u n d ed with pieces o f grass ; a dish tlia t the Jav an s
themselves do n o t despise.”
On th e p late is figui’ed a Sum atran specimen obtained h y Mr. Wallace in th a t island,
■while th e rig h t-h a n d figure rep re sen ts a J a v a n specimen preserved b y D r. Horsfield, and
now in th e Cambridge Museum.
T h e Sum atran race o f P . fra se ri is much smaller, th e blues slightly more intense, h u t
th e b ird appears to be n o t specifically separable.
i l
> i |
: '
.» I
'1 '[