m u i
Young. Head and neck d u sky chesnut, as also the scapulars which are tipped with
b lue ; wing-coverts d u ll black, the g re a te r ones washed w ith blue ; th ro a t wh ite ; u p p e r
p a rt o f th e b rea s t deep chesnut, flanks paler ; middle o f the body whitish, th e feathe rs
edged w ith chesnut, giv in g a somewhat m ottled appearance ; b ill broivnish-black, yellowish
a t the tip ; feet d u ll red d ish broivn.
Asia Minor : Smyrna {Alhin) ; Maori (Forhes), X an th u s (Fellows) ; Red Sea District
(Y o n Heuglin) ; Syria (m m . R .B .S .) , Palestine (T r is im n i), Schiraz (Doria) ; Mesoimtamia
(Jones, mus. I n d .) ; In d ia and Ceyloxx (Je rd o n ); Andaman Islan d s (Tytler, Beavan);
Bu rmah (Mason); Malacca (m m . R .B .S .) ; China (Swinhoe); Formosa (Siuinhoe);
H a in an (Swinhoe) ; Philippines (mus. Lxigd.)
T h is species occurs with in th e lim its o f Europe, having been recorded b y Albin from
Sm y rn a as lo n g ago as 1740, and on th e au th o rity o f this specimen Linnæus named the
b ird Alcedo smymensis. !Much incred u lity , however, existed as to its occurrence in Asia
Minor tiU in 1842 th e late Mr. Strickland procured a specimen from Macri, sent to him
b y Mr. E dw a rd Forbes. Many Zoologists have supposed th a t the b ird found in South-
E a s te rn E u ro p e is d istin c t from th e In d ia n species, b u t I find th em to be absolutely the
same, th is fact also being remai-ked b y Mr. Strickland on the occasion above referred to.
Von Heuglin rem ark s :—
“ This species appears to occur only accidentally on th e Red Sea ; possibly i t is more
abu n d an t ab o u t the morasses and streams o f Agabah, and I believe I saw it n o t far from P e tra .”
T h e following a re Dr. T ris tram ’s notes ( lc .) :—
“ I ts h ab its in th e Holy L an d shew i t to be more stric tly tropical th an th e la s t species.
We n ev er found i t beyond th e limits o f th e Jo rd a n V alley, b u t Russell’s mention o f it, as
weU as its existence in Asia Minor shew th a t i t is n o t exclusively tropical in its h ab itat.
Un lik e th e o th e r peculiar species o f th e Ghor i t occurs th ro u g h o u t the whole course o f th e
riv e r, and we met with i t close to Banias on th e u p p e r wate rs o f th e Jo rd an . I t is in all
its h ab its v e ry different from th e lively Pied Kingfisher. I t never hovers, never is seen in
the open ground, b u t loves to sit moodily for hours on a slender bough overhanging a
swamp o r pool, where th e foliage helps to conceal its b rillia n t plumage, and where with
cast-doivu eyes and bill leaning on its breast, i t seems benumbed o r sleepy u n til the motions
o f some lizard o r frog in th e marsh b eneath rouse it to temporaiy activity. When
d istu rb ed i t r a th e r slinks away u n d e r th e cover o f th e overhanging oleanders th an tru s ts
for safety to d ire c t flight. N o r does i t confine itse lf to ponds o r marshes, b u t frequently it
will perch on a bu sh in a barley-field watching for lizards o r snakes, and always brin g in g
its prey back to its perch to devour a t its leisure. I t will swallow entire very large
reptile s. In one I found a snake eighteen inches long entfre, b u t I never found in its crop
any fish, th o u g h i t b ad fi’equently fed on locusts, most generally, however, on reptiles,
wh e th e r frogs, toads, lizards o r serpents. I t is n o t gregarious, and we seldom saw more
th an two to g e th e r ; i t is bo th sedenta ry and sluggish in its habits, th o u g h v e ry wary.
The first specimens we obtained were a t Jericho, in Jan u ary , where it resorted to the ju ju b e
tre e s overhanging th e stream from Ain Su ltan (E lish a ’s fountain) ; afterwards we met with
i t all ro u n d th e coast o f th e Dead Sea, b y th e banks o f Jo rd a n in thickets, in th e swamps
o f Hu leh (Me rom) b y th e up]Der Jo rd an , b u t especially on the P la in o f Genncsaret, where
on Ap ril th e 28th, Mr. B a rtle tt took a n e s t o f five eggs, fresh, in a hole in a bank about six
feet high, facing n o t a stream h u t th e lake itself. Ou the 23rd o f M ay 1 took a n e s t o f four
eggs slig h tly incubated in a bank b y th e stream Mnda-warah, about h a lf a mile above the
colony o f Ceiple rudis. The nest was a t th e end o f a tu n n el n o t more th an two feet in, and
d ire c tly facing th e entrance, with a v e ry few straws for lin in g ; the entrance was about six
inches above th e level o f the water, and in a deep sluggish ]xart o f tho stre am ; th e eggs
were n e a rly sjîherical and considerably la rg e r th a n those o f Ceryle rudis.”
Colonel T y tle r says th a t in the Andamans it is “ common on th e main island.”
Dr. J e rd o n in his “ B irds o f In d ia,” observes :—
“ This well-known Kingfisher is very abundant in most p a rts o f India, and is found
th ro u g h o u t th e whole Peninsula and Ceylon, vxp to th e base o f th e Himalayas, and
extending th ro u g h o u t all th e countries to the E a st as far as China. I t prefers a wooded
country, b u t is n o t found in the th ick forests, and is to be met with about most large
villages and cantonments. I t frequents banks o f rivers and brooks, edges o f tanks, as also
th e neighbourhood o f wells and wet paddy-fields, b u t it is as frequently found away from
water in groves of trees, gardens, open ju n g le, and d ry cultivation, perching upon trees,
poles, walls, old buildings, and any similar situation. He re i t watches for a laxxd-crab,
mouse, lizard, grasshopper, or other insect, and pounces down on i t retu rn in g to its perch
to devour it. Near water it catches fish (for which i t sometimes, though rarely, dives)
frogs, tadpoles, and water-insects.”
“ Lay ard states th a t he has seen i t seizing butterflies. I t has a loud harsh rattlin g
scream, which i t almost always u tte rs when flying. I t is stated to build its nest sometimes
u n d e r a projecting stone on th e b an k o f a nullah, sometimes in a hole in a bank, and other
times in holes in decaying trees, and to lay from two to seven fleshy-white eggs.”
Mr. Sivinhoe says th a t in China “ i t is a common resident called in Chinese ‘ Eei-tsuy.’
Many o f its feathers, chiefly those o f the wing, are cut up into bits and g lued over
ornaments wore b y Chinese ladies, giving the appearance of turquoise-stone.’’ The same
gentleman gives its range as “ resident from Canton to the river Yangtze.” He has
obtained i t in Formosa, and also d u rin g his recent v isit to Hainan a t Haosuy in the North-
West o f th e island.
The following table o f measurements is from specimens which I have been able to
examine :—
No. Locality. Authority. Long tot. Rostra. Al.
1. Syi-ia H. B. Tristram 12-0 2-4 5-0
2. Miyaiii mus. E. B. S. 11-5 2-3 4-6
3. Ifaimblioom Beavau 10-5 2-35 4-6
4. Bengal mus. E. B. S. 11-0 2-35 415
5. Tongliii „ 11-5 2-3 4-7
6. Ceylon ,, 10-0 2-1 4-3
7. „ 10-5 2-25 4-2
8. .. » 10-0 2-2 4-3
I have purposely given the measurements o f tlu-ee Ceylonese specimens, for which my
collection is indebted to L o rd Walden, in order to shew the smaller size. In addition to
tliis th e blue colours are much more vivid, the chesnut colour much darkdr, and the wliite
b rea st more conspicuously p u re th an in specimens from In d ia or elsewhere. In all the
In d ian specimen^. --------------------- , ^
In d ia n th an th e Syrian b ird is, and constitutes to say the least, a distinguishable climatic
v ariety.
The description o f th e ad u lt bird is taken from a fine specimen from Miyam, India,
and from this b ird also the flgure is drawn. The description o f the young is taken from a
specimen procured a t Takow, Formosa, by Mr. Swinhoe iu J u n e , 1865.
,.t: ' i'
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m m m » . M mm