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from th e co n tin en t o f Africa. I t is to be recognised by its la rg e r size, wh iter head, and
gen e ra lly p u r e r and more b rillia n t coloration. The beak is also appreciably longer and
sto u te r, an d in th e y o u n g stage the b ird from St. Ja g o never h a s 'T h eblflaaeckk mmaari'kkiinng? on the
b rea st so th ick ly d istrib u te d as m th e continental f - - - - -
Mr. Keulemans, who v isited th e Cape de Verde Islands with Dr. Dohrn in 1863 and
1864, procured a la rg e series o f th is lovely bird, and he has v ery obligingly g iven me the
io llowm g ex fy a c ts from his notes ou its h a b its :— © o J o
• “ T his Kingfisher is a n ativ e o f the Cape de Verde Islands, and is rare in the n o rth e rn
b u t common in th e so u th e rn islands. There is no difference in size in th e ad u lt birds, b u t
y o u n g ones a re considerably smaUer. In colour th e male and female resemble each o th er
b u t th e wmg-coverts o f th e la tte r are less black, and th e tip o f th e primaries brownish
black. In th e y o u n g b irds th e colour o f the b ill is brownisli-red, yellow a t the tip, the leo-s
rufous, and the plumage g enerally less b e a u tifu l; th ey have also very little red on the
u n d e r p a rts , th e flanks alone being o f th is colour. When the y oung leave the n e st they
have n o re d a t all, and th e feathers o f th e head aud b rea st ai-e strip ed an d banded with
g r e y ; th e red u n d e r p a rts appear gradually, b u t n o t b y m o u ltin g .”
“ Halcyon erythrogmtra is th e only K ingfisher inhab itin g th e Cape de Verde Islands, and it
is v e ry c o i ^ o n in St. J ag o . T h ere i t is v e ry tame, and can b e approached quite closely w ith o
u t difficulty. When flymg up, i t u tte r s a note something like th a t o f th e Common Kestre l
{ 1 innunculm alaudanus), and th is is termed ‘ laughing ’ by th e inhabitants. I ts food consists
of la rg e insects, lizards, mice, and y oung b ird s. I t breeds in December and Jan u a ry , and
builds its n e st g en e ra lly in holes u n d e r the roots o f large trees. The n ative name is Pas-
sennJia.”
“ I shall never fo rg e t a scene I once witnessed in connexion with th is bird. Dr.
D o h rn and my se lf h ad p aid a v isit to Cidada Velha, th e old capital o f St. Jag o , and h ad to
pass a n ig h t in th a t q u a rfy r o f th e island. _ A recen t d ro u g h t had exhausted the country,
an d provisions and lo dgings were almost impossible to obtain. We entered an old and
dilap id ated h u t, an d endeavoured to make ourselves comfortable for th e n ig h t. Sleep was
impossible, for i t rain ed in to rren ts, and th ro u g h one o f th e many openings in th e ro o f the w a te r fell oren« m----y-i lf*a rec ree - anJd 1 bo.1d y re n7d.e*r in g me completely miserable, so t.h.arte I- d. e. termined to
^ e t u p so soon as th e fii*st streak o f d a y lig h t appeared. Day dawned a t last, and I sallied
forth. The ra in h ad ceased and the m orning was calm and fresh, so w ith my g u n in my
h an d I entered th e ru in s o f an old Po rtu g u e se church, b y the side o f a mountain to rren t,
a little way from th e town, an d took my seat on a stone, waiting for th e sun to rise.'
T h ro u g h o u t th e in te rio r o f th e ch u rch the long grass grew to a h eight o f th ree o r fo u r feet
and was a ll w e t w ith th e dew an d th e rain o f th e n ig h t before, while on the damp walls
d.ozens o f lizards (Gecko) were crawling. Occupied ivith my th o u g h ts I sat s till for some
tim e when m y a tten tio n was aroused b y a flu tte rin g o f w ings, and looking u p I c aught s ig h t
o f a Kingfisher in the a c t o f tearing a lizard from the wall. P re sen tly an o th e r entered,
th en an o th er, and another, till a t la s t th e church was full o f them, a continual stream o f
Kingfishers en te rin g and d ep a rtin g th ro u g h th e open windows and th e holes in the roof.
T h e o p p o rtu n ity for collecting was too good to be lost aud I secured many specimens, b u t
n e ith e r th e noise o f my g u n n o r the fall o f th e ir companions deterred th e rema inder from
en te rin g th e ch u rch and procuring th e ir food. So unsuspicious o f h arm is th is b ird th a t I
often th rew a stone a t one, and th e only notice i t took was to tu rn its h ead i f the stone
w en t n e a r to it. As the su n rose I wen t outside, and th e r e ’ th e whole place was full o f
Kingfishers also, b u s ily engaged in h u n tin g for lizards among th e we t herbage and ruins.
T h e s ig h t made a g re a t impression on my mind, as h ith erto I had only known th e species
as a so lita ry b ird s ittin g th ro u g h o u t th e daytime by its e lf and ra th e r sluggish in its habits
th an otherwise.”
The p late is draivn from a sketch tak en from life b y Mr. Keulemans in St. Jago. The
d e scriptions o f the ad u lt and y oung a re also tak en from birds procured by the same g en tleman,
th e ad u lt b eing in my own collection and the y o u n g in th e Leiden Museum.