‘>ie young and old birds differing conspicuously
E n tire ly confined to th e Indo-Malayan subregion.
s o u t t f n '^ ^ P -^ ^ s - in d o c d , th e least o f the genus. Confined to the
o u tte rn islands o f th e Malayan subregion, where its range appears limited to Java and the
small islands ru n n in g to th e eastward. '
T h e subjoined Table will give th e b est idea o f th e geographical distribution o f the genus
Alcedo. There a re four groups in th is genus, in connexion w ith which fact some interesting
points will be noticed : ~ l s t , th e four species o f th e Alcedo ispida group, which a re distrb
b n ted over nearly th e wdiolo o f th e Old World, b u t do n o t extend into the Australian
E egm n proper, where th e ir place is tak en by species o f A lc yo n e ; nor do they range into the
Ethlopiar. Eeg io n beyond a very rnn-row lim it in North-eastern Afric a; 2nd, the species of
e Alcedo asiatica gi-oup, o f which th ere a re two, one confined to the Indo-Malayan
subregion, while th e o th er occurs in Africa, no intermediate form being met with in the
countries between. AVere i t not for th e fact th a t M. Ju le s Verreaux tells me he has shot
th e M n c a n species in Natal, its range would b e almost identical w ith th a t o fH a la jo n l a d i a -
an o th e r Kingfisher, o f an In d ian group, exclusively confined to a limited portion o f W e ste rn
A f r ic a ; 3rd, th e single species Alcedo semitoryuata, which is confined to th e Ethiopian
Eegion, where it seems to repre sent Alcedo hengalensis, as its range commences where th a t of
! 1 th ro u g h o u t the length and b read th o f the African continent ;
and 4 th th e species o f th e Alcedo beryllina group, o f which th ere are two, A . euryzona and
A . h ^ y lh n a . Both o f these have white bellies with blue bands across the b rea s t; both are
confined to the Indo-Malayan subregion; bo th occur in Java, whence th e ir ranges diverge—
the one along the Malayan peninsula, th e o th er to the small islands running to the east of
Jav a, th u s extending into the Austro-Malayan subregion.
Table o f the Geographical Distribution o f the Genus Alcedo.
1. A. ispida .............
2. A. bengalensis ....
3. A, grandis .
4. A. moluccensis......
L semitorquata ...
8. A. euryzona ............
9. A. beryllina ............
... Australasian R eoion.
Opj.u., Timor Moluccan Papuan
Group. Group. Islands.
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.
From th e foregoing Table i t ap p e ars:—
1. T h a t the genus Alcedo is n o t represented in th e Nearctic and Neotropical Regions, nor
in the Australian Region proper.
2. Th a t th e P a laa rc tic Region has one peculiar species, while one In d ian species ju st
reaches its north-eastern limit.
3. T h a t the Ethiopian Region has two peculiar species, while one In d ian species ju st
reaches its north-eastern limit.
4. T h a t th e Indian Region has one peculiar species. Three others, which have th eir
maximum range within its limits, wander slightly beyond the boundaries, and therefore
cannot be called peculiar to the region.
5. T h a t th e Australian Region, or, more propeily speaking, th e A ustro-Malayan subregion,
has one peculiar species.
Genus 2. Corythornis.
Range o f the Genus.
Strictly confined to th e E thiopian Region.
1. C. cristata. Found only in Madagascar- and the adjacent islands.
2. C. cyanostigma. A bii-d o f wide distribution over th e entire A frican continent, b u t not
extending to the Mascavene subregion, where i t is replaced by C. cristata.
3. C. galerita. Confined to th e west coast of Africa. Wherever i t is found it appears
th at C. cyanostigma also occurs, with th e exception o f the islands in th e Big h t o f Biafra,
where C. galerita is found, b u t where C. cyanostigma has been only doubtfully met with.
Genus 3. A lcyone.
Over th e Australian continent, and throughout th e Papuan Islands and Austro-Malayan