HALCYON MAL IMB ICA
Alcedo malhnhka ,
Halcyon málimhica .
Cancrophaga malimhica .
Alcedo cinereifrons .
Halcyon ciii€}-«»/j-oîis
Todiramphus cinereifrons
Cancrophaga cinereifrons
Dacelo cinereifrons
Halcyon torquatus .
Halcyon torquata
(ASH Y -FK O ST ED K IN G F ISH E R .)
Shaw, Gen. Zool. VIII. p, 66 (1811).
Cass. Cat. Hale. Phil. Mus. p. 8 (1852)
Bonap. Consp. Vol. Anis, p. 9 (1S54).
Vieill, Nouv. Diet. d’Hist. Nat. XIX. p. 403 (1818).
Gray, Gen, of Birds, I, p. 79 (1846).
Blytii, Cat. Birds Mus. As. Soe. Bong. p. 48 (184!>).
Bonap. Consp. Vol. Anis. p. 9 (1854).
Schl. Mus. Pays Bas, Alced. p. 29 (1863).
Swains. Birds of W. Afr. H, p. 99 (1837).
Müll. Journ. f. Orn. 1855, p. 7.
II. masiUn rubrâ, mandibulâ nigrâ : scapularibus nigerrimis: minor: pileo cinereo.
Hah. in Africâ occidentali.
Adult. E n tire head ashy-grey, becoming tinged with blue on the nape ; back, from
th e nape to th e rump, rich cobalt; scapularies and wing-coverts je t b lack; quills black,
th e in n er web white a t the base, the basal h a lf of th e exterior web o f the primaries, and
n e a rly th e en tire o u ter web o f th e secondaries, b rillian t cobalt ; tail dark cobalt above,
black beneath ; th ro a t, and a narrow line over the eye, white ; space between the b ill and
th e eye, feathers ro u n d th e eye extending backwards over the ear-coverts, deep black ;
cheeks, ear coverts, sides o f th e neck and the breast, greenish cobalt ; abdomen and u n d e r
tail-coverts, w h ite ; flanks grey, with obscure v ermiculations; u pper mandible vermilion,
black a t the base and towards the tip, lower mandible j e t black ; feet red. Total len g th 10
inches, o f b ill from fro n t 2.3, from gape 2.7, wing 4.6, ta il 3.2, tarsus 0.5, middle toe, 0.8,
hind toe, 0.35.
Very old. Head ashy, all except th e forehead itself w ashed with cobalt en tire back
exceed
Avhite,
Avith i
4.5, ta il 3.0, ta rsu s 0.5, middle toe 0.8.
Additional references.—HaZcyoii malimhica, Sharpe, Ibis, 1869, p. 282 ; Alcedo cinereifrons. Bon. et VieiU.
Encl. Meth. I, p. 395 (1823); Vieill. Gal. des Ois. pl. 187 (1825); Halcyon cinereifrons, Jard. Ann. Nat. Hist.
XVII, 86 (1846); Gray, Cat. Fiss. Brit. Mus. p. 53 (1848) : Sundev. Ofv. 1849 ; p. 162, A^err, Rev. et Mag. dc
Zool. 185'1, p. 265 ; Hartl. Journ. f. Orn. 1854, p. 2 ; id. Orn. Westafr. p. 45 (1857) ; id. Jom-n. f. Orn. 1861, p.
104 ; Layard, Birds of S. Afr. p. 64 (1867); Gray, Handl. of B. p 90.
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