I l l
i v
TANYSIPTERA ACIS.
TANY S I P T E RA ACIS.
(“ ACI S” K IN G F ISH E R .)
Tmytiftirg tei, . . WaU. P . Z. S. 1863, pp. 23, 24 ; ScU. Ned. Tijdeohi-. 1865, p. 273 ; Sliaipe,
P. Z. s . 1869, p. 631 ; Gray, Haudl. of B. I. p. 90 (1869).
Dacelo dea (pt.) . . Schl. Mus. Pays Bas, Álced. p. 43 (1863) ; id. Vog. Ned. Ind. pp.
33, 62 (1862).
T. maculâ dorsali nullâ ; uropygio albo ; ( ; genis, regione parotica et collo postico
nigris ; rectricibus exterioribus albis cæi-uleo marginatis.
Hah. in insulâ “ B o u ru ” d ictâ maris moluccensis.
Head dark blue, inclining to cobalt on th e n ap e ; cheeks, ear-coverts, h in d er po rtio n o f
th e neck, u pper p a rt o f th e back and scapulars deep black, with a fa in t tin g e of b lue here
and th ere ; lower p o rtio n o f th e back, rum p and u pper tail-coverts d in g y wbite, eacb
feather broadly margined w itb black ; wing-coverts deep blue, th e innermost ones b rig h t
cobalt ; quills black, tb e in n er web yellowish a t the base, th e ex te rio r webs slightly tinged
w ith dark blue ; tail-feathers white, broadly edged with blue, th e middle feathers, with the
exception of a few white patches a t the base, blue for the whole len g th as far as the spatula,
which is also edged with blue ; entire u n d e r surface pale fulvous, each feather narroivly
edged Avith black ; bill red ; feet olive ; fris d a rk brovm. Total len g th 14 inches, o f bill
from fro n t 1‘2, from gape lY , Aving 4'0, tail 3'7, middle rectrices 8-0, tarsu s 0.45, middle
toe 0 ’8, h in d toe 0*3.
Hah. Bouru (Wallace.)
Tho above description is tak en from tbe type-specimen in Mr. Wallace’s coUection, and
th e p late is drawn from tbe same bu-d. A t p resent I believe tb is specimen to be unique in
European JIuseums, for although J lr . G. H- Gray (I.e.) includes i t .among the Kingfishers in
the British JInseum I have never seen a specimen there, and the locality given, “ Ceram ” is
o f course altogether wrong.
Mr. Wallace’s type-specimen is n o t quite adult, bu t, ivlien discovered, the m atu re bird
will scarcely differ except in being pure white underneath. The black checks and back
place i t in the same section o f th e genus as Tanysiptera hydrocharis, fi-om which i t may very
easily he di,stinguishcd by its larg er size and comparatively sh o rter ta il w ith more w hite on it.
'Mr. Wallace informs me th a t the only specunen in his collection was obtaind by him in
Bouru, and th a t it h ad some “ small land-shells in the stomach.”