‘» " ' “ ' « f “ g I have mainly followed Dr. Sclator's scheme of
E I m l f r ” ^ 'Z °P ‘h e In d ian and Anstraliarr
■ e t X o f th e r T o ■ “ ‘“ "“‘“ g “ > “ ” P"re ‘he results obtained from a careful
wTth t i e “ n ‘h>= Aloedinidai, and to see how th e facts coincide
c t d y as p i s i r » ^ '0 -
D m d in g th e surface o f th e globe, therefore, into the two divisions, Weoqcea (New Worldl
a i ■“
all belon iT ' Z “ ™S» “ themselves; b u t they
t i K n f "S' “ widespread form o f liin g flsh e r in the Old World, Th n I
th e Kingfishers o f th e e a rth may be summarized :—
N eog* a. P ecu liar genera, 0 ; peculiar species, 8.
PALiEoerEA. P ecu lia r genera, 1 8 ; peculiar species, 117.
Genera common to bo th divisions, 1, viz. Ceryle.
Species common to both divisions, 0*.
In N e o g s a we find th a t th e genus Ceryle is th u s distrib u ted :—
N e a e c tic Eegioh. Peculiar- species, one, viz. Ceryle alcyon.
N e o tk o h o a l E e g io s. P ecu lia r species, sLx, viz. Ceryle torquata, C. stellata, C. amazonia,
C. amencana, C. mda, C. superciliosa.
Cenjle alcyon, in ivinter, ranges into Central America, while C. cabanisi, though having its
maximum range m South America, ranges as far n o rth as Texas, and therefore may be said
to be common to bo th regions.
In Palmogma th e d istribution o f Kingfishers will be found to be as follows:—
P alaeaectic E egioh. P ecu liar genera, 0 ; peculiar species, 2.
ETHloPLUf E egiox. P ecu liar genera, 3 ; peculiai- species, 24.
IxMAS E egios. P e cu lia r genus, 1 ; peculiar species, 25.
AnSTKALiAS E egiok-. P e cu lia r genera, 1 0 ; peculiar species, 59.
T b e genera n o t included in th e above list are—
1. Alocdo. Common to tb e P a W t i c , Ethiopian, and In d ian Eegions, b u t entering the
lim its o f th e Australian. ^
2. C o y le . Common to th e Palmarctic, Indian, and E th io p ian Eegions, b u t entirely
absent in th e Australian. x c , y
3. Pelargopsis. An In d ian genus, b u t having two species peculiar to th e Australian
region.
4. Ceyx. F o u n d equally in th e In d ian Eegion and th e Austro-Malayan subregion
5. Halcyon. Spread over th e whole o f the Old World, excepting the Palmai-ctic Eegion.
in to th e hm its o f w hich it intrude s only on the south-west and north-east.
T h e Alcedinine peculiarities o f each respective region may be analyzed as follows :—
I .^ P a la s a e c tio E e g io h .-N o p e c u lia rg e n e r a , Pe culia r species: I . Alcedo ispida-, XCeryle
• Ceryh alcgon has once ocrarrod in Europe, t a t cannot bo said to be common to both tho Old and New Worlds.
GEOGKAPHIOAL DISTEIBUTION.
Dr. Selater includes Jap an within the limits o f his Palæarctic Eegion, and th e majority
o f facts confirm th e coiTectness o f this view ; b u t th e Alcedinidce are decidedly Indian ; for
Alcedo hengalensis is a tru ly In d ian species, and Halcyon schlegeli and Ceryle lugubris are
identical with Himalayan species, excepting th a t they are a little larger in size.
2. E thiopian R egion.—Peculiar genera : 1. Corythornis-, 2. Ispidina-, Myioceyx. Peculiar
species : Corythornis cyanostigma-, 2. C. galerita-, %. Ispidina picta-, I . leucogastra ;
h. I . natalensis-, Myioceyx ruficeps-, I . M. lecontei-, Alcedo semitorquata-, A . quadribrachys;
li). Ceryle m axima; 1 1 .C.sharpei; 12. Halcyonbadia; 1^. H. erytlirogastra; 1^. H.
semicoerulea; 15. IL senegaloides; 16. I I. albiventris; 17. I I. orientalis; 18. H. chelicutensis;
19. H . cyanoleuca; 20. II. senegalensis; 21. H. dryas; 22. H. malimbica.
Madagascar.—Peculiar species: 1. Ispidina madagascariensis; 2. Corythornis cristata.
The boundaries assigned by Dr. Selater to this region are borne out by th e distribution o f
its K ingfishers ; for, besides the th ree characteristic genera, th e species o f the genera Halcyon,
Alcedo, and Ceryle a re qu ite distinct from th e other members o f th e genus. Thus the
Ethiopian Region contains th ree characteristic groups of Halcyon, one o f Alcedo, and one of
Ceryle. There are, however, exceptions ; for Halcyon badia and Alcedo quadribrachys are
closely allied to Indian species, while the nearest allies to Ceryle maxima, th e only characteristic
African species o f the genus, are certainly th e slate-coloured species o f Ceryle in
South America. Again, Ceryle rudis, a common In d ian species, is found all over A frica ; b u t
th e influx o f an In d ian element into the Ethiopian region is evident, and coiToborative proof
is to hand in th e fact th at th e other common In d ian species, Alcedo bengalensis and Halcyon
chloris, also range into North-eastern Africa, so th a t i t is probable th a t by this same line of
communication Ceryle rudis was introduced. As regards M adagascar, th e Kingfishers confirm
its affinity to the Ethiopian Region.
3. I ndian R egion.—a. Indian and Chinese Asia. Peculiar geneva, 0. Peculiar species:
1. Alcedo grandis; 2. Ceryle g u tta ta ; 3. Pelargopsis gurial; 4. P . amauroptera; 5. P. burmanica.
b. Indo-Malayan subregion. Peculiar genus: 1. Peculiar species : 1. Alcedo
euryzona; 2. Pelargopsis leucocephala; 3. P . fra s e r i; 4. P . malaceensis; 5. Ceyx rnfidorsa;
%. C. sharpei; 1. C.dilhvynni; Halcyon cyanoventris; I I concreta; Carcineutes melanops;
11. C. pulchellus.
G. Philippines. Peculiar genera, 0. Peculiar species : 1. Alcyone cyanopectus; 2. Pelargopsis
goiddi; 3. Ceyx melanura; 4. C. philippinensis; 5. Halcyon gularis; 6. I I lindsayi;
7. H. hombroni.
T he following species are widely distributed, and, although strictly characteristic o f the
In d ian Region, are n o t confined to one or other of the subregions: 1. Ceyx tridactyla;
2. Halcyon pileata.
Beyond these are to be mentioned th e following Kingfishers, which are characteristic of
the In d ian Eegion, b u t yet extend th e ir range beyond its limits : 1. Alcedo bengalensis ;
2. A . asiatica ; 3. A . heryllina ; 4. Halcyon smyrnensis;. 5. I I chloris.
The Kingfishers o f the In d ian Region will thus -be observed to form a distinct and well