o f th e dete rmination is o f little moment we i'isto A . bengalensis, and as the question
synonyms. moment, we have expunged Ch-aaila aithis from o ur lis t of
appe “ t o t l n \ L “ l r B r u S r M X ^ n d ' ' ^ -
ch arac te r on which to found s n X & X t i n ) 7 n ’ 7 7 " “ PO”'" “ “ *°
separated th e bu-d from E a l X E n r o t a s t d ^ t o Heichenbach has
upon th e specific v ah d ity o f A le ed ip a lla sS — ‘ »“■'“ ’o“ ®'“ o f Ormthologists to pronounce
lin e X e " { “ " “» “ 0»
th e sh a rp ly defined white thi’oat nnd Ivfs former by
on th e riv e rs o f th e A lta i and Jenes^ei aud in f h ^ w i T fW
p robably does n o t breed w ith ns. I f I l o X « i L X f X e h m T ,
r .i7 ; r = .7 t s r . ; f 7 s^^^^
s - * v > a ! M a £ » i i r . ; “ £ £ . ; “ £ • t f i s s - j r
As regai-ds its d istrib u tio n th ro u g h o u t the B ritish Islands Mr A C Afty,.« • ui
= s £ ^ S i i ; t S r h S S
A y r, occasionally in Lanark, reg u la rly in nearly all the counties o f sub province 28 (see
his map, Ibis, 186.% p. 138), reg u la rly in Stirlin g and Clackmannan, and perhaps everv y ear
in Pe rth sh ire , where it is v ery rare .”
Mr. Thompson writes respecting its distrib u tio n in Ire lan d as follows (Nat. Hist, of
Irelan d , vol. I. p. 3 6 9 ):—“ I t is nowhere numerous; as many individuals, however, would
seem to be distrib u ted over d istricts favourable for th e ir abode in Ire lan d as in any o th er
country. There is decidedly a p a rtial m igration o r movement o f these birds. They came
reg u la rly every y e a r ab o u t the same time in th e month o f A u g u s t to ponds a t o u r own
residence in the country, contiguous to the mountains, and elevated 500 feet above the sea.
They remained g enerally for about six weeks, and once only were seen in winter. Their
first appearance in th e year 1831 was on the 4 th A u g u s t; in 1833 on th e 14th; in 1834 on
th e 1 4 th ; and in 1835 on th e 17th o f th at m onth.”
Our friend M. Ju le s V e rreau x teUs us tb a t in France i t is g enerally d istrib u ted and
breeds everywhere, b u t is now becoming ra re in some d istricts oaring to tbe superstition of
tbe peasants, who shoot and mummify the b ird, believing th a t when h u n g up with extended
wings th e beak will always po in t to the q u a rte r from which th e wind blows.
Bailly says th a t i t is resid en t in Switzerland and Savoy, b u t tb a t i t is more numerous
in th e summer, a partial migi-ation tak in g place in w inter.
L o rd Lilford and Mr. Howard Saunders have bo th noticed th e species in Spain, and
Mr. A. C. Smith records i t as “ common in PortugaJ.” In Sardinia i t is also common
according to Count Salvadori, and in Tuscany is a resid en t as i*ecorded by Sari. I n the
lately-published book on tb e “ B irds o f L ombardy ” by Signor E . Bettolìi, a figure o f the
y oung bird is given and we are informed th a t i t breeds in th is country.
Mr. C. A. W rig h t (Ibis, 1864, p. 73) says th a t in Malta th e Common Kmgfisher,
which is called by the Maltese Ghasfur ta S a n Martin, is “ an annual ris ito r ; g enerally seen
a,bout the sea-shore in paii’s. Arrives in Au g u st and September, and occasionally observed
in tbe -vrinter months. One was killed on the 14th March, 1862. Said to breed here
sometimes.”
In Tangiers and E a ste rn Morocco, Mr. C. F. Tyi-whitt Drake (Ib is , 1867, p. 425)
found tbe Kingfisher “ common and breeding.” Both Malherbe and Locbe record it as
common in Algeria, b u t do n o t sta te if i t breeds, th o u g h no d oubt i t does so.
To Egy])t we believe it certainly extends, as Capt. Shelley obtained specimens which
ar to u s to belong to this species, b u t a t tbe same time Alcedo bengalensis also occurs.
Mr. E. C. Taylor, an excellent Field Natu ralist, UTiting o 1 .A■ .Ì■ ■■' a, states 1 8 5 9 ,p. 47)
th a t he “ saw this b ird once only near Atfeh, a place wh
N ile ;” and again (Ib is, 1867, p. 56) h e u r i t e s :— “ By no m eans a common bird. I saw i t more
frequently near Cairo th an anywhere else.” Now we th in k i t v e ry probable th a t the last-named
bird s observed by Mr. Taylor were Alcedo hengalensis, for as observed in the account o f this
species {vide in fra ) Mr. J . Keast Lord obtained a t Shoobra, near Cairo, a specimen of
A . hengalensis with tbe longest bill we ever saw. Messrs. Eato n and Baird have lately
b ro u g h t th e little Indian Kingfisher from Egjqit, b u t om* friend Captain Shelley, who
specially devoted some time to th e investigation o f th e subject, b ro u g h t back several
specimens, all o f which, however, apparently belong to the Common Kingfisher. I t Avill,
therefore, be evident to Ornithologists th a t the reason o f th e occurrence o f b oth species o f
Alcedo in Egypt is veiled in much obscurity. F o r our p art, we caironly account for th e fact
o f one N a tu ra list meeting with one species while an o th er equally meets with th e other, by
the supposition th a t in E g y p t the ranges o f bo th species inosculate, and fu rth e r, th a t th e ir
occurrence is u ncertain, each b ird b eing more common in th a t co untry one yeai- th an another.
The Rev. Dr. T ris tram gives (Ib is, 1866, p. 84) the follo-wing p a rticu la rs respecting
its d istrib u tio n in P a les tin e:— '■'Alcedo isjnda is scattered everywhere tlmoughout th e c o untry
wherever th e re are streams, and also along the Mediterranean coasts; b u t i t is nowhere
very abundant, though evidently unaifected by climate, fishing indifferently in the little
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