th o u g h on th e whole well executed, I am sorry th a t I cannot give unqualified praise in some
instances.
Lastly, I have to retu rn my h e a rtfe lt thanks to those subscribers who have favoured me
with th e ir patronage. W ith o u t th e ir assistance it would have been impossible to finish
th e book successfully; and th e encouragement accorded by so many kind friends has
cheered me on th ro u g h a ll th e difficulties o f th e task, which have been fai- greate r than
I ever anticipated. I have no r ig h t to endeavour to disarm criticism, after having undertak
en the production o f so ambitious a w o rk ; h u t I do hope th a t th e errors o f th e present
monograph, which, o f course, is n o t by any means perfect, may be viewed with a lenient e y e ;
for it must be remembered th a t an a u th o r who commences so large an u n d e rtak in g a t the
age o f seventeen, and who as h e pens these last words has not a ttained to the age o f twenty-
three , cannot have lived long enough to have digested a ll th e mass o f lite ra tu re which would
be ar u pon th e subject, and is therefore en titled to some slight consideration. But I believe
th a t th e facts stated in th is book may b e depended u p o n ; for in every instance where an
assertion has appeared dou b tfu l I have been careful n o t to state it, leaving it to future
investigation to prove or disprove th e coiTectness o f th e original statement. Finally, a short
“ H isto ry o f the W o rk ” may be o f use to students who desii-e to know the date o f publication
o f any o f th e species.
Dates o f Publication.
P art I ., J u ly 1st, 1868, contained figures and descriptions o f Candonax fu lg id u s , Card-
neutes pulchellus. Halcyon pilea ta , H. dryas, Ceyx cajeli, C. wallacii, Ceryle alcyon, C.
P art I I ., October 1st, 1868, contained figures and descriptions of Cittura sanghirends,
C. cyanotis, Ceyx lepida, C. solitaria, C. tridactyla (Vosm.), C. melanura, Carcineutes
melanops, Ceryle cabanisi.
After this p a rt was published i t was discovered th a t C. tridactyla (Vosm.) was n o t th e tm e
C. tridactyla (Pallas) ; and th e name was corrected in the succeeding P a rt.
PiVRT I I I ., J an u a ry 1st, 1869, contained figm’es and descriptions o f Dacelo gaudicliaudi
and D. tyro, Tanysiptera nympha. Halcyon badia, Syma torotoro and S. flavirostris, Ceyx
tn d a c ty la and C. philippinensis.
T he species figured, as above mentioned, in P a r t I I I . as C. ti'idactyla n o t being th e tru e
C. tridactyla, b u t C. rufidorsa, letterpress to accompany the Plate is now given, and with the
la s t P a r t a slip o f p ap er is published to paste over th e name o f C. tridactyla published in
P a r t I I I . ; and th en all will be correct.
P art IV., Ap ril 1st, 1869, contained figures and descriptions o f Melidora macrorhina,
Halcyon senegaloides, Isjn d in a madagascarienm, I . leucogastra, I .p i c ta , Ceyx uropygialis,
Alcyone cyanopectus, Ceryle inda.
P art V., J u ly 1st, 1869, contained figures and descriptions o f Ceryle amazonia, Alcedo
heryllina, A . semitorquata, Corythornis vintsioides, Ceycopsis fa lla x , Ispidina ruficeps, Halcyon
orientalis, 11. cyanoleuca.
P art V I., October 6th, 1869, contained descriptions o f th e following:— Ceryle guttata.
G. lugubris, C. maxima, C. sharpei, Alcyone pu silla , Corythornis cn sta ta , C. cceruleocephala,
Ispidina natalensis, Tanysiptera sylvia. Plates were given o f all, except C. lugubns, of
which a figure was not deemed necessary.
P art V II., Jan u ary 1st, 1870, contained descriptions and figures of Ceryle torquata,
Alcedo grandis, Alcyone pulchra, Halcyon cyanoventris, H . albiventris, H senegalensis, H
malimbica, Dacelo leachi.
P art V I I I., April 1st, 1870, contained figures and descriptions o f Pelargopsis amauroptera,
P . leucocephala, P . gouldi, P. burmanica, P.fioresiana, Ceyx sharpii, Dacelo cervina, D.
occidentalis.
P art IX ., Ju ly 1st, 1870, contained figures and descriptions o f Pelargopsis melanorhyncha,
Alcedo euryzona, A . bengalensis, I I. coromanda, II. gularis, I I. erythrogaster, H . lazuli,
Tanysipt&'a hydrocharis.
P arts X. X I ., October 1st, 1870, contained figures and descriptions o f Alcedo moluccensis,
A . asiatica, Alcyone azurea, Ceryle americana, Ceyx dillwynni. Halcyon smymeiisis,
H . diops, H. macleayi, H. nigro-cyanea, I I. concreta, H pyrrhopygia, I I. sordida, H. cinnamomina,
Monachalcyon monachus, Tanysiptera margaretha, Dacelo gigas.
P.4RT X I I ., November 1st, 1870, contained descriptions o i Alcyone diemensis, Ceryle stellata,
Pelargopsis gurial. Halcyon semic(xrulea, H. chloris, H. sancta, H. fo rs te n i, Todirhamphus
recurvirostris, Tanysipto'a doris, T. acis. O f all o f these, figures were given, except o f
Alcyone diemensis and Ceryle stellata.
P art X I I I . , December 1st, 1870, contained descriptions and figrmes o f Alcedo ispida,
A. quadribrachys, Halcyon chelicutensis, H. australasice, H. funebris, H. sacra, Todirhamphus
veneratus, T. tutus.
P arts X IV . & XV ., Jan u ary 1st, 1871. These p a iis contain descriptions o f Ceryle rudis,
Alcyone a fin is, A . lessoni, Pelargopsis fra se r i, P . malaecensis, Isp id in a lecontei. Halcyon
lindsaiji, H. hombroni, H. albicilla, I I . vagans, H . jidice, II. leucopygia, Tanysiptera nais,
T. galatea, T. sabincB, T. emilia;, T. ellioti, T. riedeli, all o f w hich are figured except Pelargopsis
malaecensis. This concluding number also contains the chapter on Anatomy, In tro duction,
Titlepage, &c.
CLASSIFICATION.
The Kingfishers form a very n atu ral family o f th e great Picaiian order, arrd a re alike
remarkable for theii- brillian t coloration and for th e variety o f curious and aberrant forms
which are included among th eir number. The general characteristics o f the family cannot,
I th in k , be b e tte r stated tiran in the words o f Mr. A. R. AA^'allace, who, in his admirable
essay on “ a Natu ral Arrangement o f B ird s ” (Atm. Nat. Hist. 1856, vol. xviii. p. 193), thus
spealis o f the Fissirostres, to which ai-tificial group the Kingfishers b e lo n g :—
“ The external-characters which distinguish these birds are, very short and weak legs,
long, or a t all events powerful wings, and a \ride gape. T h e ir characteristic h ab it is to sit