| S / E S S a ‘Kfr7^^^^^
“ b S ; “ E | . t / S ; “ ' " ¿ " 7 « . , ! - - . — . m S k
Young male. S to il.w to th e y oung female, b u t bas th e whole o f th e external ertoe of
th e mng-coTe rts an d quiUs profusely spotted with good-size spots o f white • u ld e r w b i l
coverts as m th e y oung female, as also the breast-bSrd which, "h ow e v e r/ mole cll t t o X
tm g e d w ith rufo u s m the centre, remaining g rey on each side. «istmctij
( S u f r h r Y l Y ' f r G a a W l „ . t a P . i „ ( Z e y f a t o , „ „ , . ,
Costa IWa (Carmml): Veraga. p „ (McLeannan), os.ro (A r c i) , a a ,. . a .„ .. „ a r „ „ a = (M io h J ).
New Gianada ( i m . S .B .S ) . Ecuador, (Fraser). Trinidad (Leolaud). Guiana:
r™ i n ^ f <=--• (S» e,e ,g , mus. Cantabr.), e .,en „
(sVus. B .B .S ) . Amazonia, . .a ( Wallace), a „ „ a. a. Xis,o, a .* . (KaUerer), L .
Godm.) mat. ( Wucherer), s.piua., n w „t T.o„a.n c „ ru t., a t. a„ a „ „ ,a o . r „ „ . s . a
Insanga (JMatterer), uovo Priboargo, Congonhas {Burmeister). P a ran a {Burmeister).
b o th Mxes a t d ifferent ages, and I fu rth e r find th a t th e age o f th e bird can p re tty coiTCctlv
be detenm n ed b y an examination o f the u n d e r tail-coverts. The old female has the u nde r
wing an d tmlmoverts rich chesnut lik e the body, and the y o u n g female onlv d.ffcrl i l
ffid’ to n a to ™io«S- The y o u n g male resembles the
old f em / e , and as th e bn-d advances m age, th e band on the breast disappears bv beimr
in te rru p te d in th e c a itre , and th e u n d e r wing-coverts become white, while the feathers oS
th e lower p a rt o f th e ab tom en and u n d e r tail-coverts also become white, th e rufous tinve
g rad u a lly to s a p p e /in g , a n / finally, th e white u n d e r tail-coverts become barred with s l a t /
l i, ¥ ®/™®i®r » v e ry old bird, and i t is seldom th a t one is seen wito
th e ba rs fully developed a ll over the tail-coverts.
Mr. Osbert Salvin has v e ry k in d to supplied me with th e following observations on
th e p re sen t bird, as observed b y him in Guatemala:— 'dwo n s on
. “ Ceryle tomuato c annot be caUed a common species in Guatemala, as its ranve seems
s tric tly confined to the s t r /m s o f th e wa rmer portions o f n o rth e rn Vera Paz, P? ten and
th e adjommg co u n ty o f British Honduras. No p a rt o f the former d epariment is so
th o ro u g h ly ransacked for b irds as th e forests su rro u n d in g the In d ia n v i l l a / o f CIioctimT
b u t I n / e r recMlect havmg seen a skin amongst th e thousands I have e.xa£ined from th a t
p a rt I t was, however, in th is neighbourhood th a t I firs t heard o f th e bird, r e c o / i z i /
th e d escription given me o f a ^ c a t ‘ Martin Pescador ’ th a t had been seen near Choctum
as a p p lm ab le to th is species. On th e 14th o f March, 1862, when trav e llin g t o p l t a 1
obtained my firs t specimen w h ilst s tay in g for a day a t th e village of Lannuin f h i i
village IS s itu a ted ab o u t 1,200 feet above the sea evel. Dnring“ my j o m l / L ' n to?
Belize River, after leaving P etcn , I saw a numlier o f th is Kmgfisher every day. Them
favorite sta tion, wben watching for fish o r resting, is an old snag o r branch o f a tree half
submern-ed in the water. From th is, as o u r canoe approached, th ey would rise, and take a
fiiirht o f two or tliree h undred yards down the river, and then a lig h t again. As we passed
down th re e o r four birds would th u s fly before us, till they, n o t lik in g to be driv en furtiier
from th eir accustomed hau n ts, would suddenly tu rn and d a rt past us a t full speed, l l i e
steep clay banks o f the river were pierced in many places w ith th e holes in which their
nests are placed.” . m, • i. i
“ The range o f Ceryle torquata in Central America is extensive, i h e collection brought
by Mr. Le Strange from Mexico contains th re e examples. Southward o f Guatemala
specimens have been collected by Carmiol in Costa Rica, and I have seen a specimen froni
the Mosquito territo ry . McLeannan has forwarded specimens from Panama and Aree
others from Chepo, on th e River Bayano.”
The following in terestin g note has been kin d ly forwarded by Mr. Edivard B a r tle tt:—
“ The Ceryle torquata is th e commonest o f a ll Kingfishers on th e Amazons and its
trib u ta rie s, and is seen in colonies about th e steep clay banks. I found th is b ird wherever
I went, a t the mouth o f th e .Amazons, and also a t th e h ighest points reached b y me on^tlie
Maranon, Ucayali, and Huallaga Rivers. I t breeds in company w ith C. amazonia. The
nest, however, is placed v ery much deeper in the bank th an in the case of the last-named
b ird ’ th e hole being from four to s ix feet in depth, with a chamber a t tb e end sufficiently
laro-e for the young when nearly full grown. The eggs are p u re white, four in num ber.”
* In the collection formed by Lieut, iilichler during the survey o f th e Isthm u s o f Darien,
Mr. Cassin informs us, were “ numerous specimens, exclusively adults in fine plumage,”
and Mr. C. J . Wood, who accompanied th e expedition, remarks th a t th is Kingfisher was
“ very abundant in th e immense swamps on th e A trato and Truando, alig h tin g on the low
trees and u tte rin g a loud shrill note. I t catches small fishes, apparently very easily on
account o f th e ir abundance, and re tu rn s to tb e tre e .”
Prin ce Maximilian gives th e foUowing details respecting th e p resen t species :—
“ We found these birds most abu n d an t on the shores of the beautiful and interestin g
Parahyba, where we found a considerable n um ber w ith in a small area, and p ro cu red them
without difficulty; on o th er rivers, however, we d id n o t see the bird, and therefore lye
often killed none for a long time. They are larg e handsome birds, and have th e habits
o f our German Kinofisher. T h ey sit on boughs over th e w ater and move th e tail, also
sometimes raising th e feathers of th e crown. Their food consists o f fishes, th e remains of
which are found in th e ir stom ach s; they dive quickly a fte r these. I have never found
lizards in th e ir stomachs, b u t i t is possible so powerful and g reed y a b ird catches these a t
times. I have only found th e n est once. I t was over 1,000 paces from the shore of the
Rio da Aldea Belha, in a h ig h clay side o f a m ountain, whither we saw the birds fly hig h
and swiftly with fish in th e ir bills. As I saw th em creep in th e g round, the place was
climbed to, and I found a deep c ircular hole in th e clay soU in which we jiut reeds, and
soon felt the young bfrds b itin g a t th em and we could draw them o u t to some distance, b u t
still n o t q uite to th e entrance. The Brazilians tell me th a t th is species laj^s two white eggs.
Thev g enerally n e st like our Eu ropean Kingfisher, and o th er allied species in a smooth round
hole’five o r six feet deep, in th e bank directly over the water. The young a re very vora.
cions, and therefore immediately fastened on to o u r_ rods with gi-eedy cries.”
The figures in the p late are from specimens in ray own collection, th e female from
ayenne, the male from Bahia. I t will be observed th a t the u n d e r tail-coverts being white
idicate a moderately old bird, tbe tinge o f rufous being th e last nioueraieij UIU UIXU,H-IC ux xwivjuo tire.-mou remains vo/jf. t..hxiea. young
plumage. The description and measurements a re also from specimens in my collection,
th a t of the old female being th e Cayenne specimen figured in th e plate, while th a t o f the
ad u lt male is tak en from a fine skin from Bahia.