CARCINEUTES MELANOPS.
Black-faced Kingfisher.

Halcyon melanops, Bonap. Consp. Gen. Av. i. p. 154 (1850, ex Temm. MS. in Mus. Lugd.).—Cass. Cat. Halcyo-
nide Philad. Mus. p. 7 (1852).—Gray, Hand-l. B. i. p. 94, no. 1138.

Lacedo melanops, Reichenbach, Handb. Alced. p. 42 (1851).—Bp. Consp. Vol. Anis. p. 9 (1854).—Salvad. Ucc.
Born. p. 104 (1874).

Carcineutes melanops, Cab. & Heine, Mus. Hein. Th. ii. p. 163, note ( 1860).—Sharpe, Monogr. Alced. pl. 97.—
Id. Ibis, 1879, p. 249.

Dacelo melanops, Schl. Mus. Pays-Bas, Alced. p. 21 (1863).—Id. Vog. Nederl. Indié, Alced. pp. 16, 51, pl. 5 (1864).

 

Tuis is the Bornean representative of the common C. pulchellus ; and although it is not so rare in collections
as it was when Mr. Sharpe wrote his work on the Kingfishers, it is still a sufficiently scarce bird. At the
time alluded to, Mr. Sharpe was unable to describe the female bird, and only a single skin, and that one not
fully adult, was known in any museum in this country. Even such ardent collectors as the Marquis Doria
and Dr. Beccari were unable to obtain more than one female bird in the course of their explorations in the
province of Sarawak, while neither of the Messrs. Everett has furnished it as yet from that locality. As
it does not seem to have occurred to Dr. Fischer in Central Borneo, and only once to Schwaner at Banjer-
massing, it may be considered a rare bird even in some parts of Borneo, to which island it appears to be
restricted.

The north-western province of the island is apparently the head quarters of the species, as most of the
recent collections from Lumbidan and Brunei made by Governor Ussher and Mr. Treacher contained one or
more examples. The latter gentleman also procured it on the Lawas river.

Such I believe to be the extent of our knowledge of this handsome Kingfisher, nothing having been
recorded concerning its habits. In plumage it closely resembles the Malaccan Carcineutes pulchellus, from
which it is distinguished at a glance by its black forehead, face, and collar round the hind-neck. It should
be noted that in Mr. Sharpe’s figure the black collar is omitted, though it is duly mentioned in the descrip-
tion. It would appear to be gradually assumed, though when the bird is fully adult it forms a very conspicuous
feature, as will be seen by a reference to my Plate. The female, as might be expected, is so like that of
C. pulchellus that it is almost impossible to distinguish them ; and I fancy that young males of the two birds

must be very similar, as in some of the immature males from Borneo the cheeks are rufous, mottled with

black, as if the bird commenced with a rufous face, and gradually put on the black one of C. melanops.
Having detailed the principal differences between these two nearly allied species, it is unnecessary for me
to give a full description, and I must refer my readers to the Plates of the two birds accompanying the

present articles. : :
The figures in the Plate represent the two sexes of the natural size, and are drawn from specimens in my

own collection.