HALCYON FUSGA.

Indian King‘isher.

Martin-pécheur de la céte de M alabar, Buff. Pl. Enl., 894.

Alcedo fusca, Bodd. Tabl. Pl. Eni., p. 61: €.. 894.

ao smyrnensis var. y, Gmel. edit. Linn. Syst. Nat., tom. i. p. 457.—Lath. Ind. Orn., vol. i. p. 248.—Vieill.
Encyc. Méth. part i. p. 286, var. a.

Dacelo smyrnensis, Less. Traité d’Orn., p. 246.—Sykes, Proc. of Comm. of Sci. and Corr. of Zool. Soc., part ii.

p- 84.—M'Clell. in Proc. of Zool. Soc., part vii. p. 156.—Jerd. Madras Journ. Lit. and Sci. 1840,
p- 230.— Pears. Journ. Asiat. Soc. Beng. 1841, p. 633.—Gray, Cat. of Spec. and Draw. of Mamm.
and Birds presented to Brit. Mus. by B. H. Hodgson, Esq., p. 47.

Halcyon fusca, Gray and Mitch. Gen. of Birds, vol. i. p. 79, Halcyon, sp. 12.—Gray, List of Birds in Coll. Brit.
Mus., part il. p. 55.—Bonap. Consp. Gen. Av., p. 155, Halcyon, sp. 23.—Cass. Cat. of Hale. in Coll.

Acad. Sci. Philad., p. 8. sp. 3.—Horsf. and Moore, Cat. of Birds in Mus. E. I. Comp., vol. i. p. 125.
Entomothera fusca, Reich. Handb., i. p. 12. 32. t. 404. 3088-89.

Alcedo erythrorhyncha, Licht. in Mus. Berol.

Entomobia fusca, Cab. Mus. Hein., Theil ii. p. 155.

Halcyon Smyrnensis, Blyth, Cat. of Birds in Mus. Asiat. Soc. Calcutta, p. 47.—Layard in Ann. and Mag. Nat.
Hist., vol. xii, 2nd ser. p. 172.—Burgess in Proc. of Zool. Soc., part xxiii. p. 28.

Kilkila of the Hindoos, Jerdon.

Sada-bak Match-ranga of the Bengalese, Blyth, and Dr. F. B. Hamilton.

Matsya-ranga, in Sanscrit, Wilson.

Calavy Cooroovt, Mal. ; lit. Large-mouthed Bird Layard.

 

Some ornithologists are of opinion that the Ha/cyon of Asia Minor is specifically distinct from the one figured
on the accompanying Plate, which is so very generally distributed over the whole of India that it has had
the trivial name of the Indian Kingfisher bestowed upon it. Now the only differences which I am able to
detect between it and the Smyrna bird, are a slight variation in size and in brilliancy of colouring, the Indian
species being somewhat smaller and more intense and beautiful in colour.

The Halcyon fusca is found in all parts of the Indian Peninsula, Assam, Aracan, Tenasserim, and Ceylon ;
and I have also seen specimens from Siam.

Captain Burgess informs us that ‘this Kingfisher is one of the most common of its tribe in the Deccan,
frequenting almost every stream and nullah. It breeds during the month of May, in holes of the banks of
rivers, laying as many as seven eggs, of a beautiful pinky tinge, owing to the colour of the yelk showing
through the thin delicate shell.”

“This,” says Mr. Jerdon, “is the most common and generally spread of the Indian Kingfishers, fre-
quenting not only the rivers and brooks, tanks, wells, and wet paddy-fields, but also dry cultivated ground,
eroves, old walls, and many other similar situations. It preys upon small fish (which it pursues below
the surface), frogs, tadpoles, and various water insects ; also on small lizards, grasshoppers, and various
other large insects. It has a very loud, harsh, rattling scream, generally uttered during flight. Is said to
breed in holes on the banks of rivers.”

Mr. Layard states that in Ceylon this bird is “ very common and widely distributed, feeding indiscri-
minately on fresh- or salt-water fish, crabs, beetles, and butterflies. I have seen them capture these last in
the manner of Flycatchers (Wuscicapide), darting from a sprig, and seizing them in the - their mandibles
closing with a snap, audible at the distance of some yards. One, which was unluckily introduced into an
aviary, destroyed most of the lesser captives ere he was detected as the culprit ; we ee at last caught in
the act of seizing a small bird in his powerful bill; he beat it for a moment against his perch, and then
swallowed it whole. The nest of this species 1s found in decaying trees ; the parent bird deposits two
white eggs (axis 15 lines, diam. 13 lines), beautifully smooth and shining. I have procured eggs in the
north of the island in Deceméer, in the south in April.”

Head, cheeks, sides and back of the neck, edges of the shoulders, under coverts of the wing, flanks,
tail-coverts and thighs dark chestnut-brown ; centre of the back and scapularies dull
lower part of the back and upper tail-coverts fine verditer blue; greater
green ; spurious wing green ; basal portion of the

abdomen, vent, under
green washed with verditer blue ;
wing-coverts black, the lowermost row tipped with deep oe
outer webs of the primaries pale green, passing into deeper green, basal portion of their inner webs white ;
the apical half of both webs deep black ; secondaries bluish green on their external webs, black on the

: : . : ; ac neath: chin, throat, and centre of the
inner; tail deep green, glossed with blue above, brownish black beneath; chin, thr

breast white; irides hazel; bill, legs, and feet deep orange-red. oe
The Plate is intended to represent both sexes of the size of life; it will be seen, therefore, that they do

: : ; See tees eee AEM unosa.
not differ in their colouring. The climbing plant 1s the Otostemma lac