HALCYON NIGROCYAN EA, Wallace.

Black and Blue Kingfisher.

Halcyon ngrocyanea, Wallace, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1862, p. 165, pl. xix.—Gray, Hand-list of Birds, i p. 93 (1869)
7 2 > ¢ Pk > he . c oe cae

phampe, Monogr. Alced. p. 201, pl. 75 (187 0).—Beccari, Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov. vii. p- 708 (1875).
Dacelo nigrocyanea, Schlegel, Nederl. Tydschr. Dierk. iii. p- 250 (1865)
Cyanalcyon nigrocyanea, Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov. x. p. 127 (1877).—Id. op. cit. p. 305 (1877)

 

Tue present species is the finest of the little group of Kingfishers to which the generic title of Cyanalcyon
has been applied, and which includes Halcyon macleayi of Australia, Halcyon diops of the Moluccas, HZ. lazuli
of Ceram and Amboina, HZ. /eucopygia of the Solomon Islands, and lastly the beautiful species from the
Fly River, H. stectolema, which I figure in the present part. I do not wish to deny for a moment that the
little group above enumerated does not constitute a distinct genus or, rather, subgenus; but for the sake of
uniformity I keep the species in the genus Halcyon, in which the allied species have been included in all
my former works.

Mr. Wallace originally discovered the subject of these remarks in North-western New Guinea, but only
managed to procure a single hen bird, which was figured in the ‘ Proceedings’ of the Zoological Society,
and, again, in Mr. Sharpe’s ‘ Monograph of the dcedinide.’ The latter work contained a representation also
of the male sex, which had been collected by Von Rosenberg at Andei, and was in the Museum at Leiden.
Since the year 1870 more examples have been procured by the travellers to New Guinea; and Count
Salvadori enumerates fourteen specimens as belonging to the Civic Museum at Genoa or examined by him
during bis study of the Papuan Kingfishers. The localities given by him are Dorei (Bruzjn), Andei (Von
Rosenberg, D’ Albertis, Bruijn), Warbusi (Beccari), Sorong (Bernstein, Bruijn), Batanta (Beccari, Bruyn).
These localities are all situated on the mainland of North-western New Guinea, or are islands closely adjacent
to the N.W. peninsula. Beccari found it nowhere common ; but beyond this we know nothing of its habits ;
these, however, without doubt are similar to those of other species of the genus Haleyon.

The following descriptions are taken from Mr. Bowdler Sharpe’s Monograph of the Kingfishers —

« 4ddult male. Head intense ultramarine, brighter on the sides, a line of brilliant ultramarine commencing -
at the back of each eye and encircling the nape 5 middle of the back and scapulars deep velvety black, a
blue lustre being apparent here and there on the latter; w
more brilliant, inclining to cobalt ; quills black, the outer web washed with deep ultra-
and rump brilliant cobalt ; upper tail-coverts deep ultramarine ; tail

ing-coverts deep ultramarine, the innermost

greater coverts
marine ; lower portion of the back .
cheeks and ear-coverts jet black ; chin dusky black ; throat and a

ep ultramarine above, black beneath,
‘ Fd rest of the under surface of the body deep ultramarine,

narrow band across the centre of the breast white ;

becoming black on the sides of the body and lower a ret oe eee
; 8:5 inches, culmen 1:9, wing 3:5, tail 2°8, tarsus 0°5.

Entire under surface white, with the exception of a broad

bdomen; under wing-coverts black ; bill black, yellow

at the extreme base; feet black. Total length

‘ falic y S j the male.

6c Adult emale. Upper surface as 1n a a 2 a . ;

t ] ee of deep ultramarine ; sides of the body black ; under wing-Ccovel ts black 3 some white 5 bill
pec ora na C c e 9 -

black, with more yellow on the under mandible than the male. Total length 9 inches, culmen 1-9, wing 3°6,
ack, j
tail 2°8, tarsus 0°5.”

The specimens figured in th
and female of the natural size.

* y
moan -e in mv own collection. They represent the male
e accompanying Plate are im my 0 y rey