( 361 ) 



14. Alcedo ispida snbsp. 



1 ? jun., 4. V. 1908. (No. 4150, Mixkira.) 



This specimen agrees with oiir three from Treasury Island and the one from 

 Duke of York Island. They are sliiijhtly bluer than A. i. hispidoides, but not 

 nearly as bine as A. i. solomonensis. (Of. Nov. Zool. 1905, p. 255.) 



15. Halcyon saurophaga Gould. 



Cf. Nov. Zool. 1905, p. 257. 



1 ¥ ad., 24. iv. 1908. (No. 4059, Yanuta) 



IB. Halcyon perplexa form. nov. 



This new form is of great interest, owing to its small size, for it thus stands 

 intermediate between //. tristrami and //. .mnctus, having the wing hardly 

 at all longer than that of the latter. As we find three closely allied species 

 (viz. H. iri.sframi, sanctus, and solomonis) occurring in the Solomon Islands, it is 

 ratlier difficult to assign this new form as a subspecies to its proper species. We 

 therefore, against our usual custom, name it binomialiy, awaiting further evidence 

 before deciding as to its true position. Unfortunately none of our six specimens is 

 absolutely adult, the type specimen even showing traces of black margins to the 

 feathers on the chest. 



c? fere adult. Dififers from //. tri.'itranu alberti by its brighter blue crown 

 and mantle and paler blue rump. There is no trace of the pale occipital patch, so 

 conspicuous in //. t. rdberti. The underside appears never to be uniform cinnamon, 

 but white with cinnamon flanks and an iiiconii)lete cinnamon band across the chest. 

 The wing is considerably shorter, while the bill is almost of the same size as in 

 //. t. alberti. The ear-coverts of the more adult birds are strongly washed with 

 blue, while in H. t. alberti they are black. It differs from .sanctus by its much 

 broader liill, and by the distinctly blue (not greenish) colour of the upperside, and 

 the very dark blue tail. It also differs from H. t. alberti by having a narrow 

 superciliary line. Wings 90—94, tail 62 — 67, cnlmen 45'0 — 49 mm. 



Type : No. 4007, c? fere ad., Yannta, San Christoval, 20. iv. 1908. 



Mr. Meek sent the following specimens : 



2 (?c? fere ad., 2 S6 jnv.,"'2 ? ? juv. (Nos. 4007, 4012, 4048, 4954, 4055, 

 4061.) "Iris dark brown ;^ liill black, lower mandible with base white; feet 

 brown and fawn-colour." 



17. Halcyon solomonis Rams. 



JJalcyoH solomonis Ramsay, Prnc. Liiiii. Si«\ A'. .S. )|'. vi. p. 8)3 (1882 — Solomon Islands). 



1 ¥ fere ad., Yanuta, 24. iv. 1908. (No. 4060.) " Iris dark brown ; feet grey ; 

 bill black, base of lower mandible whitish." 



As we are not yet quite decided as to the exact relationship of Halcyon chloris 

 and H. sordidus, we have also retained this form under a binomial appellation, 

 though we are almost certain that all the chloris-sordidus group are subspecies of 

 one single species. 



18. Eudynamis orientalis alberti Rothsch. & Hart. 

 Cf. Nov. Zool. 1907, p. 440 (Gizo and Choiseul). 



1 ¥ ad., 1 S juv. (Nos. 4036, 4067, Yanutn.) 



