( 216 ) 



These specimens agree perfectly with otliers t'rom (Sikkim aud Assam, except 

 that the bill appears to average somewhat larger (?). 



It is strange that Ur. Sharpe, like myself, overlooked Stejueger's name, and 

 that he did not distinguish the two forms, which are ijuite as distinct as many 

 African "species" described by himself and other recent anthors, es{)ecia]ly as he 

 had noticed the differences as long ago as 1809, when he wrote his monograph of 

 the Kingfishers. 



13u. Ceryle rudis iusiguis snbsp. nov. 



Cenjle rarin (ncc Stricklaua 1) Grant, P.Z.S. 1000. p, 487. (-CoauuDu throiiglioul Hainau."— 

 Swiahoe). 



4 (J(J, 4 ? ? lloihow, Fcbrnary and November IWi (No. 82). 



? Lei MnimoD, lo.xii. 1902 (No. 82). 



<J? Katsik, 9. iv. 190.3 (No. 82). 



1 (J, 3 ? ? Tingan, April 1902 (No. 82). 



Finding that the Hainan specimens difl'er from the Indian form in having 

 larger bills (generally about 1 cm. longer), I was obliged to give a new name to 

 them, as above. Type : tJ ad. Hoiliow, 1-i. xi. 19o:{, Tring Musenm, No. 8203. 



The synonymy of these spotted Kingfishers has been confused for about half a 

 century or more ! The name i-ndis {Alcedo rudis Linnaeus, Si/sl.Sat. ed. x. p. 116, 

 1758) was given to specimens from "Persia and Egypt." The name " ludis" was 

 taken from Hassehiuist, who obtained the bird in Egypt, wliile the locality Persia 

 was added from Edwards' work. The " terra typica " of the name " rudis " is 

 therefore Egypt. 



Assuming — for tlie present— that only one form of these Kingfisliers is found 

 in Africa, Swainson's names " biforqmta" (evidently an error for bicincta) and 

 bicincta, which refer to the West African birds, as well as leucoimdas of Brehm 

 (Egypt), are synonyms of radis, and so is Ceryle varia of Strickland. By an 

 oversight the name "car/a" had been used by several anthors for the Indian 

 form, and this has been done universally since 1892, when Dr. Sharpe employed 

 it for the eastern birds. Strickland, however {Ann. &,- Mag. vi., 1840, p. 418), when 

 writing about the various forms confounded under the name of " Alcedo rudis L.," 

 said, "... Aud the Ispida ex albo et nigro varia Brisson (Buff., PI. Enl. 716) forms 

 a third species. This last never having received a specific name, I recommend that 

 it be called varia. It seems to be identical with the Indian species, l)ut of this 

 I am not certain, never having examined a Cape specimen." Now Brisson and 

 Bnffon describe and figure specimens from the Cape of Good Hope, and it is as 

 clear as anything that Strickland named the South African bird " varia.''' The 

 error of Dr. Sharpe probably arose from Strickland's note in the P.Z.S. 1842, 

 where the author transferred his name " varia " to the " Eastern representative 

 of the C. rudis of Europe and Africa" Such sliifting of the meaning of names, 

 however, cannot be accepted, and the Indian bird must therefore be called 



Cenjle rudis leucomelanura Reicheub., 



as lU'ichenbacli (Ihiiidh. .lAvr/. p. 21, Taf. 40'.)n, fig. 34^s, \^;-i\) gave the latter 

 name to the Ceylon bird. 



The Cliinese larger-billed subspecies nut having received a name, I named it 

 Ceryle rudis insignis, as above. 



