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15. Alcedo ispida moluccana Less. 

 Two specimens. Cf. Nov. Zool. 1891. p. 529. 



16. Halcyon sordidus colonus Hart. 



Nov. Zool. 1896. p. 244. 



The specimen from Rossel Island is darker than the tj'pe from Egnm, because 

 it is in fresher plnmage. The wing measures .86 mm., bill from nostril 36, tail 

 61 mm. 



It is remarkable that we have not received Halcyon sa^o»?o?i?s]|Rams., which 

 according to Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mas. XVII. p. 280, occnrs on the " Lonisiade 

 Islands." Perhaps the locality of the specimen in the British Museum is wrong. 



1 7. Halcyon sancta Vig. & Horsf. 

 Three specimens. Cf. Nov. Zool. 1898. p. 529. 



18. Tangsiptera rosseliana Tristr. 



Cf. Ibis, 1889. p. 557, and Cat. B. Brit. Mus. XVII. p. 309. 



This beautiful Kingfisher, described from Rossel Island, and apparently not found 

 anywhere else, is not rare there. Mr. Meek sent a beautiful series. The adult male 

 is well described. I.e. I do not, however, find the central rectrices longer than 

 9'6 inches. The oAxiM female does not differ from the male in colour ; but the tail is 

 much shorter, being only about 7 — 7'5 inches in length, and the wing is 6 — 8 mm. 

 shorter. The young bird has the bill blackish, wing-coverts and scapulars edged 

 with brown, rump and upper tail-coverts streaked with black and blue, the breast 

 tinged with rusty bnfi', rectrices mostly blue, but the inner webs of all and both webs 

 of the central pair patched with white. I suppose this is the second plnmage. 



The adult bird has the " iris dark brown, the feet yellowish green, the bill 

 Chinese red." 



19. Geofiroyus aruensis cyanicarpus subsp. nov. 



The males of the Geoffroyus from Rossel Island agree with Geqfroi/iis ai-uensis 

 sudestiensis Vis in the absence of the reddish brown patch on the wing-coverts ; but 

 they differ from both Geoffvoyus aruensis aruensis and G. aruensis sudestiensis in 

 having the whole edge of the wing from the bend to the beginning of the outmost 

 primary blue like the under wing-coverts, instead of light green. The under wing- 

 coverts are of a somewhat darker bine, the sides of the head are distinctly washed 

 with lilac-blue. The green-colour of mantle and underside is darker and less 

 yellowish. The lesser upper wing-coverts are darker, the wing about 5 — 10 mm. 

 longer. The adult female differs from the male in having the whole head brown, 

 the crown strongly washed with bluish green. Tlie wing is about 1 cm. shorter than 



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