Report of a Mission to (iiiam. 45 



Genus HALCYON Swains. 



45. Halcyon albicilla Dumont. 



General color above a bright blue ; under surface, whole of 

 head and neck white ; from behind the eye above the ear coverts 

 runs a streak of blue. Length 11, culmen 2.3, wing 4.9, tail 3.1, 

 tarsus .07. Female similar in color. Hab. New Guinea, vSolomon 

 Islands, Louisiades, Saipan ; not on Guam. 



46. Halcyon cinnamominus vSwains. Sehig. 



Dacelo nificeps, Cuv., Gal. du Mus., Less. d'Orn., 1831, p. 247. 



Alcedo nijiceps, Cuv., Pucher, kev. & Mag. Zool., 1853, p. 387. (Mariana.s ; gli'idi china »:i,})iniu 



Swains.) 

 Halcyon cinnamomiiius, Kitisch., Jour. Mus. Godff., 1S76, XII., p. 20; Sharp, Brit. Mus. Cat. B., 



XVII., p. 259. 

 Halcyjn rnfigularis. Sharp, Brit. Mus. Cat., XVII., p. 260. 



These birds are very common near the native ranch houses 

 and the villages. Thej^ are especially noticeable becau.se of the 

 loud and disagreeable noise which they are constantly making, 

 both night and da}'. Thej- are especially abundant near the city of 

 Agaiia, and their noisy kaa-kaa-kaa-kaa frequenth' aroused me 

 from sleep at the unconventional hours of two and three o'clock in 

 the morning. I was informed that Governor L,eary was so ex- 

 asperated by these disturbers of the night that he ordered a squad 

 of native soldiers out to kill off all near the palace, but judging 

 from the noise still to be heard the attempt was not an entire suc- 

 cess. The birds make this noise ju-st as they fly up, seeming 

 to think it an essential part of the proceedings. Even if the dis- 

 tance to fly is only two feet it must be proclaimed by this jangling 

 kaa-kaa, w^hich is almost as unpleasant a sound as the braying of 

 an a.ss. Sehig, as the natives call this bird, has a bad reputation 

 as a chicken thief. I rather doubted his ability' in this line until 

 one da}' I acftualh' saw him attack a brood of small chicks quite 

 near me, and he would have undoubtedly secured one had not the 

 mother hen rushed to the rescue. The chief food of this species 

 seems to be, however, lizards and grasshoppers. I have seen them 

 catch a lizard and then, fl3'ing into a tree, by a dexterous shake of 

 their big bill hammer the victim against the limb of the tree until 

 its life was extinct, after which they would proceed very leisurely 

 to devour it, and then go to sleep. After eating, these birds are 

 very loath to fly, and will allow one to approach within a step or 

 two of them. The breadfruit tree is their favorite resting place. 

 Six specimens were secured, three adult males and three adult 

 females. The adult males have the mantle greenish blue ; rump 

 and upper tail coverts a slight degree lighter than the mantle ; 

 wings bluer than mantle, the quills blackish, more or less blue on 

 the outer webs, the first primary with only a faint trace of bluish ; 



