HALCYON. 369 



this is removed they are usually found to be almost lustreless. A set of six taken by Mr. Boyd, 

 on the i8th November, 1893, measure as follows: — Length (A) i x 0-82 inches; (B) i x o-8i 

 inches; (C) i'02 x o'85 inches; (D) i-o2 x 0-85 inches; (E) i-oi x 0-85 inches; (F) 0-98 x 

 0-83 inches. A set of five I saw Mr. George Savidge take at Copmanhurst, on the gth November, 

 1898, measure: — Length (A) 0-98 x 0-82 inches; (B) 0-98 x o-86 inches; (C) 0-98 x 0-85 

 inches; (D) 0-96 x 0-83 inches; (E) 0-97 x 0-85 inches. 



During many years observations by Mr. J. A. Boyd, while resident at Ripple Creelc, September 

 and the three following months constituted the usual breeding season of this species. The 

 greater number of fresh eggs, however, was found in November. An early record of their 

 breeding, was when he saw adults feeding young ones on the 3rd September, 1889. On the i8th 

 November, 1893, he took three sets of eggs, two of four, and one of six eggs. Two days after 

 he took another set of four, the latest record of his finding eggs of this species. In New South 

 Wales, as noted by Mr. Savidge, this species breeds twice during the season, and I have 

 received sets of these eErgs from the Tweed and Clarence Rivers taken in October and December. 



Halcyon pyrrhopygius. 



RED-BACKED KIXGFISHEK. 

 Halcyon pyrrlwp)j(iia, Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc, 1840, p. 113; i(^., Bds. Austr.,fol. Vol. II., pi. 22 (1848). 

 Todirhamphus pyrrhopygius, Gould, Handbk. Bds. Austr., Vol. I., p. 130 (186.")). 

 Halcyon pyrrhapygius, Sharpe, Cat. Bds. Brit. Mas., Vol. XVII., p. 258 (1892); id., Hand-1. Bds., 

 Vol. II., p. 59 (1900). 



Adult male — Crown of the head ivhite, broadly streaked irith dull green; a line extending from 

 the nostrils over each eye and the occiput white; feathers in front of the eye blackish ; ear-coverts and 

 a band around the hind neck black; mantle dull green ; inner scapulars white streaked with dull green 

 at the tips ; wings greenish-blue, of a clearer blue on the greater wing-coverts and outer secondaries ; 

 back, rump and upper tail-coverts orange-rufous : tail greenish-blue, the outermost feather on either 

 side whitish, and washed with blue on the inner web ; a broad collar on the lower portion of the 

 hind neck and all the under surface white ; bill blackish, the basal half of the loiver mandible Jiesh- 

 colour ; legs and feet greyish-black ; iris black. Total length in the flesh 8-8 inches, wing ^, tail '2'8, 

 bill I'o, tarsus 0-62. 



Adult female — Resembles the m.ale, but is duller in plumage on the upper parts, the streaks on 

 the crown of the head are of a dull greenish-black ; the mantle has a distinct dusky wash, and the 

 wings are of a far less brilliant blue. 



Distribution — North-western x\ustralia. Northern Territory of South Australia, Queensland, 

 New South Wales, \'ictoria. South Australia, Central Australia, Western Australia. 

 r |(^HERE are few birds more generally distributed over the inland portion of the Australian 

 -L continent than the Red-backed Kingfisher. Nowhere, however, does it appear to be 

 stationary, and it is strictly a spring and summer visitant to the Central and Western Districts 

 of New South Wales. Although so generally distributed, it is by no means so common as 

 the preceding species, and, unlike the Sacred Kingfisher, it is often found frequenting the 

 most arid situations, and far removed from permanent water. In New South Wales it is chiefly 

 confined to the drier portions of the State, and I have never met with it in the coastal districts 

 or anywhere on the eastern side of the Blue Mountains. During a period of drought inland Mr. 

 George Savidge forwarded me a specimen for examination he had obtained at Copmanhurst, 

 on the Upper Clarence River, about eighty miles from the coast. He informed me it was 

 the only example he had seen in the district, and when he shot the bird it was perching on a 



