BIEDS OF THE ANAMBA ISLANDS. 



25 



tridactylus tridactylus. The deeper shade of the pileum and cervix 

 is not wholly constant, but is easily seen in a series. We have thus 

 in Ceyx tridactylus macrocarus another of the large dark races of 

 birds, of which there are so many on the Andaman and Nicobar 

 Islands. The difference in size, particularly of bill and wing, between 

 this new form and typical Ceyx tridactylus is very evident upon even 

 superficial comparison. Eight specimens of Ceyx tridactylus tridac- 

 tylus from various localities, including the Mergui Archipelago, 

 measure as follows: 



Wing, 53.5-56.5 (average, 55.2) mm.; tail, 19-27 (average, 22.6); 

 exposed culmen, 29.5-33 (average, 31.6); tarsus, 6-8.5 (average, 7.7). 



The United States National Museum series of Ceyx tridactylus 

 macrocarus exhibits the following detailed measurements : 



Measurements of specimens of Ceyx tridactylus macrocarus. 



U.S.N.M. 

 No. 



178557... 



178555.. 

 178556.. 

 178562. . 

 178560.. 

 178559. . 

 178561.. 

 17855S.. 

 1785S3.. 

 178564.. 



Sex. 



Male . . . 



...do.... 

 ...do.... 

 Female. 

 ...do.... 

 ...do.... 

 ...do.... 

 ...do.... 



Locality. 



Date. 



Collector. 



Great Nicobar I., Nico- ; Mar. 15,1901 

 bar Is. 1 



.do Mar. 14,1901 



do Mar. 30,1901 



.do. 

 .do. 

 .do. 

 .do. 

 .do. 

 .do. 

 .do. 



Mar. 12,1901 



Mar. 9, 1901 



Mar. 8, 1901 

 do 



Mar. 11,1901 i do. 



Mar. 7,1901 | do. 



do i do. 



Dr. W.L.Abbott.. 



.do. 

 .do. 

 .do. 

 .do. 

 .do. 

 .do. 



Average. 



mm. 

 8.5 



8 



9.5 

 9.5 

 9.5 



10 

 9 

 9 

 8.5 



9.1 



i Type. 



Two groups which are quite as well characterized as many current 

 genera of Alcedinidae compose at present the single genus Ceyx. 2 

 One of these includes Ceyx tridactylus, the type of Ceyx, together with 

 the majority of the species, and must of course retain the name Ceyx. 

 The other comprises at least Ceyx solitarius Temminck, Ceyx argen- 

 tatus Tweeddale, and Ceyx cyanopectus Lafresnaye, with possibly 

 some further forms among those that I have not been able to ex- 

 amine, and should stand as Therosa Bonaparte, 3 since Ceycis Gloger, 4 

 if not a nomen nudum, is a synonym of Ceyx. This group Tltcrosa 

 differs strikingly from Ceyx in the much more slender, more com- 

 pressed bill, the outlines of which, both laterally and vertically, are 



2 Tiie generic name Ceyx is commonly cited from Lacepede, M£m. l'lnst. Nat. Scl. et Arts, vol. 3, 1801, 

 p. 511, but the original description occurs in Lae^pede's Tableau, Oiseaux, 1799, p. 10 (type, Alcedo tridactyla 

 Pallas). 



a Therosa Bonaparte, Consp. Gen. Avium, vol. 1, 1850, p. 15S (Miiller manuscript) (type by monotypy, 

 Ceyx solitaria Temminck). 



« Gemein. Hand- und Hilfsb. Naturg., 1842 (1841), p. 338. 



