BIRDS OF ETHIOPIA AND KENYA COLONY 345 



directions geographically, picta getting darker, while natalensis gets 

 lighter above from east to west. On the other hand it may be better 

 to consider Gyldenstolpe's bird as aberrant, as Van Someren ^^ rec- 

 ords a specimen of picta from Bugoma, Uganda, with a light blue 

 back, not dark blue as in the others. 



The immature male has a black bill and has the back and rump 

 lighter, less violet, more bluish than the adults. 



The size variations are as follows : 



Males.— Wing 50-55 (52) ; tail 23-28 (25) ; culmen from base 

 8-8.5 (8.1) millimeters. 



Females. — Wing 48-54 (51.5) ; tail 24-26 (25) ; culmen from base 

 7-8 (7.9) millimeters. 



In the northeastern part of its range this little kingfisher appears 

 to be less common than in the tropical portion of its distributional 

 area. Thus, Blanford^° writes that it "* * * was not very un- 

 frequent in the Anseba Valley * * *. It was not seen else- 

 where." Neumann ^^ records but one pair in his report of his expedi- 

 tion. Erlanger,'^^ on the other hand, met with this species in several 

 localities, all in well-watered valleys. Zedlitz ^^ found it but once in 

 southern Somaliland. 



But little is known of the nesting season of this bird in Ethiopia. 

 Blanford ^° shot a young bird, apparently just out of the nest, on 

 July 30. "A few days later, in the evening, a pair of adult birds 

 were observed keeping about one spot, as if they had a nest there. 

 The nest, however, could not be found." On Maj' 13 Mearns col- 

 lected a pair at Gato River, near Gardula. In his field notes he 

 records that the two birds were seen together beside their nesting 

 burrow. 



Mearns noted several of these kingfishers at Sadi Malka, one at 

 Lake Abaya, March 19; 4 near Gardula, March 26-29; and 10 at 

 Gato River, March 29 to May 17. 



HALCYON ALBIVENTRIS ORIENTALIS Peters 



Halcyon orientalis Peters, Joiiru. f. Ornith., 1868, p. 134: Inhambane. 



Speciinens collected: 



Male, immature, and female, immature, Tana River at mouth of 

 Thika River, Kenya Colony, August 26, 1912. 



The brown-hooded kingfisher occurs throughout southern and 

 eastern Africa from the Cape Province to southern Somaliland. The 



«»Nov. Zool., vol. 1922, p. 79. 



'"Geol. and Zool. Abyss., 1870, pp. 323-324. 



■" Journ. f. Ornith., 1905, p. 190. 



'2 Idem, p. 450. 



7= Idem, 1915, p. 29. 



