BIRDS OF ETHIOPIA AND KENYA COLONY 347 



Laubmann '*^ has investigated the order of the molt of the remiges 

 in the genus Halcyon and finds that there are two centers from which 

 the molt spreads, a proximal one beginning with the first, or iimer- 

 most primary, and a distal one beginning with the seventh and 

 spreading to the outermost one. An adult male collected at Kilosa, 

 Tanganyika Territory, on December 24, molting the remiges, indi- 

 cates that there are three such centers, the two that Laubmann men- 

 tions, and a third beginning with the next to the innermost secondary 

 and extending from that point proximally to the tertials. The distal 

 primary center does not become involved in the molt as early as the 

 other two. 



This species is found in the Acacia savannas far from water as 

 well as along the streams and coastal belts. Insectivorous in diet, 

 it is not confined to the vicinity of water, and is therefore more 

 widely dispersed than are the piscivorous species, such as Geryle 

 i-udis and Meyaceryle maxima. 



But little has been published concerning its nesting season. Boyd 

 Alexander found that on the Zambesi the breeding season began 

 in November. Kecently Loveridge "''' recorded a nest with four eggs 

 at Dar es Salaam on November 6. The nest was at the end of a 

 burrow about three and half feet long, and about a foot and a half 

 below the surface. The actual nest itself was a small collection of 

 finely broken mollusk shells and beetle elytra. 



HALCYON LEUCOCEPHALA LEUCOCEPHALA (Miiller) 

 Alccdo leucocephalu P. L. S. Mult.er, Syst. Nat. Suppl., p. 94, 1776 : Senegal. 



Specimens collected: 



Three males, Ourso, Ethiopia, September 7 to October 25, 1911. 



One female, Chaff a. upper village, Kenya Colony, June 25, 1912. 



One male. Tana River, camp No. 6, Kenya Colony, August 21, 

 1912. 



One female. Tana River at mouth of Thika River, Kenya Colony, 

 August 24, 1912. 



One female, 9 miles up the Thika River, Kenva Colony, August 

 27, 1912. 



One male, 20 miles up the Thika River, Kenya Colony, August 27, 

 1912. 



One male and one female, Thika River at Bowlder Hill, Kenya 

 Colony, August 28, 1912. 



Soft parts: Bill and feet, entirely red; iris and claws, brown. 

 The systematics of the gray-headed kingfisher have been rendered 

 very complicated by the variety^ of conclusions that have been 



"Verb. Orn. Ges. Bayern, vol. 15, 1923, pp. 383-387, and vol. 16, 1924, pp. 184-186. 

 "Proc. Zool. See. Lend., 1928, p. 73. 



