4. COEACTAS. 9 



at the base of the primaries ; bill and feet Hack. Total length 10-5 

 inches, culmen 1-1, wing 3-75, tail 4-5, tarsus l-6o. 

 Hab. Eastern Madagascar. 



a. Ad. sk. E. Madagascar. A. Crossley [C.]. 



, . , 1 r-, ^r ■■ (Type of species.) 



b. Ad. sk. E. Madagascar {A. Crossley). Shelley CoU. 



Subfamily II. CORACIINiE. 



4. CORACIAS. 



Coracias, Linn. Syst. Nat. i, p. 1.59 (1766) C o'arrulus 



Galgulus, Briss. Orn. ii. p. 63 (1760) c garrulu«' 



Coraciura, Bp. Consp. Volucr. Anis. p. 7 (18.54) .... C. cyanogaster. 



Range. The whole of Europe and Africa, through Persia to 

 Central Asia, the whole of the Indian Peninsula and Ceylon the 

 Burmese countries, and Celebes, ' 



Key to tlie Species. 

 a. With no white nuchal patch. 



a'. With a band of silvery blue on the quills, either 

 basal or subterminal. 

 a". With a broad subterminal baud of silvery 

 blue on the quills. 

 «'". With a broad baud of purplish blue at 

 the eud of the tail; upper tail-coverts 

 7,„ BFP^i^^ ^ue, darker thau the rump . . indicus, p. 10. 

 b . \\ ith uo baud at the eud of the tail, 

 though occasionally a blackish spot at 

 the end is present; upper tail-coverts 

 I ' 1T7- ,°'^* silvery blue, paler than the rump. . aifinis, p 1,3 

 b' . With no subterminal band on the quills, 

 ^ the basal part only being light. 

 c"'. Abdomen light verditer-blue. 



«'. Outer tail-feathers not elongated ; pri- 



mary-coverts silvery blue yarrulus, p. 15. 



bK Outer tail-feathers elongated. 



a\ Primary-coverts silvery blue ; no rac- 

 quet at eud of loug outer tail- 

 feather, 

 rt". Throat blue like the breast and 



;„ T.f'^T?-? •••;■•;••, abyssinicus, ^.19. 



b . Ihroat lilac, streaked with white, 



and contrasting with the rest of 



the bod}', which is greeu and blue 



from the fore neck downwards . . lorti, p -^O 



c". Throat and breast lilac, leaviuo' 



only the abdomen blue "". caudatus, p. 21, 



// . Primary-coverts purplish blue like 

 the outer aspect of the primaries; 

 long outer tail-feather spatulated at 

 th<^™d spatulatus,^ 



09 



