l4l. DACELO. 205 



p. 89, no. 1060 (1869) ; Shavpe, Monogr. Alced. p. 28o, pi. 112 

 (1870) ; Schl. Mufi. Pays-Bas, Alced. JRcvi!e,-p. 11 (1874); Ramsay, 

 Proc. Linn. Soc. N. S.'W. ii. p. 179 (1879) ; North, op. cit. (2) ili. 

 p. 1774 (1888) ; Ramsay, Tab. List Austr. B. p. 3 (1888) ; Cox 8,- 

 Hamilton, op. cit. (2) iv. p. 401 (1889) ; North, Cat. Nests ^- Efjgs 

 Austr. B. p. 36, pi. (1889). 

 Paralcyon giga.s, Cab. ^- Heine, Mm. Hein. Th. ii. p. 165 (1860). 



Adult male. General colour above brown, the upper back white, 

 crossed with bars of dusky brown : lower back and rump greenish 

 blue, with dusky bases to the feathers ; upper tail-coverts rufous, 

 barred with black ; tail-feathers rufous, barred across irregularly 

 with black, all but the centre feathers white at the ends, this white 

 increasing in extent towards the outer feathers, which are white for 

 about the terminal third, with black bars ; scapulars brown like the 

 mantle, with a good deal of white at the bases ; lesser wing-coverts 

 also brown ; median series brown, largely tipped with greenish or 

 silvery white ; greater series nearly uniform brown ; bastard-wing, 

 primary-coverts, and quills blackish, with a wash of dark green 

 externally, the primaries white at the base, forming a large patch ; 

 crown of head brown, varied and freckled with rufous on the 

 forehead, the long crest-feathers edged with white margins ; a 

 very broad whitish eyebrow, reaching from above the eye to 

 the nape, and encircling the latter ; sides of neck and hind neck 

 white, forming a broad collar, which is separated from the nuchal 

 band by a band of dark brown, which is continuous with the dark 

 brown ear-coverts ; lores blackish ; cheeks and under surface of body 

 dingy white, slightly freckled with dusky margins to the feathers, a 

 little more distinct on the flanks and on the under wing- and tail- 

 coverts. Total length 17 inches, culmen 2-5, wing 8-55, tail 6-3, 

 tarsus 1. 



Adult female. Similar to the male, but with more rufous on the 

 crown and ear-coverts ; the lower back, rump, and upper tail- 

 coverts being rufous barred with black. Total length 17 inches, 

 culmen 2*9, wing 8'7, tail (i-2, tarsus 0-95. 



Toung. Similar to the adult female, but freckled with brown on 

 the white parts of the crown, neck, and under surface. The young 

 males have at first no blue on the back and rump. 



The differences between northern and southern birds suggested in 

 my ' Monograph ' do not hold good with a larger scries of skins 

 at my disposal. The brighter blue on the wing-coverts as well as 

 on the lower back and rump appears to be a sign of age only, as it 

 is more conspicuous in the older birds. 



Hah. Australia. 



a, b, c. Ad. sk. Australia. 



d, e. A d. sk. INIelbourne. 



/, ff. Ad. sk. New South Wales. 



k, i. IniDi. sk. S.E. coast of Australia. Gould Coll. 



h. Ad. sk. Queensland (J. Thorpe). Tweeddale Coll. 



I. Inim. sk. I'ort Curtis, Queensland, April. Voy.of H.M.S.'Aleit.' 



m, n. Ad. sk. Brisbane. Sahin-Godman Coll. 



0. Ad. sk. N.E. Australia. Sir T. Mitchell [P.]. 



