16. HALCYON. 237 



dusky at the ends ; crown of head dark brown, with darker shaft- 

 stripes ; a broad line of ashy whitish from the base of the nostrils 

 above the eye, fading off into ashy brown above the ear-coverts, 

 the latter as well as the lores brown with darker shaft-lines ; round 

 the hind neck a broad collar of isabelline white, with dusky shaft- 

 lines, which are more distinct on the centre of the hind neck ; 

 checks and sides of neck also whitish like the hind neck ; throat 

 and breast pure white : fore neck and chest pale ochreous buff, with 

 dark brown shaft-lines to the feathers, and a patch of dark brown 

 on each side of the upper breast; sides of body, abdomen, thighs, 

 and under tail-coverts deep ochreous buff, the flanks streaked with 

 dark brown ; under wing-coverts, axillaries, and quill-lining brighter 

 ochreous buff: " bill crimson, black towards the tip ; feet dark red ; 

 iris dark brown " {T. Ay res). Total length 9 inches, culmen 2" 15, 

 wing •f'2, tail I'S, tarsus 0'55. 



Advlt female. Much duller in colour than the male, the back, 

 scapulars, and wing-coverts being brown instead of black ; the blue 

 of the back, wings, and tail being greener and less bright ; the 

 head much browner than that of the male, and the whitish parts of 

 the hind ueck and sides of neck shaded with buff or rufous-buff ; the 

 buff of the fore neck and chest and sides of body much more pro- 

 nounced and more rufescent, with broad blackish-brown streaks 

 along the centre of the feather. Total length 9 inches, culmen 2^ 

 wing 4-2, tail 2-8, tarsus 0-55. 



Young. Bill black, reddish towards the base ; otherwise like the 

 adults, but the blue duller and the brown of the head darker and 

 more uniform ; the collar round the neck ashy whitish with a 

 fulvous tinge, the sides of the neck broadly streaked with black ; 

 under surface white, streaked with blackish on the breast and sides 

 of the body, the feathers also freckled with dusky fringes and 

 barrings ; the flanks, thighs, and under tail-coverts pale ochreous buff. 



In the Transvaal from Potchefstroom to the Zambesi Region, and 

 in Swazi-Land, is found a pale race of this species, wherein every 

 part of the under surface is lighter than in examples from the Cape 

 Colony. The streaks on the flanks are much narrower, and the 

 birds are generally intermediate between H. alhiventns and H. ori- 

 entalis. I should have separated these birds as a subspecies of 

 H. alhiventris but for two reasons. One is that Andersson's Knysna 

 specimen is as pale as any of the Transvaal birds, and secondly that 

 the true dark-coloured Cape form extends into the Transvaal. 

 Hence it may be inferred that the differences are due to climatic 

 causes. 



Hah. South Africa, from the Cape Colony to Natal and the 

 Eastern Transvaal. 



a,b. Ad. et juv. sk. South Africa. Sharps Coll. 



c-h. (^ 2 ^^- ^^- South Africa {E. L. Layard: Tweeddale Coll. 



Sharpe Coll.). 



i. Juv. sk. South Africa. Purchased. 



k. S f>d. sk. Knysna, Feb. 17 (C. J. Andem- Sharpe Coll. 



son). 



