INSESSORES. 125 



The male has the head and back of the neck striated with 

 brown and white ; sides of the neck and under surface white, 

 crossed with very narrow irregular markings of brown, these 

 markings becoming much broader and conspicuous on the 

 under surface of the shoulder ; back brownish black ; wing-co- 

 verts and rump shining azui'e-blue ; wings deep blue ; primaries 

 white at the base, black on their inner webs, and blue on the 

 outer ; tail rich deep blue, all but the two centre feathers irre- 

 gularly barred near the extremity and largely tipped with 

 white ; upper mandible brownish black, under mandible pale 

 buff ; irides dark brown ; feet olive. 



The female differs but little from the male in the colouring 

 of the plumage, except that the tail-feathers, instead of being 

 of a rich blue barred and tipped with white, are of a light 

 chestnut-brown conspicuously barred with bluish black. 



Sp. 62. DACELO CERVINA, Gould. 



Fawn-breasted Kingfisher. 



Dacelo cervina, Gould, Birds of Australia, part ii. cancelled. 



cervicalis, Kaup, Fam. Eisv., p. 8. 



Salussii, Homb. et Jacq. Voy. au Pole Sud, pi. 23. fig. 1. 



Paralcyon cervina, Cab. et Hein. Mus. Hein., Theil ii. p. 164. 

 La-rool, Aborigines of Port Essington. 



Dacelo cervina, Gould, Birds of Australia, fol., vol. ii. pi. 20. 



The north-western portions of Australia constitute the true 

 habitat of this species ; it was observed in tolerable abundance 

 by Sir George Grey during his expedition to that part of the 

 country, and specimens of it have also formed a part of every 

 collection of any extent made at Port Essington. In dispo- 

 sition it appears to be more shy and wary than the Dacelo 

 (/iff as of New South Wales, of which it is a representative. 

 Gilbert, who observed it on the Coburg Peninsula, states that 

 it " inhabits well-wooded forests, generally in pairs, is 



