128 THE USEFUL BIRDS 



nearly the same, only that it concludes with a sudden and 

 peculiar fall of two notes." 



Nest. — Cup-shaped and deep ; made of bark, and lined with 

 fibres, &c. ; placed in proximity to the ground. 



Eggs. — Two, or rarely three, to a clutch. They vary con- 

 siderably, and may have the ground a very pale bluish-white 

 or white ; the dots dispersed upon them may be black, or 

 peculiar blotches and crescents, closely or broadly separated. 

 Length, 1 inch ; breadth, 0.8 inch. 



SACRED KINGFISHER 



(Wood Kingfisher), 



Halcyon sanctus, Vig. ami Hors. 



Hal'si-on Sdnyk'tiis. 



Hals, tlie sea ; kuein, to breed {alkuon, a Kingfisher) ; sanctus, sacred. 



Halcyon sanctus, Gould, "Birds of Australia," foL, vol. ii., pi. 21. 



Geographical Distribution. — Over the whole of the continent, and 

 occasionally in Tasmania. 



Key to the Species. — Head greenish-blue ; upper su\-,face varying 

 between dull green and blue ; under surface of body and under 

 wing coverts orange-bufP, as also the collar ; bill compressed, 

 culmen grooved laterally. 



Like the Red-backed Kingfisher, Halcyon sanctus is not 

 wholly piscatorial in habit. As a matter of fact, it is able to 

 live in a desert for months, far away from water, subsisting 

 there on lizards, small snakes, beetles, grasshoppers, and 

 animals of a like nature. It may be found frequenting the 

 arid coastal portions of the continent, and even the driest parts 

 of Central Australia, provided only that gum trees, however 

 withered, are available. 



