60 Dr. A. B. Meyer's Field-notes 



and other insects ; then suddenly rushing upon their prey, 

 they return to their perch. 

 Cry tschirrrr. 



EURYSTOMUS ORIENTALIS (L.) . 



Malay native name, ^'Tjetje.^^ 



A common bird near Menado from December till May 

 1871 ; Limbotto, July. 



Iris greyish brown. Cry kiak, kiak. 



This bird sleeps in the morning, and searches for food at 

 midday ; in the evening it flies after beetles. It is to be 

 seen near river-banks, where it sits a long time quietly on 

 a branch of a tree over the water, and can easily be shot, not 

 being a shy bird. In the stomach I often found many beetles 

 with very hard elytra. The bird is mostly fat and well fed ; 

 and the muscles can easily be detached from the skin. 



(See also my notes in Mitth. a. d. zoolog. Mus. zu Dresden, 

 i. p. 19, 1875). 



MONACHALCYON PRINCEPS (Forstcr). 



Native Malay name, " Radja-udan-kapala-biru," i. e. " King 

 of the crabs, with blue head/^ (It will be observed that Malays 

 as well as Englishmen give the epithet " King'^ to this bird.) 

 Alfurous name in the Minahassa, ^'Kikis-tambo," i. e. "King- 

 fisher which lives near small pools.'' 



This bird does not live near river-banks, and is therefore, 

 like all Kingfishers which do not live thus, more difl&cult to 

 procure in the forest, and more rarely to be seen. 



On March 17th I found, in a nest of white ants of the size 

 of a large gourd, three eggs of M. priticeps. Half of the 

 ants' nest was destroyed by the bird, which had made a large 

 hole for the eggs, six inches in diameter, with an entrance 

 two inches in diameter and nine inches long, therefore too 

 narrow and long to allow me to reach the eggs with my hand. 

 The ants' nest was still partly inhabited by ants. The eggs 

 were quite white and transparent (perhaps quite fresh) , the 

 contents beautiful orange-red ; size 30 millims. long, 25 broad. 

 In the same month I found another'pair of eggs of this bird ; 

 but they were lying on the ground and diity. 



